Knowing how to get rid of yellow jackets is a useful skill for the homeowner because the yellow jacket is very common and can provide a painful sting from a stinger located on its hind. If you know how to get rid of yellow jackets safely, it could be the difference between life and death for some people.
There are some very common places that yellow jackets make their nests. The two most common experienced by homeowners in CT are nests that are located in the ground and those located in wall cavities.
How to get rid of yellow jackets nesting in the ground
The first thing you must never do is approach the nest during daylight hours. During the day foragers are very active and will readily attack if the nest appears to be in danger. This is never more evident than when a person is mowing the lawn and steps on a nest. When this happens you can easily be attacked by 20 or more angry yellow jackets. However, at night there are no foragers and all the yellow jackets are in the nest. Here’s how it’s done:
- Mark where the hole is during the day so it can be found at night
- Wear thick protective clothing just in case
- Use a liquid pesticide (not aerosol) labeled for wasps and flood the nest with a few oz of finished pesticide
- Check for activity over the next few days
- If there’s still activity repeat steps 1-4
- Fill in or dig up the nest and discard
How to get rid of yellow jackets in a wall
This is by far the most challenging and dangerous type of yellow jacket nest. Many exterminators (including myself) have horror stories of walking into a home with a few hundred yellow jackets confined to one room. So, therefore the following advice comes with the warning that doing this is extremely dangerous and it may be best just to call a professional.
Our company prefers the following method for immediate results.
- Do not block the hole from the outside
- Find the nest inside by feeling for wall softness and hearing buzzing adjacent to where you see wasps outside.
- If you find a soft spot on the wall cover it with duct tape so the nest doesn’t fall through.
- Purchase a powder insecticide (Drione) as well as a tool called a bulb duster (easily found on the internet).
- Use a screwdriver and poke a small hole into the nest.
- Using the bulb duster inject a small amount of insecticidal dust. The nest will become super active.
- Wait about ½ hour or for the noise to calm down. If the nest is still making noise make another hole and repeat steps 2-6.
- Cover interior holes.
If you know how to get rid of yellow jackets safely it can be rewarding to do it yourself. If you find that you need help please call us at 1-888-879-6481.