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Lambchop wrote:Hmmm, we have yellowjackets here. They often make huge nests in walls, foundations, and crawl spaces. Upon becoming annoyed, they can swarm in such huge numbers that they kill humans and animals. We have an unfortunate episode a few times a year. The nests have to be removed by professionals.
Please be careful. That nest may be a lot larger than you think.
And, be careful when you block that hole. They WILL come into your home if they can't get out their usual way. And they'll be upset.
What kind of bothersome creature don't you have in that neck of the woods.
I agree blocking the nest will only result in them getting into the house.
I think the flame idea is neat but only if you douse the place with gasoline first. Of course some might think it overkill and your insurance company wouldn't be amused.
I had an underground nest in my yard last year. I didn't know about it until I mowed over it. I didn't know I had mowed over it until I got stung twice and saw several squadrons peeling off for another run. That night I poured petrol in the hole. No fire necessary. They don't like petrol.
(I switched terms in honor of my European friends).
keep spraying it AT NIGHT. All the little buggers are in there at night, while they are out and about during the day.
And I also agree that you need to keep a really close eye out to make sure they aren't coming into the house. They will burrow right through drywall.
Also make sure you do something to that space this winter. Spray some of that foam insulation and then put a wood plug there. Once a creature finds a place for a nest, it seems they put the information in the "for rent" space in their newspaper, and you buggies trying to live there every summer.
Lambchop wrote:Hmmm, we have yellowjackets here. They often make huge nests in walls, foundations, and crawl spaces. Upon becoming annoyed, they can swarm in such huge numbers that they kill humans and animals. We have an unfortunate episode a few times a year. The nests have to be removed by professionals.
Please be careful. That nest may be a lot larger than you think.
And, be careful when you block that hole. They WILL come into your home if they can't get out their usual way. And they'll be upset.
What kind of bothersome creature don't you have in that neck of the woods.
brianc wrote:
What goes in my traps ( I have 3 around the house) is a slice of bacon, usually the maple-flavored thick-cut stuff. .
Try some maple-flavored bacon. They seem to love it.
If I have maple-flavored thick-cut bacon in the fridge, there's no way I'm wasting it on yellow-jackets.
Alternately, I guess I might consider feeding some to yellowjackets and then deep-frying the yellow-jackets. Hm....pork&maple flavored yellowjackets. That's what I'm talking about.
brianc wrote:
What goes in my traps ( I have 3 around the house) is a slice of bacon, usually the maple-flavored thick-cut stuff. .
Try some maple-flavored bacon. They seem to love it.
If I have maple-flavored thick-cut bacon in the fridge, there's no way I'm wasting it on yellow-jackets.
Alternately, I guess I might consider feeding some to yellowjackets and then deep-frying the yellow-jackets. Hm....pork&maple flavored yellowjackets. That's what I'm talking about.
I think I read somewhere once about Native Americans making a kind of yellowjacket soup....
--James
Edited to add the recipe:
YELLOWJACKET SOUP
Tribe: Cherokee
Gather ground-dwelling yellowjackets whole comb early in the morning.
Place the insects over heat (right-side up) to loosen grubs, then remove them.
Place comb over heat again until the cover parches.
Remove and pick out the yellowjackets and brown them in a 350-degree oven.
Make soup by boiling in water. Season to taste with grease and salt.
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brianc wrote:
What goes in my traps ( I have 3 around the house) is a slice of bacon, usually the maple-flavored thick-cut stuff. .
Try some maple-flavored bacon. They seem to love it.
If I have maple-flavored thick-cut bacon in the fridge, there's no way I'm wasting it on yellow-jackets.
Alternately, I guess I might consider feeding some to yellowjackets and then deep-frying the yellow-jackets. Hm....pork&maple flavored yellowjackets. That's what I'm talking about.
if the experiment works, you carry it over into honey beez and have Maple Bacon Honey
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missy wrote:
And I also agree that you need to keep a really close eye out to make sure they aren't coming into the house. They will burrow right through drywall.
