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I stung by yellow jackets again today. I found a yellow jacket nest last week. It's underground. Not only is it underground, it's under a concrete pad which the air conditioner sits on.

Every time the A/C kicks on they swarm into a frenzy. The previous owners of the house built a platform deck around the unit and fenced it in making access impossible.

I managed to disassemble one of the deck railings and installed dowels so it can be removed and put back easily.

I got a can of insecticide with a tube and shot the entire can into the nest after getting a couple of stings. A week later I saw more emerging.

I read that underground nests are very hard to get rid of. I also read powder based poison is effective since workers can carry it deeper into nests. I was able to give that a try this afternoon so here's hoping.
 
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Pauleo1214 said:
I stung by yellow jackets again today. I found a yellow jacket nest last week. It's underground. Not only is it underground, it's under a concrete pad which the air conditioner sits on.

Every time the A/C kicks on they swarm into a frenzy. The previous owners of the house built a platform deck and fenced it in making access impossible.

I managed to disassemble one of the deck railings and installed dowels so it can be removed and put back easily.

I got a can of insecticide with a tube and shot the entire can into the nest after getting a couple of stings. A week later I saw more emerging.

I read that underground nests are very hard to get rid of. I also read powder based poison is effective since workers can carry it deeper into nests. I was able to give that a try this afternoon so here's hoping.
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Those things are bastards. I had a nest next to my driveway that kept returning every year. They also kept mysteriously getting into my basement one at a time which was super annoying. I ended up building raised garden beds (after a thorough poisoning) over the nest and they haven't returned in the last 7 years.
 
Pauleo1214 said:
I stung by yellow jackets again today. I found a yellow jacket nest last week. It's underground. Not only is it underground, it's under a concrete pad which the air conditioner sits on.

Every time the A/C kicks on they swarm into a frenzy. The previous owners of the house built a platform deck around the unit and fenced it in making access impossible.

I managed to disassemble one of the deck railings and installed dowels so it can be removed and put back easily.

I got a can of insecticide with a tube and shot the entire can into the nest after getting a couple of stings. A week later I saw more emerging.

I read that underground nests are very hard to get rid of. I also read powder based poison is effective since workers can carry it deeper into nests. I was able to give that a try this afternoon so here's hoping.
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I've had good luck with the foam stuff
Assuming there's only one entrance/exit, wait until late dusk or even nightfall as they'll all be in there.
Pull the nozzle and don't let up. Empty the can. Once empty, if you haven't discovered that there's a second entrance, pound on the ground nearby. This will agitate them and they'll try to unsuccessfully exit through the poison foam. Eventually releasing enough pheremone to rouse the other workers.
I'll dig it up the next evening. First with a fast big scoop at the entrance and step back. If they're active, leave. Return the next night and repeat until you can see the nest. Once I see the nest, I'll douse it in various substances, depending on the locality of flammable materials to the nest. Fire won't work for you though so I'd recommend hitting it with another can of foam or the wasp nest spray that sprays from aft away.

I got one huge nest a couple of years ago. A couple thousand dead ones from the foam and a few crawling around but clearly on their way out. The nest was the size of a small beech ball. Found the queen deep down, about 4.5 inches long and as round as my thumb.

They like to build in abandoned animal burrows. If you keep the animals out and fill old burrows, they'll send to not be a problem.
 
Mentaltossflycoon said:
Those things are bastards.
jwin615 said:
I've had good luck with the foam stuff
Assuming there's only one entrance/exit, wait until late dusk or even nightfall as they'll all be in there.
Pull the nozzle and don't let up. Empty the can. Once empty, if you haven't discovered that there's a second entrance, pound on the ground nearby. This will agitate them and they'll try to unsuccessfully exit through the poison foam. Eventually releasing enough pheremone to rouse the other workers.
I'll dig it up the next evening. First with a fast big scoop at the entrance and step back. If they're active, leave. Return the next night and repeat until you can see the nest. Once I see the nest, I'll douse it in various substances, depending on the locality of flammable materials to the nest. Fire won't work for you though so I'd recommend hitting it with another can of foam or the wasp nest spray that sprays from aft away.

