Sevin dust completely useless on yellow jackets?

18 years ago

Hi

I've been battling yellow jackets and their nest for the past few weeks. I'd be glad to let them live if they hadn't built their nest right next to our entrance gate, plus we have two small children who play out there. I feel bad about using nasty pesticides, but in this case it's justified.

I tried a whole can of that foaming wasp spray. It didn't work. Then I heard about how deadly Sevin is to bees and wasps. I used a long piece of 1/2" pvc pipe to blow two cups of the stuff deeply into the hole. It all went in. The next day my husband dumped another cup right on top of the hole so the yellow jackets had to actually dig through the powder to get into the nest. That was Thursday. Now here we are on Monday and those cursed bugs are STILL walking through that so-called "deadly" stuff. They have a perfectly round entrance hole through the powder, and I watch them walking through it and leaving their footprints in it! It's been four days and we still have hordes of yellow jackets. Did we get out-of-date poison? How long is this supposed to take? We may have to opt for the gasoline approach, but that would be a last resort due to the proximty to a creek. Any suggestions? I really think the nest is too large to be eliminated with traps. We'll try that next spring, but I need solutions now. Thanks!

Featured Answer

glenforest

18 years ago

I quizzed a pest-control guy who came to my house for a termite inspection one time about yellow jackets nesting in the ground, and he told me a very simple and environmentally friendly way to get rid of them. Later I saw this described on the Internet (must be true, right?).

Wait until after dusk/dark when all of the yellow jackets have returned to the nest. Then cover the hole with an inverted glass bowl.

That's it. It will take some time for the nest to die off, but it should work. I tried it on a nest in my back yard; I used an old 10-gal aquarium I had in the basement. I filled in with some soil around where the glass met the ground to make sure it was sealed and there were no escapees.

There were yellow jackets flying around inside the tank for about a week (more or less). Eventually there were no more.

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Comments (7)

Kimmsr
18 years ago
Never, ever pour gasoline, or any other petroleum product on the ground to control any insect. This is a pollutant and is not at all environmentally sound practice. Controlling any insect will take time since in the nest are hundreds more workers than you see going out foraging. Even a very broad spectrum, and potent, poison will take time to work, and just how much depends on the actual size of the nest.
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Kimmsr
18 years ago
That type of Yellow Jacket trap will get many of the workers but the queen and those workers down in the nest will simply see to it that the lost workers are replaced. To properly control a Yellow Jacket nest, if that is necessary, is to kill the queen, the source of all the others in the nest. Many so called "pest control specialists" spread as much misinformation as anyone else.
glenforest
18 years ago
Have you ever tried this method, kimmsr? Or do you just *think* it won't work?

I've tried it. And it worked for me just fine.
botanybob
18 years ago
The queen will not be able to make new workers if there aren't any others bringing food back to the nest. The young will all starve, as will the queen. I think this is a good idea worth trying.

I'm surprised the wasp spray did not have some effect, but the way you applied the Sevin was not according to label recommendations, so you can't blame the product for that.
Teresa Gillmore
8 years ago
Use drion dust.
PRO
Orth Sculpture & Furniture
8 years ago
For yellow jackets in the ground this always works for me: Identify the actual hole in the ground. Prepare a bucket of water with a cup or two of dishwashing liquid in it. Wait until after dark or later (10 or 11pm is best) - they quiet down and most of the wasps are back in the nest by then. Quickly pour the entire bucket of soapy water down the hole. These nests can be large. If you suspect a super large nest, get two buckets ready. You want to see the hole filled to ground level with the liquid - just briefly so you know it covered everything going on down there. It drowns them fast and doesn't hurt the soil. As humane and environmental as I've seen. The next day you'll probably see a few wasps coming back around that spent the night elsewhere, but they will soon loose interest. You can use a similar method on overhead yellow jackets (this won't work for paper wasp nests). Get a professional type hand spray bottle and fill it with the same very soapy water. Wait until late and hit the nest fast and hard with the spray. Don't stand directly under the nest for this - they'll drop on you. Search the ground for any that manage to get away and douse them again. It's almost as fast as those chemical spray cans.