I wait till dark when they are back in the hole, then dump Sevin dust in it. I've gotten rid of many a yellow jacket nest in the ground that way.

You could even do the same as gmom advises yet put dimotaceous earth down that hole. We had a little problem at a party we went to several weeks ago. So we sprayed down the hole and left it until we saw no activity around immediately, then we dumped as much sand down the holes to fill them as soon as possible. Traveling bees would fly back to the hive, we'd spray them and then stomp on them. This took several hours but the entire backyard was irradicated of the bees.

GGG

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I guess I am at my wits end with them. Now I just need to be watchful around sundown to see where exactly the nest is. GGG, I would be glad to throw a party if my guests would help me eradicate yellow jacket nests! Thanks again, Vicki

I was wondering if it was just me. Maybe its the drought but, the yellow jackets seem to have gotten into their fall fly low over the ground and being aggressive early. The slightest disturbance brings them fast. I think that they are desperate for water. I had about 50 around me all day as I was building stone steps-only got stung once. They generally land on you but won't sting unless they get trapped by sandals or shorts when you move.
I have removed many nests and my preferred weapon of choice is Orthene at the hole(s) at dusk. Actually, the far shooting wasp and hornet spray works well too and you don't have to be standing right over the hole.

It seems Georgia is infested with these guys this year, it's something I've heard from several people. Does anyone know why? I've never bothered to try and get rid of them, they've not been that much of a pest but it's out of control. My dogs won't even go outside and I don't want them to. We have no idea where the nests are and there are likely several, not just one.

Traps don't really work this late in the season. After a ton of research, I ordered some Tempo SC Ultra (from http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.646975/it.A/id.62/.f?category=152
which was the best price I could find, plus they were nice on the phone) because supposedly you can use this product in bait stations mixed with salmon or jelly for yellow jackets to take back to the nest. I just ordered it yesterday so can not say how well it works, but it's microencapsulated (has a shell around the particles, making it tasteless and time release) and takes very little, so hopefully the yellow jackets will take the bait. I can post results if anyone is interested.

I will say the bait stations are a chore to maintain (and keep out of reach of my flipping neighbor's dog and cats) but my yard is uninhabitable, so it's worth it. I made bait stations and tested a few with another product. I have seen deer fence scent containers (http://www.deerbusters.com/dee-2068.html) used for bait stations however they are about $16-25 for a set of two, and I need many! I like these dispensers a lot since they are easy to open and it does not appear that hummingbirds, chipmunks, etc can easily get at them, and can be staked or hanging.

Honestly I believe that bees are a part of a garden and welcome creatures, but dang, this years crop of yellow jackets is amazing!

Here is a link that might be useful: nipcam store

Laylaa, please do post your results, I would be interested to know how well it works. I know what you mean about your yard being uninhabitable. I have several of the traps, baited with small fruit and ham chunks, and have caught quite a few, maybe 150 of them. But guess what? It hasn't put a dent in their numbers. If I could just find the nest, I could get rid of them, but some of those nests are real hard to find. At all hours of the day, they are "patrolling" and hovering all over my lawn and flower beds, and get quite aggressive if you even walk through, let alone linger long enough to get anything done.

vicki, I will let you know how it works. The Tempo SC Ultra actually came in today. I could find no customer product reviews on how to deal with yellow jackets if you don't know where the nests are and am a bit (lot) fuzzy on the logic of this stuff for several reasons. It's a poison they take back to the nest - but yellow jackets do not store food. They DO regurgitate food to feed larvae at the nest, but they don't share it among workers as far as I can tell. We'll see! It's supposed to take a few days to have any effect but I'll post back.

We also have them in our back yrad. My husband gets stung everytime he mows the grass. The only difference is, we ound the nest. Its about 15 - 20 feet down the hill in a dead tree. They are swarming day & night....what to do??

This is the most effective and immediate way to get rid of them: locate the entry to the nest (hole on the ground where they are entering), wait until dusk, pour gasoline down the hole and run like the wind. The ones still out of the nest won't come near it because of the gasoline and dead bodies and the ones in the nest are D E A D! It works.

Go gettum!

Well, I too have noticed the increase in yellow jackets. I thought it was just our yard. I would say I'm glad it's not just us, but that's not good! I've noticed them late in the evening hovering over the yard, but can't find where they are nesting. There's just so many! They actually covered the ground last night. Today...yup...I got stung and thought, "Well, now the war's on! Where are you, little stinkers?" or should it be "little stingers?" (That was a really bad joke, huh?)

Oh...and we've had more hornets this year. They are even more aggressive than the yellow jackets.