Also make sure you do something to that space this winter. Spray some of that foam insulation and then put a wood plug there. Once a creature finds a place for a nest, it seems they put the information in the "for rent" space in their newspaper, and you buggies trying to live there every summer.
Before you use the foam, you want to make sure they're really, really gone and not just dormant. Right after our daughter was born we moved into an old house we had bought to renovate. The previous owner was a real dipsh** and had done things half**s and of course never told us what he'd done. Many times we found repairs that had backfired- such as wasps swarming in the dead of winter just above the baby's cradle. Luckily I was close by and threw a quilt over her, then grabbed the vacuum cleaner and did a Hoover exorcism. When the guys in the air had been eliminated, we took a hammer to the wall (along with a can of Hot Shot) and found a nest that had been nicely surrounded by foam- from outside the house. Rather than eliminate the problem, the foam-warrior had protected the wasps from the cold and given them time to excavate a new exit inside the house.
peeplj wrote:I think I read somewhere once about Native Americans making a kind of yellowjacket soup....
--James
Edited to add the recipe:
YELLOWJACKET SOUP
Tribe: Cherokee
Gather ground-dwelling yellowjackets whole comb early in the morning.
Place the insects over heat (right-side up) to loosen grubs, then remove them.
Place comb over heat again until the cover parches.
Remove and pick out the yellowjackets and brown them in a 350-degree oven.
Make soup by boiling in water. Season to taste with grease and salt.
Doood! If I am ever in your neck of the woods I want to have dinner with you! Any one that knows traditional cooking like that is OK in my book.
"Be not deceived by the sweet words of proverbial philosophy. Sugar of lead is a poison."
As of this time, yellowjackets seem to be as numerous as ever and slightly crankier. I was accosted twice.
All these ideas are really very interesting and thought provoking.
I am thinking that, in spite of all the fun sounding ideas like the "Stinky Meat" set up (which would just require putting them in a colander and rinsing to make soup) and other traps, and the fact that any fried food is a real treat in this household, I maybe better get a professional in here because of the hidden location of the nest. Luckily we do have some businesses like that in town. I hope they don't poison us all.
I have put close to a whole can of spray in there---probably it ran somewhere else---and I'm not seeing any results at all. There may be more than I thought, as Lamby pointed out. I am getting a bit concerned at the idea of closing up the hole---it sounds as though they could make their way into the basement (which is what is directly behind the cement blocks) or even into the upper part of the house since the hole is between the bottom piece of wood on the house and the topmost foundation block. The idea of dousing the whole darn place in gasoline and torching it is appealing for a number of reasons, but I think I would get into trouble for that.
Okay, I will keep everyone posted. Anyone wanting yellowjackets for a meal---come on down!
So I was using a sledge hammer to remove an old wall near the parking lot. (I.E. There I was) then I felt several burning spots… …Wasps! So I ran inside. With rage I put on three layers of thick clothing and a pair of goggles. It was 95 F outside and I was ready for a cold winter. I found the offending cinder block (as my older brother watched in amusement from the door of the house) and I doused it with the gas that is n normally used for the lawnmower and lit it. My brother’s amusement disappeared quickly when a cloud of wasps emerged and were looking for something to sting and he shut the door. I watched as my flames of vengeance burn.
[/psycho]
"Be not deceived by the sweet words of proverbial philosophy. Sugar of lead is a poison."
Gather ground-dwelling yellowjackets whole comb early in the morning.
Place the insects over heat (right-side up) to loosen grubs, then remove them.
Place comb over heat again until the cover parches.
Remove and pick out the yellowjackets and brown them in a 350-degree oven.
Make soup by boiling in water. Season to taste with grease and salt.
brianc wrote:
What goes in my traps ( I have 3 around the house) is a slice of bacon, usually the maple-flavored thick-cut stuff. .
Try some maple-flavored bacon. They seem to love it.
If I have maple-flavored thick-cut bacon in the fridge, there's no way I'm wasting it on yellow-jackets.
Alternately, I guess I might consider feeding some to yellowjackets and then deep-frying the yellow-jackets. Hm....pork&maple flavored yellowjackets. That's what I'm talking about.
It's like they say -- better to have a fly in your soup than no meat at all.
