how to get rid of wasps/ hornets in woodpile

[Michael Schneider]

Spring has spring and there are a ton of hornets and some yellowjackets swarming my woodpile.

That is turning wood, so I don't know what I can spray and still use for turning.

Sorry for the stupid question.

Any good tricks?

Thanks
Michael

[Mel Fulks]

Just spray some of the canned killer on a piece of wood and see if it stains it. Wouldn't it be great if it turned out to be a quick finish for yellow jackets and lovely one for wood?

[John Keeton]

Just understand that if they are truly yellow jackets the nest is in the ground and can be massive. If you can locate the access holes, wait until dark, lay a piece of window screen over the holes and pour ant powder in the holes. Wait until all is quiet and remove the screen. When they come and go the following day, they will carry the poison into the nest.

[John K Jordan]

Spring has spring and there are a ton of hornets and some yellowjackets swarming my woodpile.
That is turning wood, so I don't know what I can spray and still use for turning.
Sorry for the stupid question.
Any good tricks?


I haven't tried it on yellow jackets, but I know for a fact that dousing a nest of carpenter bees with soapy water wipes them out immediately.

We uncovered hundreds in a friend's barn down in some old hay. He threw a 1/2 bucket of water with a little dish washing soap in it. I was amazed.

I suspect you could spray soapy water with a pump sprayer and catch those in the air. I'll have to try that. I don't like yellow jackets.

BTW, soap is a general insecticide. I have a insecticidal soap for spraying fruit trees to get rid of pests.

JKJ

[Brice Rogers]

I tried using a shop vac to vacuum up the yellow jackets as they were leaving a crack in the foundation of a house. I thought that it was a great idea - - I was going to vacuum them all up and then spray some insecticide into the hose or tape it up. As the wasps tried to leave the nest, they struggled but one by one they turned on their "after-burners". The first one hit me right between the eyes but didn't sting me. That's when I gave up with that goofy plan.

Another time I had a massive underground nest of yellow jackets. I mixed some "Sevin" with a gallon jug of water and after dark tipped it upside down over the hole like a person would turn the jug over on a water cooler. The next morning there was a 2 foot depression where their opening had been located.

[Roger Chandler]

A friend of mine waited till after dark, poured gasoline down into the hole..........got rid of them lickety split. Not sure that would be something permissible everywhere, but he did it back some years ago. I have seen that work more than once.

John K's idea seems to be a good one!

[Bob Bouis]

Bifenthrin will kill wasps and hornets, stays effective on the surface for some time afterwards, is pretty safe (it's often used indoors) and quite cheap.

It's also good for mosquitos.

[John K Jordan]

A friend of mine waited till after dark, poured gasoline down into the hole..........got rid of them lickety split. Not sure that would be something permissible everywhere, but he did it back some years ago. I have seen that work more than once.

John K's idea seems to be a good one!

We use the gasoline for yellow jacket nests in the ground. The red-neck way 'round here is to pour the gas in the hole (after dark, of course) then light the hole. I think the finale is more for the satisfaction than the eradication.

But I would hesitate to use gasoline on a pile of turning wood, with or without the fire.

JKJ

[Roger Chandler]

We use the gasoline for yellow jacket nests in the ground. The red-neck way 'round here is to pour the gas in the hole (after dark, of course) then light the hole. I think the finale is more for the satisfaction than the eradication.

But I would hesitate to use gasoline on a pile of turning wood, with or without the fire.

JKJ

My friend did not light the gasoline......just the gas and fumes killed the yellow jackets. Man, those things will eat you up! Don't ask me how I know this..:eek:...it's too painful to remember! ;)

Another time, when I was about 14 years old, I stepped into a hornets nest [ black with white rings on their tail] on the edge of the school ground, and they covered me.......I went running and swating all the way for the 6 blocks home.......had 37 stings on me. Man, did that put a damper on the rest of my day! :eek: They had built a nest on a limb of a downed pine tree in the high weeds, and I did not see it. I was looking for golf balls at the time, as a number of golfers would use the large school playground to hit balls across the property. That cured my golf ball obsession quickly!

[Clint Baxter]

I haven't tried it on yellow jackets, but I know for a fact that dousing a nest of carpenter bees with soapy water wipes them out immediately.

We uncovered hundreds in a friend's barn down in some old hay. He threw a 1/2 bucket of water with a little dish washing soap in it. I was amazed.

I suspect you could spray soapy water with a pump sprayer and catch those in the air. I'll have to try that. I don't like yellow jackets.

BTW, soap is a general insecticide. I have a insecticidal soap for spraying fruit trees to get rid of pests.

JKJ

i found about the soapy water last year. Mixed some dish soap and water and put in a small spray bottle. If you caught a yellow jacket with the spray, it could no longer fly and within minutes was laid out and no longer moving. When the soap gets on their wings they can no longer fly. Not sure if it suffocates them, but kill them rapidly it does.

