Yellow Jacket Nest

Big yellowjacket problem at our house. Sprayed the hole in our foundation with spray, and then sealed it off with caulk. Then sealed off a secondary exit in the basement. They are buzzing and mad. I can hear them. That was yesterday. Will the nest die of starvation, or am I doomed to them escaping and getting revenge?

Where can I buy the temp dust spray? I have a very large yellow jacket nest, approx. 2' x 3' in my attic. The nest is located about 12 to 15 foot from the access door. The most important thing is that I have a child that is allergic to bees. I need your help!!!

9/17/09 I have a yellowjacket nest in a wall and I can't get close enough to the entry point to spray or dust the colony. Late summer and early fall (September in NYC area) they've been getting into my house, a few a day, mostly lethargic or dead when I find them.

Can I leave the whole nest to die this fall? I've read that I need NOT remove anything from within the wall; just caulk up the entry point once all activity stops. Thanks. Jerry

I am fighting yellow jackets this fall bad....need advice

We have tons of yellow jackets flying around the bushes that run along side of our house. We have had some on our kitchen windows and on the basement windows. I do not see any points of entry in these two rooms.
I have sprayed three cans of wasp/hornet killer into what I THINK is their entry way into the wall of our home. I have found some dead ones in the basement after doing this.
I also hung a bee trap on our bushes and have caught some this way. I don't hear any buzzing so I am hoping that means there is not a large nest. What would be the best way to kill these pests since I am not too sure of their entry way nor can I see a nest. Also, if I do succeed in killing them, do I need to hunt for the nest and remove it? Thanks!

iam having problem with bees in my kitchen i live in a apartment it all started outside my livingroom balcony they came and sealed the hole but they didnt remove the hive so im trying to find out what i need to do because i think their coming through the heating vent in my livingroom and they are coming more in my kitchen i called and told them but they say they have to put in a work order do you think their going to get worser

Hi there...so it's winter in Ontario and suddenly I keep finding wasps flying around inside my house...where would I look for the nest? And is there some kind of trap I can set up to attract them so there is less chance my kids will get stung? Thanks....

Do yellow jackets live underground too! I have some old partally rotted good ol' railroad ties where last season I saw them actively flying in and out of a hole on the end. Was around there sweeping falagstone stepping stones, noticing little dime size holes here and there, I think while sweeping dust off stones into some of thoose holes I disturbed them. Bingo! 2 got me.Lots of woods in yard and aroung house, last year dog found nest under some brush and wood, she had about 50 on her, I got me I have been stung 3 times 2 incidents, pissed I have an Epi-pen now. Little cautious by railroad ties, How to find a good exterminator, have a feeling area by RR ties is pretty infested! yesterday while cleaning us brush I could swear I hear them buzzing under there, do they even buzz? Active season is when?

Found a yellow Jackets nest with two points of entry in the retaining wall of railroad/cross ties and steps at the rear of my house. My youngest son and my dog were stung multiple times.

It's fairly easy to treat the entryways with Tempo 1% pesticide dust. Don't clost the entries after treatment. Allow the wasps to come and go and the dust will kill them off. You can buy Tempo on my website. Just paste this link into your browser: http://shop.asktheexterminator.com/tempo-1-dust.html.

Hi I have Jellow-Jacket nest above garage. They come thru under sofet of house. I've use 6 cans of spray. I kill the ones out side next day looks like they double. What is a good spray or anything I can use. Thanks

Don't use sprays. Please watch my short video at http://www.asktheexterminator.com/video/Yellow_Jackets.shtml

4 weeks ago i had pest contol in to get rid of a wasp nest in the attic of a dormer bungolow i thought that was the last of them but they are still flying round in my sons bedroom this is becoming very costly and its the third time this year i have had pest control up for three differant wasps nest how can i get rid of them for good and why are they still active as it is thick with snow outside and freezing cold

Those are fertilized female wasps. Please read http://www.asktheexterminator.com/Wasps/How_to_Get_Rid_of_Yellow_Jackets.sh tml.

About two years ago I had an infestation of Yellow Jackets in my living room cathedral ceiling (no attic space).

They entered and exited through an exterior crack where the roof line meets the wall. They chewed up all the sheetrock and used this material to make the nest, eventually reducing the sheetrock to a sheet of white paper and eating a hole through that as well.

I used "Scrubbing Bubbles" as I had nothing else. This household cleaner made flight impossible and killed them. I used my cannister vac and sucked up hundreds. Kept spraying and sucking them up.

