Yellow jackets under the siding-what would you do?

[EastWest Gal]

I'm looking for suggestions.

Three weeks ago I found that yellow jackets had found a hole in the grout of our brick fireplace outside and were nesting under the siding. It's on our deck only 4 feet from our door. Kind of ruining our ability to run out to our pool and grill food as well.

An exterminator put dust in the area, especially at the opening. It did virtually nothing. Another more extensive treatment did virtually nothing. He did not wear any protective gear, and did not try to inject anything into the hole or speak of removing the nest (which would probably involve removing and replacing siding).

It was a waste of money.

Researching YouTube videos, we thought we could probably mostly collapse the colony by vacuuming. We set up our shop vacuum within three inches of the opening, with soapy water in the bottom, used a Wiz plug, protected from the rain and sun, and can turn it on and off with our phones. We have probably reduced the YJ population by 90% and can safely go into the back yard from the kitchen, but they are still showing up .I've noticed that the best time to suck up the buggers are early morning and in the evening, so we have set timers to run the vac at those times.

I'm thinking of setting up a pheremone-based trap in the yard some distance away to trap more of them, maybe even the stressed queen.

Have any of you had the experience of a yellow jacket nest underneath the siding or in your walls, and how have you handled it? Please share your experiences. Thanks.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Set up bee traps near the nest (see links). After a couple of days there will be little or no bees left. I have used this method several times successfully. Later in the fall (when the jackets are gone) plug or grout the holes closed.
Any old sugar water or used pop will work well.

The vacuum cleaner thing you mentioned sounds like a gutsy call. I would not get near them. Bee extermination efforts are safer to do at night.

 

[Sunset]

Great idea with the vacuum.

All my experiences have been to spray wasp killer onto the nest. Are you absolutely positive they didn't go into the house and build a nest ?

Last year, I had one go in along the dryer vent into a cupboard space. It had perplexed the renters, but a flashlight and I could see it. A double treatment of Menard's wasp killer spray (more like a stream) killed them all. Then I sealed the hole.

Re-reading your post, is this brick on the house or a separate stand alone fireplace ?

 

[Gumby]

Wasp killer spray on the nest is the way to go.

 

[freedomatlast]

Wait till dusk or after and using the straw that comes with the can, empty a half a can of wasp killer in the hole. I never do, but you can wear a winter coat, heavy pants and leather gloves just in case one gets past the spray. If you don't have wasp killer, Brakleen works just as well (maybe better).

 

[OldShooter]

Wasp killer spray on the nest is the way to go.

Yup. We had a nest underneath the low step between outside and the garage side door. Could not actually get to the nest, but I blasted the opening with some power spray intended for blasting nests. A couple of applications a day or so apart and they were gone. Probably just going in and out through the poisoned area was enough. I doubt that I ever got the poison actually into the nest.

The vacuum idea is very clever but I am far too lazy to do something like that.

 

[savory]

Wasp & hornet sprays are mostly designed to allow for distance from the user to the nest. I would use a flying insect product designed to provide a wide area spray. That is virtually any brand. Use a straw to get as far inside the wall as possible. Also try the vac again as it sounds like it worked. You may need multiple applications

Wasps do not fly at night. So wait until dark and keep the area as dark as possible. As mentioned in an earlier post, close the entry preventing future infestations

 

[OldShooter]

... I would use a flying insect product designed to provide a wide area spray. ...

WADR, the jet spray designed to hit a nest from a distance is just the right thing for hitting the nest entrance at relatively close range. The insecticide is forced quite a ways into the passage.

 

[savory]

WADR, the jet spray designed to hit a nest from a distance is just the right thing for hitting the nest entrance at relatively close range. The insecticide is forced quite a ways into the passage.

Usually do not like getting into a conversation like this here, since not having seen the situation all recommendations are suspect.

The clue for me for the wider spray was the ability of the vacuum. It does not pull from 10 feet which makes me think the nest is not to far into the wall unless you ran a hose deep inside.

