I would like say hello. This is my first post and this is certainly an excellent forum.
Well I am growing pumkins, melons, peppers and tomatoes in my garden. However, recently I noticed a nest right smack in the middle of my back yard about 50' away from the garden. I am almost 100 percent positive that it is a yellow jacket nest in the ground. But I was looking for some input from some more experienced persons. Here are some pics i tried to take. My lack of photography skills coupled with the fact that I have a cheap camera explains the poor photo's
http://home.hvc.rr.com/my5mb/yellowjackets1/yellowjackets1/
My dilema is should I try and kill the nest, or leave them be. The only danger I percieve is when the lawn mower guy comes, but I guess I could fence off the nest if it would be beneficial to the garden. If it is reccomended to kill the nest, any advice on how best to do that would also be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Totallygreen,
Welcome to The Garden Helper's Forum!!
We are very glad you found us!!!!!

I can't remember the name of it, but my
husband found an organic or non~bad stuff in it, spray that got the Yellow Jackets and didn't harm my kids...
It was made with some kind of peppermint oil and some other things too, maybe Phyrethrum in it too!

But, it worked really well..........

I am not an advocate of killing animals, but if it is my kids or the the yellow jackets, I gotta pick the kids!!!

Like mom said, they can be very aggressive too!!!

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Welcome totally green!!I luv your name,really cool.
Bees and wasps are very good for our gardens but can become dangerous too.
The wasps I had last year were nesting on my front porch.And they were very aggresive.I just wanted to add.When destroying the nests,wait until sundown.They can't fly when it's dark.

Again,welcome
quack,quack

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totallygreen,

Let there be no doubt---those are yellow jackets.

I found a nice sized nest one year. I got rid of them using a truckmounted carpet cleaning machine I owned then. Turn up the heat to 300 degrees and I wet-steamed them into their yellow jacket heaven.

I'm an organic gardern and I value all things. However, yellow jackets are too dangerous for you and your family to overlook.

The only other types of bees that I know that live in the ground are solitaries, and they come in just about as many colors as there are colors~~!

Again thanks for the input. You all have convinced me that the nest must go. I have read around about some dust that can be put into the nest at night. Probably not the most natural thing, but also probably the easiest way to get rid of them. However, I do also love the idea about the steam cleaner, i'll keep my eyes peeled for one of those machines in the neighborhood. I also read somewhere that the spray cans don't work for in ground nests. neither does gasoline and a match(can catch the whole ground on fire!), nor filling the hole in as mentioned above. But what about putting the garden hose in the hole at night and letting it run all night? Just a thought, not going to do it unless it's reccomended. Thanks again.

Glad to hear you are going to get rid of the yellow-jackets. Those things can do some damage FAST! One year I had some volunteer pumpkins growing outside my sign shop. I was showing them to a friend, and all of a sudden I felt STINGING all over! Yellow-jackets had come up out of the ground and flown right up under my t-shirt! By the time I got my shirt off, which was IMMEDIATELY, I had gotten stung 14 times. My epinephrin shot was right inside my shop, thank God!

That's the thing about yellow-jackets...you usually don't get stung by just one of them. They gang up on you. Plus, they sting you on the back, where it's impossible to get them off without just ripping your clothes off. They are sneaky, and they don't fight fair.

Cindy

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Funny story...

Last year we went to our family reunion at the family farm outside of Altoona. There were either bees or yellow jackets in the walls of the house. Well, one of our uncles (who is a genius) decided to get the shopvac out and to prop the hose up at the hole where they were flying in and out of. He let the vac run for about an hour and a half. It was funny...everytime one would fly to get into the hole, they would get sucked into the vac. Anyways, when the vac was only sucking one or two in a minute, he turned it off and then stuck the hose onto the tail pipe of the a car that was there and tured the car on. He basically smoked them to death. He said "hitler would be proud"....he was joking, of course. Probably an example of how NOT to get rid of the yellow jackets!!

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Yellow Jackets: Have been battling them for many years, and have found that using a shop vac with a 10' long 1-1/4" tube attached placed right at their hole-really close, and left on for two days and nights does the trick-suck them right up and once in the vacuum cleaner they dehydrate quickly and die. I don't like chemicals, and the University of Illinois bee guys could not provide any useful help. This works-and it's safe for my grandchildren.

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Bruce

my neighbor found a nest next to a buch between our yards when he was mowing. they attacked him. figured out that's what stung my daughter while she was on the side of the house a week ago. and as i smacked it off her shirt it flew right back and landed on her head! the darned persistent thing. so i smacked him off again and then stomped it to death. anyhow- i read somewhere that you can put a clear bowl over the entry hole at night and as they wake up in the morning to come out, get confused and actually end up starving. so i took it one step further- got a can of raid wasp and hornet spray and sprayed it good, then inverted the glass bowl on top of it! saw one the next day and sprayed that guy with the raid and haven't seen another since. in another day i'll take the bowl off and fill in the hole with sand. it's worked for us. I know store bug spray isn't the greatest for our health, but when it comes to bees and wasps in this house the bug spray wins. my husband is even terrified of the guys so i always have to do the dirty work! anyhow- our nest seems to be dead...

I have a problem with yellow jackets each year due to various fruit trees in my back yard. I have found that the pear trees are their favorites. I wanted a treatment for these pests, but did not want to use any chemicals. A friend told me a very inexpensive and earth friendly way to get rid of these pests. Locate the entrance to the nest and mark the spot. I place a flower pot over the hole. The yellow jackets can still enter and exit through the holes in the bottom of the pot. Observe the nest for a couple days to see if there is a back door. Some of the hives will have two exits. If a back door is located, mark that spot also. After dark, cover completely the back door to keep the yellow jackets from escaping. Boil a large pot of water and pour the hot water in the mail entrance. This has worked for me everytime and I have never been stung. The pests are quickly killed, and my yard is chemical free!