It was late afternoon and as they flew out of the ceiling they were attracted to a high window with sunlight and completely blocked the light due to the volume of them. I used the vac extension and sucked them all off the window and those who were in flight from the opening of nest in ceiling to the window.

I saturated the entire interior opening with more scrubbing bubbles and after about an hour of sucking them up I concentrated on the nest opening with the vac. The sheetrock was so thin it too got sucked up in the vac and revealed a Yellow Jacket nest the size of a football. It stuck to the vac hose and a ran to the kitchen where I placed it on the floor and smashed it into a pile of paper and goo.

I then resprayed the hole in the ceiling and then cut the sheetrock in to a rectangular shape to later replace the sheetrock missing.

Fast forward, last night I heard that old familiar sound of two years ago that I thought was a mouse in the ceiling and in a totally different spot in the same ceiling I saw another pin sized hole with a Yellow Jacket leg poking through.

Yellow Jackets seem to love to do a lot of their chewing, grinding and damage at night into the wee hours of the morning.

I plan on following the same plan of attack as last time. Including using the bathroom cleaner "Scrubbing Bubbles".

I should mention that oddly enough I was NEVER stung las time and wasn't wearing any protective clothing either. I don't recommend this and I do plan on being better dressed this go round as it's not worth risking getting stung. Last time I had no idea what I was in for and I believe I was angry that these insects were ruining my house and the adrenaline was pumping and my anger kept these pests away.

It's NEVER worth getting stung by any venomous insect so make sure you wear protective clothing if you plan on doing this yourself and remember even if you've never been allergic to a Yellow Jacket or other insect sting in the past, your body chemistry changes every seven years and it is quite possible that you COULD very well be allergic today. DON'T CHANCE IT!

After you are sure all of your "friends" have left the house party you can chaulk the exterior entrance IF you can locate it or don't even bother because Yellow Jackets usually don't ever use the same exact area/nest twice (obviously in my case ;)

yes, I think I have some in my lawn (Ontario) and they love to drink at my bird bath. Even though I am out there around them, never been stung fortunately! They were in my soffits a few years ago but seem to have found a new home somewhere.

will simply removing the entrances and exits solve a yellow jacket problem in the ceiling?

Absolutely not.

I have yellow jackets in my garage and after wasting 3 cans of spray, we think they are in the cement wall. We can't get close enough to actually discover which hole or holes they are getting into. What would be the best way to kill them?

Don't attempt to treat a yellow jacket nest during daylight hours. After dark, the yellow jackets return to their nest. If you can locate their entry hole you can treat the hole with a pesticide dust such as Tempo 1%. Otherwise, leave the nest alone until winter. The nest will die on its own.

Termidor SC is the pesticide I would use. Can technically only be used on a nest that is on or in a structure. Simply treat the area where wasps/bees are entering structure, or treat the opening on a hornet nest, etc. Gives a little distance instead of getting right up in the hole, when used. Liquid mix with pump sprayer.

will a nest absolutely die off in the winter? i am in south eastern PA

are there any reasons why the nest would remain when cold weather hits

how long into the cold weather months should we wait until attempting to locate and remove nest in attic?

thank you for your time

Sometimes yellow jacket nests can survive two seasons, but not in the north. The nest will be dead by December, for sure.

I have a bees nest in the concrete foundation. Can I kill them with bleach?

Bleach kills bacteria. It's not a pesticide. Use Tempo 1% dust in the bee entry hole and leave the hole open until all activity stops.

I live in Oregon and a couple weeks ago I discovered a bunch of yellow jackets flying in and out of the foundation vent to the crawlspace under my house. I inspected the area to find a lot of these nasty things crawling through some of the insulation under my bedroom floor. What can I do to save myself a fortune and hope these terrible pests go away with some simple tactics? I am concerned with chemicals because of our child and 3 dogs. Is an exterminator a good route or dusting like suggested above? Please help!

Normally I would suggest that you could do the treatment yourself, but crawling into a crawl space with yellow jackets is a terrible idea unless you are wearing a complete protective bee suit. Even with a bee suit you need experience. Worse case, you'll panic in the crawl space, get stung and die. If it were me, I'd pay the $150 to have a pro do it.

I have yellow jackets in the brick wall of the house. on the 2nd floor. They enter through a crack near a bedroom window and another crack, near the 2nd bedroom window, approx. 15 ft. apart. We can hear them chewing during the night.
Will they freeze out during the winter, or with the building being very warm, will the keep active all winter? We have had a few come through in one of the rooms, but not sure where they come in. Maybe the bathroom ceiling vent, its near by.
What can be done to get rid of them?
Please help thanks Gail

Watch the short video at this link: http://www.asktheexterminator.com/video/Yellow_Jackets.shtml. All the answers are there. The nest will die, but it needs to be treated and removed to prevent other insects from infesting the nest.

