How to kill yellow jacket wasps with Dawn dish soap + what to avoid
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- Опубликовано: 17 июн 2024
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Will Dawn dish soap kill yellow jackets? I found a nest of yellow jackets when clearing out my backyard and then set off on a mission to remove them. I tried using vinegar to kill the wasps and then wasp spray but that did not work, other than working to get me stung. Learn from my mistakes and just use what I found to be easy and effective: Dawn Dish Soap.
#urbanhomesteading #homesteading #yellowjackets 
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I don't think the givenan explanation of how dish soap works (it doesn't have to be Dawn) is exactly correct.
The soap is a surfactant, meaning it reduces the surface tension of water. This allows the water in the mixture to easily enter their breathing holes, effectively drowning them. Essentially the wasps are being asphyxiated.
I think you’re right. In searching for the mode of action, in preparation of the video, I found all sorts of explanations all loosely based on functions that lead to asphyxiation. You’re explanation, however, makes the most sense.
I have to agree with you about asphyxiation. I have used Dawn/Warm Water (5% solution) for years on wasp nests. I mix it in a cup and douse the nest. They fall dead instantaneously.
I put the Dawn in last and mix it to reduce bubbles. The warm water makes the soap dissolve faster.
I love watching your videos. My family Head a business . My sister had a business exterminating company. My brother-in-law went out one night he had a call from a dentist that day about bees . He knew where the nest was he spray chemical up in there. He’s The next day the dentist office called him from payphone told him the office was full of Bees. I told him I thought he was smarter than that
Said the office was plum full of live Bees That Cost him a bunch money . I hope I making sense I’m 72 years old but anyway I hope you can read this
@@perrydegonia5755 i don’t know why, but I find the idea of a dentist office full of bees to be hilarious. That’s a real rough day.
I love that we all turn into Latin dancers when the wasp spray comes out. 😂
💃🏼 just let the music guide you 💃🏼 😂
This is the perfect comment! My coworkers told me I was dancing out in the field after my last, most recent yellow jacket attack. I have named it the "socks full of hornets" dance because apparently that day, my socks were the most favorable piece of clothing for these tiny hellhounds to latch onto.
😂
I was thinking more like a beginner at fencing
Hilarious 🤣
I was dog sitting for a neighbor and was swarmed by wasp, resulting in over 100 stings on my head, chest & arms in less than 30 seconds. I live rural on a mountain, so I knew I was in trouble. I yelled at the dog to get in the house, & he hauled butt so fast he didn't get a single sting. I passed out twice before being able to low crawl to my house 200 meters up an embankment. I called 9-11, lost the connection, and took 3 benadryl, but my heart was pounding so fast I knew if I couldn't slow it down, I was going to die before the ambulance got here. I prayed to God to save me, and for some reason I remembered the New Years party for family & friends was at my house. I was not an alcohol drinker, but something told me that it could slow my heart down enough. I crawled to my pantry, slammed about 3 shots of vodka, and crawled out to my front deck. I put myself in the recovery position & elevated my legs. I passed out again and was revived by paramedics. I was hospitalized, had my head shaved so they could remove the dozens of stingers from my scalp. Now, I am deathly allergic & carry an epinephrine injector constantly. I also SWEAR by Dawn dish detergent to eliminate hives! Be proactive, be safe, & get rid of these hives before you, family, or friends get put into a life or death situation simply because they took a step that angered wasps.
I don't recommend alcohol to anyone, but the E.R. doctor said the Benedryl & Vodka probably saved my life due to how long it took for the ambulance to get to me. Edit: they were bees at my neighbors, I have a crazy amount of wasps of different kinds on my property, so they are always what I refer anything stinging to.
Wow 😮 I’m glad you’re ok! What a story 😥 and big hugs to you for thinking of the fur baby ❤. Those things are the devil!! They keep popping up! Seeing those pest control people come in their flip flops to just put dust in there and leave for $180 when I just need to gain some courage and timing and do my homework. I’m hoping to get there soon before this nest gets any bigger.
@@user-xi6hq3cp9t Thankyou! It was a horrific experience, but it did help me remember I am a fighter! That pup KNEW we were in trouble. I always tell folks that if their pets could talk, they would say I talk WAY too much! I do that so they know my tones & inflection as to whats going on. I tell my story so people can take steps to reduce the chance of a swarm attack. I cannot imagine a child, elderly person or animal having to deal with the attack I had! Thankyou again for your kind words & reading my story!🙂👍Edit: I have recently learned that silica spray makes them unable to fly & if you take a jar with a third of it filled with gasoline and carefully put the jar over a nest it kills the nest very quickly. I haven't tried it yet, but its worth researching!
