Yellow Jackets and Wasps - Inaccessible Area

[snoopy7548]

Since the spring I've had problems with yellow jackets and wasps flying around. Earlier in the season they were swarming around my back deck, but I fended them off and killed a couple of nests that were built under the deck. No problems since.

I've recently noticed them flying around the front of my house, mostly around the front bushes next to my farmer's porch. I found one yellow jacket nest hidden in a large evergreen shrub which I killed a few weeks ago, but that didn't do much - yesterday I was doing some yardwork and saw some flying around, so I got out my sprayer of dish soap and water and sprayed some of them, but that only made the rest of them angry and I had like 15 yellow jackets and wasps suddenly fly out from the bushes. I tried looking in/around the bushes but couldn't find a nest.

I did see some smaller ones crawling between the cracks of the steps of the porch, so I assume there's a good chance there's a nest or two under there. The problem is it's not easy to access (lattice is in the way, and I'd get stung if I tried to crawl around the bushes).

I could call a bee guy; there's one I've used before and he's really good, but somewhat expensive - I had him out a few years ago and he charged $200 to kill about three ground nests all in the same area.

I came across serious stuff like Termidor SC, Suspend SC, and Tempo SC Ultra. The latter two seem to be "safer" than Termidor. Does anyone have any experience with these? Will they work for my problem? I figure I could use them around the perimeter of my house, and for my porch just try to get as close as possible to the underside (at night) and spray the perimeter.

 

[boomerang]

Termidor is for termites. I didn't look at the other two.

There are two big players for pest control online. You have probably gone to one of them if you found products like that. I bought a product for ant control from one of them that works fantastic. It killed the existing colonies and I did not see a single ant outside (or in for that matter) after applying the product according to their directions. I also do not have spiders creating webs in the garage in the corners. I reapplied in six months per the directions although I had not seen any sign of insect activity. I'm thinking I probably could have gone a year.

These sites selling these products are going to put a big hurt on pest control companies with the do-it-yourself crowd. Pest control companies want to keep coming back. Eradication is something they claim to be for but it goes against their business model.

Based on my experience with an ant control product I don't feel you can go wrong using a product for your specific situation as long as you follow the directions.

https://www.domyown.com/wasp-spray-c-25_686.html

https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/wasp.htm

Edit: For anyone interested the following is what I am using for ants.

https://www.domyown.com/taurus-sc-termiticide-p-1816.html

 

[snoopy7548]

Cool, thanks. I read that the Termidor was approved for yellow jackets and wasps, but the other stinging-insect sprays look like they might be better.

I might try Tempo Dust 1% first and see if that works. I'll probably dust all around/on my porch and bushes at night and hope it works.

 

[snoopy7548]

Double post... I've decided to buy the Tempo dust, a hand duster, and a bottle of Tempo SC Ultra concentrate. I'll start by dusting around the whole porch and bushes. If that doesn't seem to work, I'll spray the concentrate all around my house and porch/bushes. If that doesn't work, I'll make a bee suit out of my snowboarding clothes (and layers of jeans and shirts) and see if I can crawl under there with a red light. Beyond that, I'll probably have to try one of the hanging baiting things with some tainted food.

 

[boomerang]

I think dust might be better for your situation than a liquid. They'll pick the dust up on their bodies and carry it throughout the nest. Seems like a good way to go. Good luck to you. Report back with your results.

 

[snoopy7548]

Minor update - I dusted the bushes around my porch and in between one of the steps where I saw some yellow jackets crawling into on Friday. I was outside yesterday and I saw one (or maybe two, but they were never in the same place at the same time) wasp in one of the bushes and flying around my yard. I saw a couple of yellow jackets crawling between the step where I dusted, but no activity around the bushes even when I threw some fertilizer in them.

I might do a second dusting tonight between the steps, but it's looking somewhat promising.

 

[snoopy7548]

Final update... I dusted again Wednesday night, just blowing dust directly into the crack between the steps where I saw the yellow jackets crawling around. A whole bunch of them started swarming but one was covered with the dust, so I went inside.

Today I was mulching around the porch and I saw absolutely no wasps or yellow jackets. I was able to crawl next to the porch and look underneath the steps, and I saw a pretty big paper nest but zero activity. I sprayed it down with my hose. I think the dust really took care of them; if I was mulching a couple of weeks ago I'd have probably been stung at least 20 times.