Yellow jacket nest

[sdsujacks]

Yesterday I stepped on the entrance hole to a yellow jacket nest in my backyard. Luckily, I figured out what was going on and got out of there before getting stung. It was interesting watching them come and go from the nest for a little while but now it's time for them to go away for good.

Any experience with getting rid of an underground nest? I've read that spray cans don't reach far enough down the hole to kill the nest. I've got a propane weed burner that shoots a pretty good flame and was thinking about using that. I've also read that dumping boiling soapy water down the hole works. Anybody with any experience with these methods? Unsuccessful stories are probably as valuable at this point as successes. Reasonable advice is appreciated.

[echotrail]

I hate those things! I'm sure they have a valuable place in our world, but not close to me. I had a similar problem about 8 years ago, the nest was under the front step of the house! I cleaned out my shop vac and put on a 5' extension and placed the tip right next to the entrance and laid a small sandbag on it to hold it in place and let it run for about 1.5 hrs and about the same amount again the next day. I used a rag to plug the vac before I shut it off. After the second day I let it sit for another three days before opening it very carefully. I had sucked up 87 of them.

[only ice]

The sell a spray that works great! You do it at night or early in the mornning. I think its a Raid brand. It sprays out about 10ft. spray the nest and they will all be gone!! I had them under my deck and now there all gone.

[Walleye Guy]

This falls under the don't do this at home category. However I did it and it worked very well.

Basically I waited until right before dark and I poured a coffee can full of gas down the hole and then threw a stick match on it. Problem solved. Toasted ground bees. A few that were still returning to nest swarmed around the hole. They were all gone the next morning.

The hole was quite a ways away from my house and I had a garden hose ready just in case things went awry.

[Pat K]

My father used to wait till it had been dark for an hour then pour a gallon of boiling water into the hole. As far as I can remember it always worked.

[Quetico]

I've tried Walleye Guy's answer many times. It works great. Pour a ton of lighter fluid down the hole in the middle of the night. Light it up. Problem solved.

At night the queen is in there with all the others. The lighter fluid burns them all and the entire nest. Once the queen is gone and the nest is gone its all over.

[GudeMN]

I do my yellow jacket work at night as well. I don't go flammable though. Feed a hose in there as far as you like and let 'er rip!! Keep it in there awhile. If you shut it off too soon, survivors will crawl out. Be persistent, most will drown and if you push/pull the hose alternately while the water is on you will break up the combs inside. Once those are destroyed either from water or coming out of the hole, it's over. Those little nasties that lived to tell about it vacate ASAP! I've taken care of three nests like that so far.