FUDGE!!!
Crazy! Are you sure they were wasps? Wasps do no leave stings in the skin.
@synthesaurus Actually, they were honey bees that were very upset because a bear knocked over my neighbors huge hive that they never took the honey out of. I've been researching weird looking wasps I now have on my property! Great catch!👍
Little tip. Put a large window screen over the hole before you start. weigh the corners down with bricks
Brilliant ... That sounds like good defense followed by good offense!
I did the same thing with the dish soap. I covered the nest with a window screen before the soap and water. It worked perfect.
When I was 2 years old I stepped on a in the ground wasp nest. I don’t remember how many times I was bit. But it hurts. I’m 60 now and can still remember it. My house now is being overrun by them recently. I’m thankful for your video.
The bug spray would have worked too if you had done it at night. Your biggest mistake was trying to kill them during the day. Always go after wasps at night.
Great video. I appreciate the final point about the benefits of wasps.
Thanks!
Tyler, thank you! I have a nest that I discovered mowing my lawn(ouch)! I am going to try this tomorrow!
You’re welcome! Hope it went well.
My favorite for several years is "Simple Green" spray cleaner. I keep a spray bottle of it handy all season to knock down the "starter nests" as they are found early in Spring, spray any strays on windows or doors, and wipe out larger colonies as found. It knocks the wasps out of the air before they can even begin to attack. I have bad reactions to the stings so it means a lot to knock them out fast.
Makes sense that it would work since it is a solvent and would break down the waxing layer of the insect just like soap. I use it for cleaning and will keep that in mind if I need to spray them.
You ALWAYS go after the nest after dark. The nasty little blighters will all be inside. Use wasp spray on the opening and watch for any other openings. Paper nests will rarely have a second opening. Darkness is key!
I eventually leaned! 😆
Great video, reinforces my experience with getting rid of them. I have to say I really enjoyed the action/run away sequences, that's me to a tee...I have a very bad skin reaction to getting stung by them, or anything for that matter.
Thanks for sharing this one - I had heard about the Dawn dish soap treatment many years ago but had forgotten about it. You are correct - MUCH preferable to soaking our ground with the black Raid chemicals - that stuff is NASTY !!!!!! Thanks again for taking the time to explain all your steps and reasoning and help other people out while keeping the ground cleaner !!
Happy to hear you found it helpful!
Great video. I improvised a bit. Layered up the clothing, grabbed my tennis racket and the hose. Indeed they led me to the ground nest. Tonight it's bath time for these little buggers. Thanks!!
Smart move with the layers! Best of luck!
And you kill anything that was planted there as well
@@lizzieorwig64it won't harm them I spray roses in the morning with a dawn solution to help mildew black spot and remove the 7 insecticide its only a problem if you spray it in full sun or add salt or oil to the solution
That’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to get up early Saturday morning like at 4:00am. I’ve got a heavy duty Carhartt jacket, fleece lined work pants, gloves, a full face stocking cap with a scarf. Dawn dishwashing liquid, and Raid. I’m not taking any chances.
@@dallascowboys1683 You can just wait until it is dark in the evening. 10 or 11 o'clock. But, sure, they will be even less active at 4 am.
I normally use about 1/2 cup of gasoline down the hole. I do it around 10 or 11 at night. They are always gone the next day. Don't light the gasoline, the fumes are what kills them.
I may try the soap the next time to see how it works. I've heard to pour hot, soapy water down the hole too. I know gasoline works great though.
I'm used to taking out yellow jacket nests where hoses aren't an option so we just mix a cup or two of dish detergent (any kind works but Dawn has the fewest additives) into a 5 gallon bucket of water and pour it into the hole. Always be careful to watch for secondary holes as you do it. Hives often have more than one opening.
Good point!
@@TylerLloyd I made it easier with flame in a torch and cardboard, I just covered the hole with cardboard and burnt all my garbage and plastics I did it during the day, but I thought at night might be better. I thought Diesel might be a good solution
You don't need to use that much soap, it goes a long way. I leave the bucket over the entrance so I can depart safely
From a NZ sheep farmer many years ago -- return to the nest at night when they are all at home, pour half a cup of diesel fuel with a small amount of petrol as a thinner into the nest opening, plug it with a ball of clay and walk away. No need for fire. The fumes will kill them all. Fire it if you wish, but it's not necessary!