Spray it at any flying ones trying to buzz you and they typically leave, even I had aroused them. Unless they took a direct shot and then they're a goner.

Clint

[robert baccus]

Soapy water does kill yellow jackets in the ground--done it several times. Paper wasps will die after spraying any soapy water, even home cleaning sprays and harms nothing in the process. Gasoline fumes can travel a long ways especially a night when cool.

[John K Jordan]

i found about the soapy water last year. Mixed some dish soap and water and put in a small spray bottle. If you caught a yellow jacket with the spray, it could no longer fly and within minutes was laid out and no longer moving. When the soap gets on their wings they can no longer fly. Not sure if it suffocates them, but kill them rapidly it does. ...


I understood that unlike plain water, the surfactant properties of soap reduces the surface tension allowing the solution to enter an insect's tracheal openings and suffocate them. But I don't know for sure. On the wings I'll bet it would immediately inhibit the ability to fly, probably causing the two overlapping wings on each side to stick together.

An old trick researchers used when studying honeybees was to submerge a frame or entire hive in water. (no soap!) The bees could not fly and could be studied more easily until they dried off. We spray them with sugar water for occasional special reasons and for a while they are both unable to fly and occupied with eating or removing it.

BTW, I realize yellow jackets have beneficial reasons for existence, but my personal war with them is due to my sensitivity to their stings. A single sting on the back of my hand caused my hand and my entire arm to swell all the way to my shoulder. Multiple stings might be a real problem.

For anyone interested, I found the perfect way to treat stings of yellow jackets, wasps, bees, anything. By removing the venom, it removes the pain instantly and effects of the sting are minimized. In the case yellow jackets, instead of massive swelling and pain I now only get a small red area no bigger than 2" across. The secret is in the camping section at Walmart - a suction syringe called The Extractor. If used quickly enough, it will pull the venom from the skin - you can actually see it. There is no comparison to any liquid or compound applied to the skin to treat the effects of a sting. Believe me, I've tried them all until I found this powerful little suction device.

I keep one with my beekeeping kit, one on the tractor, one in the car, two in the house, one in the shop, etc. Also works with mosquitoes and poisonous snakes. I haven't had the pleasure of testing it on a poisonous snake yet. I guarantee these things really, really work! We've used them on white-faced hornets, bumble bee, honeybee, yellow jacket and other wasp stings.

https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-B4-Extractor-Pump/dp/B000AU9PEC

Hmm, price looks good at Amazon - I think I'll order a couple more.

JKJ

[Clint Bach]

Skunks can be your friend when it comes to yellow jacket nests in the ground. Yep!!! Skunks!! They have dug out many yellow jacket nests on my property.

Just something great about skunks. Gotta love em. Well not really... They are skunks and they do stink.

clint

[John K Jordan]

Skunks can be your friend when it comes to yellow jacket nests in the ground. Yep!!! Skunks!! They have dug out many yellow jacket nests on my property.

Just something great about skunks. Gotta love em. Well not really... They are skunks and they do stink.

clint

We have plenty here. I once set up three traps in my garden where something was destroying my corn. The next morning there was a big raccoon in one trap, two skunks in the second trap, and three skunks in the third trap. That was a new record for me. Maybe I should have contacted the Guinness people.

JKJ

[Clint Bach]

Wow! What do you do with traps full of skunks?

I might just plant enough extra corn to feed them.

How did you get the skunks out of the traps?

c

[John K Jordan]

Wow! What do you do with traps full of skunks?
...

I used to be more lenient towards skunks until we got overloaded with them and they started raiding guinea nests (along with the foxes and 'possums and 'coons).

This pretty boy, BTW, foiled my raccoon removal project one night:
358315

I've caught a LOT of skunks over the years while trying to remove raccoons and at one time I "simply" released them where I caught them. This requires some care. So far I've never been sprayed.

The five I caught in the two traps experienced my new policy. With the trap positioned so they can't see me I maneuver it with pole/hook/rope onto a sled made from plywood and drag it 1/4 mile to where I dug a small pond behind the barn. There, I give them scuba diving lessons. Unfortunately since I don't have gear that fits them properly so far none have graduated from the class to earn the certificate. I'll keep trying.

JKJ

[david privett]

back to wasps and them damn BORING bees if you know someone you know loads 2 3/4 " shotgun shells use a fast burning powder like nitro 100 18 grains a shot cup wad and fill to the top of the wad with rice a cardboard card over the rice and crimp. And have fun it is funny to have all that noise and no recoil and them bees evaporate from out to about 15 '. Go ahead and make my day bug!

[Wayne Jolly]

Seems like explosives would be the most fun.


Wayne