Have a large nest behind metal trim around windows and maybe soffit. I can hear them inside behind the sheetrock. The sheet rock in places is soft. Last night my husband and I dressed up (netting heavy wears) and he sprayed foam killing spray into entrance. the whole can. only a few came out. they then strarted to squeeze out from another area in the soffit( a few spots)
the area seems to be aprox 2 foot from left to right and then down about 4 feet(inan upside down "L" shape (this is where I can hear them wildly from the inside) Now today I have killed 5 "inside" my bedroom now. Now what?? Is the sheet rock in need of replacing because of these darn yellow Jackets? and now what do I do?? keep spraying?? the activity has dwindled from the original entrance, where there were HUNDREDS... now they are coming in...but dont know from where.. ADVICE?? :( we live on Long Island NY..

Urgh... we thought we had closed off the way the yellow jackets were entering our living space (removed a light bulb and taped over a recessed light fixture). We were good for about 2 weeks, but somehow they have found another way in. When will the nest die off? I live in Westchester county, NY.

The nest will die with the onset of cold weather.

Suzanne: Watch the video at this link: http://www.asktheexterminator.com/video/Yellow_Jackets.shtml. Stop with the foam treatments already!

We had an exterminator treat the entry point with dust about 4 days ago. I'm still getting some inside the house, although mostly half dead, but some very much alive, and they look bigger than the first ones we saw.

There is no activity outside whatsoever.
The exterminator said wait a few more days until they all die, but it's very stressful! Since they seem to be mostly coming in the laundry room, I was thinking hanging a yellowjacket trap inside and leaving the light on to draw them out. Or what do I do, just wait it out?

Try the inside trap. Can't hurt!

I have located a Yellow Jacket nest entry point in a foundation wall near my woodstove chimmney. While I have found no workers in the house, I have been killing what appear to be larger yellow jackets (queens maybe) in a basement room 15 feet away where there is a window to allow light in. I am pretty sure they are from this nest, lost looking for a way out. I have no access to the nest and as we are in mid-October feel that leaving it and allow the colder temps soon to occur to kill it off. My concern is that since this nest is right where I'll be firing up the woodstove soon, would that allow for winter over (I am in Upstate NY). Also, since I have no clue how large this nest may be, I don't know how long I will see these queens/ males in the basement. Should I try to dust the entrance or use a trap inside the room where they are seen? Thoughts?

The fertilized queens may move towards the heat of the stove's flue pipe to over-winter, but they will not remain active, regardless. Dusting the entrance would be best. Doubtful that the queens will me attracted to a food source at this stage in their lives. They just want to "shut down" for the winter.

As a follow up, I had quite a few queens/males plus some smaller worker getting in now that the nights are colder. I took action and dumped 1 can of Spectricide Spray (non-foaming) into the top of basement wall where the sill is and luckily hit the target about 3-4 feet down with a 5 second burst of spray. Must be enough got onto the nest as I heard quite a bit of buzzing in the wall, but today silence. I ran out last night and it might be overkill but I am armed with more today and will be giving another application.

I live in Maine,Yesterday I was stung by a yellow jacket 3 times,twice on the knee and once on the hip..We don't know where the nest is or how to find and destroy it any suggestions?

Yellow jackets are extremely aggressive at this time of year. They are near the end of their lives and are mating. You either must find the entry hole to the nest and treat it, or stay away from the area where you were attacked until cold weather kills off the nest.

I live in the Northwest of Oregon. We noticed a large amount of yellow jackets coming in and out of a wall paneling outside our house. We sprayed the entrance but we didn't know where the nest could be located. In September some yellow jackets found our way in the house. In October a lot start coming from cracks in the ceiling. It's slowed down but we've still been getting a few a day. I'm worried they won't die off in the winter. our house is warm inside. But it's very cold outside. We have a few heaters. A heater is nextra to the wall we believe the nest is. Will they survive? Also, is there a chance the new queen will build her nest near the old one? In spring we will put traps outside the old entrance to try and draw her there or any others. I would really appreciate your insight.

These are fertilized females trying to move away from cold exterior walls. There is no nest. I've got an article about this. You can find it by clicking the "wasp" category found on the left side of this page.