@@peteacher52 Or I have an idea. Why not use something cheap and safe for the rest of the world like a squirt of Dawn in a bucket of water
Thank you! Going to try this out and a nasty nest in our tree! All VERY helpful info.
Bless your tender little heart for having a conscience for those.wasps stinging you. You seem like a very good man.
I appreciate that 😊
Good tips. Will use that next time. The first time we had to get rid of a wasp nest in our backyard, my husband got chased 100 m to the house!
When I tried the vinegar and they swarmed, I nearly ran to the other end of my property 😆. But I’m ready for the next time they nest where I don’t want them.
I've done that miserable ,100 meter dash
Good video. I've used dish soap for years. Typically I'll put a cup of soap in a large bucket, and add 3 gallons of water. Wait till dark and pour into nest entry. Sometime I add soap after initial application and use a hose to force the soapy water into the nest chambers. Never had an instance where it hasn't worked.
Omg I’m so glad I found you. I have a small beehive in my front yard n they stung me 4 times… and it hurts a lot. It took a week and a lot of cortisone max strength to heal. 😊😊😊😊
I admire your perseverance and fortitude , after being stung I would have brought in the artillery . I have bees and wasps ( feeding off them and their honey ) in the top of my redundant chimney . It’s. Long way up and I’m trying to figure out how to remove them !
It's an annual crusade here in 30040. The dish soap works great. I use some old window screen to cover the nest entrance and weigh down the screen edges with garden soil. I mix a generous amount of dish soap in a bucket, pour it thru the screen and into the nest. Repeat nightly for a few days.
Great tip! I’ve got a stack of old window screens, so I’ll keep that in mind for the next nest.
Smart! But what about the ones outside the nest?
All the eradication advice says to work after sundown so same applies here. 99.9% of the trouble makers return to the nest prior to darkness.
That worked for me, years ago. About to have to do it again, sigh
I think you meant "repeat daily for a few nights."
Good advice. I mowed over a nest of yellow jackets a couple days ago here in Colorado Springs, and a couple hundred swarmed I didn’t get stung , but I did have to abandon the push mower for a couple days . So I think I’ll get a 2 gallon pump-up sprayer and spray them under the tree , that they’ve built their nest under . Thanks for showing a video of Dawn dish soap working 👍
Informative video. Thanks for showing several options!
Glad it was helpful!
I have probably taken care of more than 100 nests of yellow jackets (in Sweden). I use several different strategies - sometimes combined depending on the context. One of these strategies involved dish-water detergent and a water hose and this is for either ground wasps or wasps in birds' houses and similar contexts.
First - as said in this video - early in the morning (preferably on a chilly day if you can chose) and then just pour 10-20 ml of any dish water detergent (I never bothered about the brand - it always worked) and then just flood the nest with water and stay away for 3-4 days - usually all wasps are then gone - a few may still be around but has never been a problem. If it is a birds' house I usually open it - give it a week to be sure - get the nest out on the ground and just walk over it (boots!) and leave for one more day. I never noticed any leftover life in such rests.
For ground wasps - I have also sometimes combined with the use of one of these battery driven "badminton-like" rackets (tie it to a long string or lace so that you can pull it away from the hole - after you have 20 wasps on it the electric charge won't work because of the short circuit - shake of the wasps and stomp on them - then repeat until most wasps are gone - can be done in a safe way even daytime). On a few such occasions where a water hose was not an option I instead arranged with a fire in the hole after most active wasps had been killed.
Other methods I use involve the use of a vacuum cleaner with different variations depending on contexts, time of the year and so on. For small wasp nests with a few individuals in them one can use any hair spray or whatever and spray into the hole - it probably doesn't kill the wasps but they don't like it and move to some other place. The downside of this is that you may have a few irritated wasps flying around for up to 10 days afterwards but they don't seem to like hair sprays so it works (discovery more than 50 years ago when I used my mother's whatever it was - not exactly insecticide but enough unpleasant chemistry* to do the job).
Wasp nests under roofs and smaller than a fist can often be knocked down physically and just stomped on (best early mornings when it is chilly...).
Only got lightly stung on two occasions when I took care of wasp nests (and badly stung on a couple of other occasions but those times I was not aware of their presence until they got me).
* Retired now but have three different academic degrees in science/technology - one of these in theoretical chemistry... (the wasp chemistry context is perhaps more practical than theoretical...).
I have a nest in my wall (entrance is on the outside of my house)..where my sunroom meets the main house. I wonder if hair spray would work. The humming at night was more loud than a refrigerator.. It was crazy. We killed a bunch (assumed) as its more quiet, although there are some still as I hear papery sounds in the wall. Its hard to spray in the hole as it's where a few things come together (siding, etc).