Also, I expect your pest control operator that used the dust felt he would have some contact with the nest. The dust would be slow acting and not go too far into the opening. A timetable of the dust application and results was not provided. Consumers typically expect faster results than are provided by dusts and baits perhaps the dust actually supported the vacuum.

But most importantly, Wasp spray and FIK will work equally well. However, my assumption is you are not able to see the nest. While you may hit it with a high pressure, single stream spray W&H product, I think you will have a better chance with a wider area poison spray designed with particle sizes that float. Unlike the dust, the spray will kill on contact.

I would spray until you see no more activity. That likely means repeating a few nights in a row. That advice holds no matter which product you select.

 

[calmloki]

I've rigged and run a nonstop shop vac for several days on a second story in-the-siding nest. Used a 20' ABS pipe taped to the vac hose that let me stay away from the wasps and lean and place the tip a few inches from their entrance. Didn't worry about any poison in the vac - by the time the little buggers hit the end of the straight away and banged into the corrugated hose they were moving at a great rate. Figured dehydration would knock off the survivors. Very few still crawling when I opened the vac. Depleted the nest before the Fall.

On another occasion I dusted them - contact blowing into the entrance with my ABS extension using the shop vac on blow - after loading a couple spoonfuls of SEVIN into the ABS pipe. This is a bad thing to do for several reasons, but effective. I am a bad person.

 

[Dash man]

We had a Yellowjacket nest inside our hot tub underneath the siding. We called a professional who came and suited up. He also used a dust, but sprayed it inside the access hole they used. He did tell me it will take a few days to kill the whole nest. It hasn’t been a problem since.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m wondering if anyone has ever had a nest removed from underneath siding and what that involves.

Here is the timeline-we’ve been patient.

I noticed the yellow jackets the last week of June. We also had mice getting the wall in a nearby spot. We hired a pest control company that basically specialized in rodents, wasps, and other infestations. We started trapping the mice outside the entry point. On June 30th the pro dusted the opening to the yellow jacket nest at the junction between the bricks and the siding as well as all along that part of the fireplace and arranged to come back a week later to patch up openings for the mice entry and retreat the nest. He came back July 6th and retreated the nest, throwing everything he had at it.

We saw decreased activity for a couple of days but then an uptick. On July 13th we rigged up the shop vac. We probably killed 150-200 workers the next day and saw a major decrease in activity after that. There’s probably 50 more in the vac chamber now. I’m thinking that getting the number of workers down will starve the larvae a bit, then have the pro dust again and wait.

I’d like to see this nest with no activity so we can enjoy our yard and pool again. We do go swimming at night sometimes.

We’re putting traps out tonight. I read that the traps should be put at least 20 feet from the nest because they don’t forage too close to the nest.

By the way, we set up the shop vac at night and used bungee cables and a small ladder to point it at the opening. A Wiz-enabled plug allows us to turn the vacuum on and off remotely, and set a schedule. We are nowhere near the nest during the day.

 

[EastWest Gal]

 

[JoeWras]

Just came here late to read this. The last response from Dash Man is a clue: i.e. a pro can handle this.

Frankly, OP's pro was incompetent. Period. Too bad it was a waste, but it shouldn't have been.

I've delt with yellow jackets DYI, but they are both tricky and dangerous. In my part of the world we have bees, copperhead snakes, black widows, and other pests like wasps. Yellow jackets are the worst and the only pests that really, really hurt me.

I suggest OP find a real pro. Why does OP have to do all this work with vacuums and stuff? Just my opinion.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I agree. Waste of money. Incompetent pro. But at least we see very few of them now. I got a good recommendation from a friend (and other sources).

 

[aja8888]

We had honey bees get under our siding and somehow got into our dining room wall and built a huge nest. Had to get them out from inside the house. Tough job and they had to be killed. Guy drilled a small hole in the sheetrock and sprayed in a chemical. Quickly killed them. Then I cut the wall open and removed the dead bees and the honey.

Sheetrock repair, then followed by painting the room.

 

[JoeWras]

Analogy time...

Honeybees are to model T as yellow jackets are to 2023 F1 race car.