I got one huge nest a couple of years ago. A couple thousand dead ones from the foam and a few crawling around but clearly on their way out. The nest was the size of a small beech ball. Found the queen deep down, about 4.5 inches long and as round as my thumb.

They like to build in abandoned animal burrows. If you keep the animals out and fill old burrows, they'll send to not be a problem.
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They are bastards and my first attempt was with thr foam. I did shoot an entire can of it in there but that did not do the trick. It did reduce the numbers.

I think digging might take some planning as is under a concrete pad. I dumped a good amount of powder poison and will see if that works.

They're supposed to track it in and spread it inside the nest. This supposedly gets the poison deeper into the nest than you can shoot foam with a can.
 
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A large mason jar of 75/25 kerosene/gasoline works as well.
Again, expose the nest first.
Soak a small rag on stick, dump, light, toss.
Good idea to check your mixture on a scrap first. A good mix should light easily but with little excitement. Any kind of Woosh! and it's too much gas. Add a bit of old motor oil to calm it down.
Use this advise at your own peril.
 
Pauleo1214 said:
They are bastards and my first attempt was with thr foam. I did shoot an entire can of it in there but that did not do the trick. It did reduce the numbers.

I think digging might take some planning as is under a concrete pad. I dumped a hood amount of powder poison and will see if that works.

They're supposed to track it in and spread it inside the nest. This supposedly gets the poison deeper into the nest than you can shoot foam with a can.
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That's why I agitate them by pounding on the ground nearby. I used a 4-5 inch thick branch so it provided a good thump. Have to get some of them to come to the poison. And it's kind of satisfying, at least to my sick sense of humor, seeing them perish in volume. A few would make it airborne for a couple of seconds then crash but most just crawled out and died atop their fallen brothers.
 
jwin615 said:
That's why I agitate them by pounding on the ground nearby. I used a 4-5 inch thick branch so it provided a good thump. Have to get some of them to come to the poison. And it's kind of satisfying, at least to my sick sense of humor, seeing them perish in volume. A few would make it airborne for a couple of seconds then crash but most just crawled out and died atop their fallen brothers.
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I almost feel bad for the bastards!!
 
giovanni said:
I almost feel bad for the bastards!!
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Almost is the key word there. They do not deserve anyone’s sympathy.

Story time- one time when I was 7 years old, I was at my friend’s house in the country. I started walking into the woods. There was a loud “crunch”. That was a nest. Suddenly I was surrounded by them, and they were pissed.

They had an above-ground pool. I ran to it, climbed over the wall, and held my breath underwater for as long as possible. I ended up with over 30 stings.

My friend’s mother did something I still don’t understand. She sat me down, made a mud paste and spread it on each sting. Told me to let it dry and then take a shower. To my amazement, when the water washed the mud off, none of the stings were inflamed anymore.

So yeah, I think they are little bastards. Don’t make your stupid nest on the ground, you can fly!
 
jwin615 said:
That's why I agitate them by pounding on the ground nearby. I used a 4-5 inch thick branch so it provided a good thump. Have to get some of them to come to the poison. And it's kind of satisfying, at least to my sick sense of humor, seeing them perish in volume. A few would make it airborne for a couple of seconds then crash but most just crawled out and died atop their fallen brothers.
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I have to be judicious about the use of fire, pounding the nest or digging since my mobility is impaired and I can't get away. They built their nest under the concrete pad that the A/C sits on. The A/C itself is completely fenced in. To get to it I have to squeeze between the unit and the house. Fire is not an option here unfortunately.
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Frankly this doesn’t sound like appropriate circumstances for messing around. Between the tight squeeze, the nest being under the concrete, and the fact that you said you have limited mobility, it seems like any unsuccessful attempts could put you at a much greater risk than just a handful of stings.

Call a pro who has the experience, tools, and PPE to get it done without getting killed.
 
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