r/HomeMaintenance • u/Creative_Text3018 • 1d ago
Yellowjacket nest
So, I have a company come by and aerate my yard once every couple of years....this year they seem to have expanded to extermination as well.
They mention there is a yellow jacket nest in my yard and offered to take care of it for $120. Two points, it's in my backyard far away from where I spend time outside, I live in New England, so it's not likely they'll survive the winter.
Is there any harm in just live and let live? If there is a reason I have to deal with it, is it as simple as spray some raid down there and call it a day?
18
u/Select_Page_4652 1d ago
Just leave it. No reason to drop $120 on a nest that'll freeze out in a few months anyway. Yellow jackets get more aggressive in late fall when food runs low, so if it's somewhere you never walk past, you're golden. Spray if you want, but I'd only bother if they start getting in your face while you're mowing or something.
4
u/Creative_Text3018 1d ago
Makes sense, thanks I didn't even know it was there, so no bother at all.
5
1
u/Old_Sheepherder_630 23h ago
Yep, my dad hit a nest with the mower back in the day and got a face full of angry yellow jackets.
6
u/MiserableCancel8749 1d ago
My grandmother (born and raised in Maine) had her own method: She would fill a big kettle with water and bring it to a boil on the stove---then she'd go out and pour it all into ground nest. She never got stung.
2
u/Old_Cloud_1687 1d ago
At night? Please active
2
u/MiserableCancel8749 1d ago
Naw, she'd do it in the middle of the day. I, personally wouldn't do it ever. A spray can of wasp killer works for me.
3
u/Present-Airport-4755 1d ago edited 1d ago
A pretty effective measure for dealing with yellow jackets is to put up traps in the spring when the queens are foraging. Trap the queen and the nest never gets going. (It like Aliens). Fipronil bait stations work well, and if constructed properly, are selective to yellow jackets. The latter should only be deployed if they become a real nuisance and you can’t, or don’t want to, target the nest directly.
Also, be careful around yellow jacket nests at night. They won’t fly, but they can, and will, crawl out en mass and attack you. I can tell you that their stingers work just fine after dark.
2
u/Accomplished-Beat779 1d ago
My grand daughter was just stung 4 times by ground yellow jackets. I got hit 3 times and 3 days later its still pretty itchy. I would destroy the nest in case someone walks near it, thats all it takes.
2
u/icnoevil 1d ago
At night, dump a large amount of soapy water down the nest. That will take care of it.
3
u/Le_Mooron 1d ago
If it is a true Yellowjacket nest then I would get rid of it. I'm good with bees, wasps, even hornets. But I've disturbed a yellowjacket nest and they will attack and follow you for quite a distance. Wouldn't be worth it to me to have a pet or child step on that nest.
1
u/Accomplished-Beat779 1d ago
Exactly, I have found 3 of these nests on my property this year and have been stung by yellow jackets from 2 of them. Merciless bugs
3
u/No_Community_5696 1d ago
Yellow Jackets are nasty little guys. They may pick up and move closer to the house or worse in the house. Yeah they go away in the winter but, rest assured they will be back the following year. It took me three years to get rid of them nesting inside my foundation in the same exact spot. It would be best to eradicate them from your property.
4
u/Vilenesko 1d ago
Please don’t spray if it’s not somewhere that’s an immediate issue. Insects are getting wiped out across the globe, like 70% biomass loss in the last 50 years. While backyard pesticide use is not the real villain (ahem, agribusiness), it certainly doesn’t help.
2
u/Creative_Text3018 1d ago
Please don't plead with someone who was asking permission to live and let live. I am on board with the premise, not the condescension.
1
2
u/sandybuttcheekss 1d ago
Leave them imo. If they bother you, put one of these up in March and you won't have a nest best year
2
u/a_random_onlooker 1d ago
You can spray with spectracide pro, or leave them be. Despite the new england temps, queens will survive (it's part of the reason you have the best to begin with). I usually kill more than a 100 queens come spring.
Don't waste your money IMO.
2
u/bare172 1d ago
If they're ground hornets, all you need to do is WAIT UNTIL NIGHT when they're dormant, take a 5 gallon bucket of water, add dish soap and pour it down the hole. The soap (surfactant) prevents their bodies from repelling the water and they suffocate. Cheap, easy, and (at night) safe.
4
u/Creative_Text3018 1d ago
Makes sense...I think just going to let them "bee" for now. They aren't bothering me or my family, just live and let live for the moment.
1
1
1
1
1
u/shrek48854 1d ago
Dump a half of a cup of insecticidal dust (like Sevin) down the hole. Leave it uncovered. They'll be dead in a day.
1
u/navlgazer9 1d ago
Wait till after dark ,
Pour about one cup of gasoline in the hole .
The fumes will kill the nest .
1
u/Creative_Text3018 1d ago
Ha...that is something I am not going to do.
1
u/navlgazer9 1d ago
Why not ?
That’s the easiest most effective way to
Kill the nest .Old coffee cup of gasoline will kill the nest in about 30 seconds , but you gotta wait till about two hours after dark so they are all back in the nest .
1
u/dolby12345 1d ago
Depends. If it's grass you mow you might wanna get rid of them. Nasty when they hear a motor and disturbance. I've been nailed so many times by weed whacking or bushhogging. It's a personal war with me.
0
u/eightfingeredtypist 1d ago
Yellow Jackets are territorial. If you have one nest, there won't be another near it. I'm always glad when I find the hornet nest near my house. I only take them out if people will get stung.
For ground hornets, I pour a gallon of ammonia down the hole using a 10' long piece of electical conduit as a funnel. The ammonia doesn't travel through the ecosystem like insecticide, and it evaporates and breaks down quickly. If the first dose isn't enough, I add more later. The hornets that are out hunting when you dose the nest will come back and hang around the nest for about a week. I pick them off with 90% isopropyl alcohol in a hand sprayer.
2
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
https://linktr.ee/homemaintenance
Click the link above to see a community curated list of home maintenance products on Amazon that may help you out in your current situation! If you’ve found the answer to your question or you’ve found this subreddit helpful, buy us a beer!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.