How do I get rid of this ground nest? There is quite a few in this hole. Got to see them up close when I mowed.

Thanks for any help. Greatly appreciated. My wife is highly allergic.

I have had great success just by dumping a little gas down the hole at night when they're not active, then placing a brick/board etc over it to contain them.

Wait until noon, then stomp really hard on the hole to block it.

If that don't work, follow BigBob's advice.

pour some gas down the hole light and step back just be careful

Perithium would be my choice. Syringe.Works on a lot of things if somebody is allergic. Should be able to buy at farm store. A spray around doors helps with flys.


Permethrin does kill yellow jackets as well as hornets, ground bees, wasps, and other stinging insects. You can discourage yellow jackets from nesting in trees and shrubbery around your yard by spraying them with permethrin as well.

https://www.answers.com/Q/Will_permethrin_kill_yellow_jackets

Not sure how factual, but mimics my experience with other insects

Ground nest are tricky to treat safely. I have treated them effectively by waiting until dark and applying Tempo 1% dust to the opening and then covering the hole with a small bucket. Place a weight on it to keep it from blowing over. If the nest is in a location that's hard to find, use a red light lense to locate it. The yellow jackets won't react to a red light as quick as they would a white light. The dust will work as well as the gasoline and is safer.

Good luck!

Suck em out with a shop vac. Then one squirt of wasp spray

Here's a recent thread on removing the little buggers

yellow jacket elimination

I like the shop vac too. Have done it for years at our house. Non toxic. Kind of fun sucking them up and doesn't take that long, just a little patience. Works on tree nests or on buildings as well. Just have to get the bees first, the nest second. Have to be careful not to plug the hose with the nest when the bees are flying. I use an extended hose from 2 shop vacs to keep a little distance. The bees seem to focus on the end of the vac, fortunately. Have done it with the yellow jackets and white faced hornets. Whacked a bunch of the giant European hornets with a tennis racket one afternoon, monsters, scary. Hope we don't end up with the Asian hornets.

Thanks for all the info guys.

Gave them a little gas last night about midnight. Didn’t see any action at the hole today.

It does not take much to wipe them out.

wasp and hornet spray down the hole and it creates a foam, done deal.

I mix and spray Termidor (fipronil) in a small pump up sprayer. It kills them all there and kills any other YJ's that comes in contact with the spray. After spraying the nest, I use the rest of the mix and spray the perimeter of the house. Follow directions! Keep people and pets away from it.

so, you just lay the hose next to the nest opening and turn the shop-vac on? how long do you need to let it run? as for killing the little buggers afterwards (I'd think they would chew out of the paper bag liner if you didn't)...maybe saturate a balled up paper towel with wasp spray and vacuum that, too?

I've got a nest just uphill from my shallow well, so want to avoid toxins.

Thanks!

I just use a Rigid Home Depot shop vac, the one with the removable blower. Never had any hornets crawl back out, even without chemicals. When I did it for the first time I thought they just might end up coming after me, but in all the times I've done it I never had any escape. Have not used any chemicals, just mechanical. Don't know if they can't get up the shoot or maybe they get slammed hard enough to mess them up so they can't fly. I never opened the lid same day to see what was happening, not that curious as the fear of getting stung outweighed the curiosity. Have been stung too many times over the years. As a young kid I sprayed a nest with a garden hose and watched a yellow jacket fly right down along the stream and stung me just below my right eye, a first and last. If you use the shop vac at night it's a good idea to keep a bare light bulb hanging back from the nest. When disturbed they go right to the light and you can vac them right up while they are flying. Had a plan one night, was going to "easy." It was really hot and the whole wad of hornets was on the outside of the nest. Managed to get them all and some wasps too without getting stung, but it was a bit tricky. Having the bright bulb nearby saved me. I went back and forth between the nest and the light. Once stirred up and flying they went directly to the bulb.

thanks, Jim!

Real men don't need any sissy light to detour yellow jackets or bald faced hornets. Bob and Weave like Ali.

I can handle yellowjackets well enough...baldies scare the dickens out of me!