We've used the gasoline trick and yes, it does work, but again we can't figure out where they are nesting. My guess, like someone mentioned above, is that there are many nests, considering that there are so many yellow jackets.

Another question here: Since the bee population is low, do the yellow jackets take over and help with pollination?

Thanks!
Beverly

We haven't had a problem with the yellow jackets yet. It is usually towards the fall when they get bad around here.
Remember helping a friend cut and bale hay a few years ago and around 4 pm we took a break of cold drinks and crackers. One got into my friends drink can and he got bit in the mouth... OUCH!

Also, a few years back I was helping a friend set out pine seedings. A friend was driving the bulldozer with a V blade on the front pulling the tree planter in which you sit backwards. Another friend spelled me for a bit and on his first round the V blade opened up a yellow jackets nest and think he got popped about 7 times in the planter. Nothing he could do as the driver could not hear him over the roar of the engine. I should have played the lottery that day.

Shot

the bait stations I mentioned in an above post appear to be working but it may be a bit premature. There were less yellow jackets this morning than yesterday, although still hordes. Yesterday morning there were so many it was appalling. However this morn was overcast and slightly cooler, so I am not positive what the deal is. Maybe they hunted my lawn into a wasteland and moved on.

Tonight there are certainly less of them. Weather is funky so I can only hope it's taking! It's been so long since it was cloudy that I have forgotten how everything acts.

bevinga - yes they help pollinate but I am not sure about compensating for the bees. They eat a lot of bugs, though!

shot - Uggh! Your poor friend!

I'm still using the traps I got at Lowe's and they are still catching tons of the little beasts. I know they'll never catch enough of them to wipe out a nest, nor will they catch the 'queen' at this time of year, but it is so satisfying to see the trap full of angry yellow jackets since they have caused so much frustration! I have the kind of traps that are hard plastic with a bottom that snaps on and off so you can put tasty morsels in it. These bees seem to looove honeydew melon and very ripe peach chunks. I'm hanging them quite a distance from the house so I won't be attracting them to come closer. While I'm not glad ya'll are having the same problem, it IS comforting to know it's not just me. Vicki

Use the gasoline. It will kill them. Sometimes, being "green" just won't get the job done. Your problem will not cure itself. They just keep multiplying and will try to take over your yard.

I don't think that being "green" is the issue, and wasn't even mentioned I believe. It's not knowing where the nests are, and not due to lack of effort in locating them. Different species of yellow jackets nest in different places, not in the ground per se. Nests located in house walls, or not finding a nest, or a nest in a neighbors yard makes pouring gasoline on the nest a bit tricky :) Spraying (often) petroleum based pesticides isn't a "green" suggestion, along with putting put poison bait.

My son found them in a big clump of sedum I have in the front yard.He poured gasoline in that bed and the bees have decreased but are still coming from some where.When I find that nest,I will use gasoline again.They have been horrible here in N.Ga. this yr.
moonphase

Well, my yellow jacket situation is much better now, thanks to my son-in-law, who lives next door. It seems that the huge majority of them were coming from a nest in HIS back yard. He found the nest and used gasoline to kill them. Now we only have an occasional yellow jacket buzzing around the back yard. I always try to step on them when I can... I guess it is a "revenge" thing for all the stings I've suffered this summer. I suppose the weather conditions were right for them this year. Vicki

I just noticed a very large hornets next in a tree in my front yard. I do have all kinds of bees and wasps because of all of my flowers, and I just dead head and go about my business trying not to disturb them. It did cross my mind that I thought some of the "bees" were hornets, and I kept meaning to research them and identify them, but I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Then all of a sudden discovering the nest has made me very nervous. It's about 15 feet above the ground and truly huge. About the size of two basketballs. There is a huge hole in front and a lot of activity. I won't be working out front until I deal with this! It is mind boggling how I've been out there almost every day doing this or that and never noticed the nest. I guess I spend two much time looking down and not enough looking up!

My 2 nest of YJ disappeared on their own - must have just gotten too dry for them.

Crazy story... A few of us went to lunch the other day. On our way back to the office, as we're pulling up to a stop light we notice there's all this "stuff" floating in the air. So the driver, reaches up to close his sunroof. AND JUST IN TIME! The "stuff" was a giant swarm of bees. I'm not exaggerating when I say there were hundreds of them. They were smacking against the windows and buzzing all around. It was the weirdest thing. We thought that somebody must have disturbed a nest nearby, but there were sooooooo many that maybe it was a couple of nests. Quite creepy. Just very thankful that he got the sunroof closed in time. Can't imagine what someone in a convertible would have done.
~michelle

Can't imagine what someone in a convertible would have done.
~michelle

Get out and run like the wind? That's scary. Maybe you'd be able to outrun some of them.