 

[Jerry1]

I’m wondering if anyone has ever had a nest removed from underneath siding and what that involves.

I wouldn’t worry about the nest. It’s basically just tissue paper. They leave the nest for the winter and they don’t come back to it. Of course they might come back to that area and get behind your siding again, but they won’t be reusing the nest. The main thing to do is keep an eye on it from now on so it doesn’t get so big before you deal with it.

I had siding like that before and it’s a magnet for bugs. There may be ways to install it or caulk it do that it seal better, but mine wasn’t. It was too easy for huge to get behind mine. Thankfully, never had the problem with mice getting behind it. Maybe there are some treatments that will discourage them from entering, but I never found any. Basically, I just stayed on guard all summer and sprayed a water based wasp/hornet spray whenever I saw them. The non water based sprays tended to stain my siding (made it look blotchy).

Good luck.

 

[aja8888]

Analogy time...

Honeybees are to model T as yellow jackets are to 2023 F1 race car.

Understand, but the "guy" got stung when he was outside trying to find the way in of the bees. There must have been 10,000 bees.....there is power in numbers. The nest was very large.

We also have killer bees here (Africanized honey bees) and they are not to be messed with.

 

[MarieIG]

What do I do?

I close the door and tell DH to take care of it. (It's in the pre-nup. He handles all things buggy or creepy crawly.)

He sprays the nest, every day, until activity ceases, and then some.

 

[street]

We use too have them nest inside of large cable reels. What we did was early in the morning when cool we would duct tape one hole and spry ether inside the reel on the other end hole. Then duct tape that hole closed too.

It takes the oxygen out of the air, and they die within minutes. Come back in an hour or so and they have expired.

Fast and easy, would work great in a small hole duct tape hole punch a nail hole in tape and stick spray straw in hole and spray. Then duct tape small hole and come back a day later you would be surprised of the results.

Starting fluid (diethyl ether), acetone, paint thinner, diesel fuel, and even isopropyl alcohol will all provide a quick knock down, but again- they don't leave an insecticidal residue.

 

[Sunset]

OP - Thanks for the photo, doesn't look too bad.

I would do as others have suggested, to spray in wasp & hornet killer, it kills on contact and works terrific.
After the sun has gone down, and by flashlight, with a clear runway to run. I would wear rubber gloves and be covered up, in case of backspray, use a faceshield if you have one.
Just spray into the hole.
3-5 seconds, then leave.

See the next day if they are all dead/no activity and if still there repeat.
The nest is totally fine to leave there. I have some at my cabin that are 60 years old, they are never re-used.

Here is photo from 4 years ago at my cabin of a hornets nest I had to kill. I sprayed it from the outside as I wasn't going to open the window and invite them in.

 

[jollystomper]

We had a similar issue with yellow jackets getting in the outside siding where the 2nd floor overhung the first floor, near our porch. As many others, I drenched the opening with wasp killer foam for several days. Then when the coast was clear, I filled in the areas with a lot of caulk. For a couple of weeks I occasionally see a stray yellow jacket hovering around trying to figure out how to get back in, but soon all activity stopped.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Around here I often find them nesting in old gopher holes and elsewhere in the ground. They can be a menace when I mow the lawn. Sevin dust has never failed me. It can take a little time -- the insects have to pick up the dust as they navigate the entry point and carry it to the nest. Sprays are ineffective on nests buried that deep.

 

[goingtotravel]

A timely post!

We had yellow jackets build a nest in the wall cavity of our guest bedroom. They were entering through a gap in the soffit. It sounded like they were chewing on something in the attic space. Last week the pest control company came out and treated from the outside using a residual insecticide. Since we could still hear them and see some flying into the soffit over the weekend they came back today to treat again. The exterminator went into the guest bedroom to treat by poking a hole in the ceiling. Well, the yellow jackets almost ate their way into our house through the drywall and the nest almost fell into the room because the drywall was soft and gave way when he poked the hole in it. He sprayed the nest then used painters tape to seal the ceiling. That should take care of the issue but we now have drywall work to do once we are 1,000% sure their gone.