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cadurning

hornets & yellow jacket problem

cadurning
20 years ago

Last year my garden shed was infested with what I believe to be hornets or yellow jackets. They built a soft comb like structure attached to the roof beams or behind stuff stored by the walls. They were agressive and their sting hurt. Last year I was able to kill them with a foaming bug killer. What I would like to do is use some sort of a trap or electric bug zapper so hopefully I can get them before they move in and set up housekeeping. Does anybody know what works?

Comments (10)

  • jean001
    20 years ago

    Won't work.

    Plus it will kill more beneficial insects than nasty ones.

  • Dorie_in_Alabama
    20 years ago

    Keep up with those pesky critters from the very beginning. A quick look-see into the shed every day will keep you up to date and allow you to brush the nests away. Spray them with wasp spray, hair spray, soap and water, etc. Keep after them so that they can't build up their populations.

  • Kimm1
    20 years ago

    The wasps that make those "paper" nests are very beneficial and seldom are aggressive. They like to build nests in my yard tool shed and I have not been bthered by them at all, even though I'm in and out of there several times every day.
    The yellow Jackets, however, are just mean and ornery, but that may be simply because they like the same stuff we do, sugary drinks in the spring and early summer, and protein later. If you find a Yellow Jacket nest you can put a large glass jar over the entrance at night and those leaving the nest will get trapped in the morning as they try to leave heading toward the light, but that does not eliminate the nest dwellers and the queen will simply lay more eggs to produce more workers. Yellow Jackets probably do have a place in our environment, but like most people "not in my backyard". The single most effective means of control is to place some Sevin around the entrance to the nest so those returning have to walk through it and then will take it into the nest eventually killing all the workers there and the queen.

  • gardenfanatic2003
    19 years ago

    In the past I've only had problems with yellow jackets being aggressive in the fall. However, last week, one chased me quite persistently. I hate seeing those little beasts come around! Sevin has been the only thing that successfully got rid of them for me.

  • tractors1
    19 years ago

    Sevin works very well, but why waste the effort and risks of finding the nests? Take a Rubbermaid-type plastic container, cut two holes in the sides, drill a hole in the snap on lid and attach a wire to hang it from a tree. Fill it halfway with tuna fish in oil mixed with a tablespoon of liquid Sevin, and enjoy watching the striped critters haul off armfuls to feed the kiddies in the nest (Binoculars help.) Hang them far from the house, and check at night. Check once a week or two to refill them. Cleared ALL my yellow jackets out in less than 3 years. Sevin is the main ingredient of flea powder, so safe for pets.

  • crice26
    16 years ago

    does anyone know what i can use to kill bees? anything i might have around the house instead of buying something?

  • Kimmsr
    16 years ago

    Since a large majority of our food depends on bees for pollination why would anyone want to kill them. Without bees we would not have any of the fruits we eat and little of many vegetables.

  • vtgreenthumb
    16 years ago

    Try hanging a handful of mothballs in old nylon stockings at the beginning of the warm season. Put one on each side of your shed. The little buggers used to get into my shed until I started doing this. Have not had any problems since.

  • Kimmsr
    16 years ago

    Since bees and wasps olfactory senses do not work the same as humans the only way the mothballs would work would be if the killed the bees and wasps and that will not hoppen in an open environment such as a shed. However, the class one carcinogen that is the active ingrediant of mothballs, will cause cancer in you as you go in and out of that shed and breath the fumes from those mothballs.

  • happyday
    13 years ago

    My neighbor catches them with this

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fatal Funnel