How can I get rid of yellow jackets in my yard???
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I have gotten rid of yellow jackets and other bees and hornets, by placing Bounce dryer sheets around where they are, especially around doors so they do not come in. It Works!!!
Have you tried the wasp traps from rescue?
Are they in the ground?
Take a bug sapper and place it by the bush that they are nesting in. Must do it at night so you can get a close as possible. You will be amazed at how many wasps there are.
You can build your own trap using a large soda bottle. Cut off the top of 1/3 of a 2-liter soda bottle. Turn the top around (so that it's facing the bottom of the soda bottle instead of the top) and staple it to the remaining soda bottle. You should have a kind of minnow trap with the inverted neck as a funnel. Fill the soda bottle about halfway full with soapy water. Coat the neck of the soda bottle with sweet jam. The yellow jackets will try to get to the jam and accidentally fall into the bottle, from which it is very difficult to get out. Empty the bottle frequently. Good Luck!
I have two Rescue yellow jacket traps and they work really well. They don't attract bees. Don't hang a trap near where you work or play, hang it around evening twilight when they're not active and don't hang it if you're allergic. You can buy new baits and reuse the traps. I had a huge nest in my compost pile a couple of years ago which I discovered after being stung several times. I have two of these traps which I'll continue to use till I no longer see the yellow jackets in my yard.
Thanks to everyone who answered my question. I am new to site and Hometalk is amazing with all their wonderful creative suggestion and information. Thanks to all for sharing your talents, Linda
I had wasps under my diving board last year. I purchased the "Waspinator" and plan on hanging it up this year. It resembles a hornets nest - other wasps don't like that. Not sure if it'll work but it's cheap and I'm going to give it a try!
Available on Amazon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHc5LH6_O4E
Yellow jackets nest in the ground, and particularly love to have their entrances in ground cover since they can fly in and out of the plants without really revealing the hole. Go outside on a cool morning when they are just becoming active and stand still, you will notice that the wasps leaving and returning are in one area. The entrance can also be alongside something like a planter or brick, stone that is placed on dirt. If you just observe quietly, you'll see where they all fly in and out. In the morning, they are more worried about getting food than bothering you, so it's the best time to observe. Some nests can have more than one entrance so covering the hole doesn't work - but it could for a while. We had several in our East Bay (SF Bay Area) yard-we covered all but one entrance and then had a handyman use a chemical bomb. He was a person who wasn't bothered by stings, but I sure am! They hurt more than just bee stings, and the yellow jackets are more aggressive..
In my yard, I've found that yellow jackets always nest in the ground. Ran over a hole once while mowing grass & got stung 3 times before I could get clear - ouch! So since I knew where the hole was, I observed whenever I was in the yard to see if I could catch a glimpse of where they were coming in & out. In the evening, before dark, is when they go in the nest for the night. Located the hole by looking for it late evening & had supplies ready. Using a plastic Coke bottle, I filled it about 1/3 with kerosene, dumped it in the hole & smacked down a piece of plywood (anything flat & heavy-ish will do) & they can't get out & the nest dies. Have done this several times for different nests. Canned wasp spray sprayed into the hole & then covering works also. I have zero tolerance for yellow jackets!