@@RunninUpThatHillh I have them at the corner soffit on my house. How do we get it into the nest? I don't want to rip out part of my roof and I am a single senior lady
@@RunninUpThatHillh Call a professional exterminator. Wasps can eat through drywall and end up inside your home. This happened to my home years ago. Very nasty if they get through the drywall.
agreed dish soap works. what i used was the initial hit with soap and water from a long PVC pipe. you can use a hose. Later in the evening I filled a 4 gallon jug for a water cooler with a water/soap mixture and flipped it up over the exit hole. Sometimes nests have 2 and also the queen can be protected because the design of the nests even when you flood the opening, the hive makes a air pocket. The water jug serves a second use as the few survivors try to leave and exit and fly up and into the jug repeatedly.
Good idea with the PVC!
Damn Tyler, I could have told you this after growing up in Texas but dude . . . .
You have invented the TARD DANCE !
I loved it and it made this entire video worth the watch.
Thank you. //ji
You seriously were risking your life just to do this video.....thankyou kind sir
Thank you. I have a campsite at home that I use for You Tube. I discovered a nest this weekend while making a video. Fortunetly I didn't get stung. But these little guys have gotta go. I don't want my dogs getting into them either. Great idea, thanks again.
Happy to help a fellow RUclipsr!
I usually use 4-5 ounces of dawn in a 5-gallon bucket of water and it typically kills any nest I’ve come across. I also use HOT water, as that kills them as well.
Good to know what ratio works. I was a bit heavy handed with my application.
@@TylerLloyd when it comes to yellow-jackets, there’s no such thing as overkill!!
Yes .I did the exactly thing 5oz of dawn, a gallon of boiling water AND I added a cup of bleach...IT WORKS IT WORKS....kills the entire nest within minutes ..DO IT AT NIGHT!!
Helpful and entertaining, albeit at the expense of you being stung. Trying it tonight. Thanks
Very good brief video, with surprisingly accurate/helpful info... also rather entertaining, I thought the spraying part was hilarious, I was NOT expecting to laugh as much as I did :)
Anyway, after watching, I was armed with all I needed... I successfully removed a wasp nest.
Thanks :)
Glad I could give you a laugh and help!
Oddly enough, I enjoyed this video. Informative.
Thanks!
I just wait until it gets dark and pour some gas down the hole and light it up.
Works every time.
Keep your face far away from the hole when you do. Also hope theres no swamp gas nearby. Or farting cows.
And doesnt work if you're in a dry area because you'll burn the forest down.
Or just use dish soap
Just now went out at 10:30 ish and poured a bottle down a hole. Not a yellow jacket showed up! Thanks for posting this! I will add water tomorrow
Thank you for posting this detailed and helpful video
You’re very welcome! 😊
I've seen some professionals use a soap hookup with a pressure washer, and you can absolutely decimate wasps with it. Especially nests up high, or with big swarms. I even use this trick on a smaller scale in the garden with aphids and gnats.
Another use for a power washer !!!!!!!!!
Dawn is good for many things. No household should be without it. Oddly, I've rarely washed dishes with it.
Agreed and same!
😂
And now they came out with power spray! Mwahahaha
That was me with the spray foam! I have some pretty mean new dance steps for the next wedding I’m at!
Thank you for your video! ❤❤❤
ALL summer, I have been dealing with one type of wasp or another. Then a behive, the size of a grapefruit, hanging from my roof. Mind you, I've been in this house 43 years and have not had such a RIDICULOUS problem with bees and wasps like I did this year!!! The final straw was an underground yellow jacket nest. As I already use Dawn, I bought a LARGE bottle. I took the cap off, laid it next to the nest and let it run into the nest. About an hour later I followed the Dawn with 3/4 bucket of warm water. Now I wait. I will wait until tomorrow to check (visually!) the ground around my flower pot to see the results. (The ground around most of the pot was raised.)
They had to go ... I have family that is allergic along with a neighbor.
Did it work?
I've been stung by them before. They are sneaky little buggers.
I've used Dawn mix to kill them or regular wasps, nesting in the wrong place. The first time I used the Dawn mix, I swore off retail "Wasp spray".
It worked so great! 🤩
Glad to hear it has worked for you as well. Nice to know that my experience wasn't a fluke!
I have heard of this technique for removing aggressive beehives. Came here to make sure it works on Yellowjackets before attempting. Can confirm their stings are unpleasant 😅
It works!
If it is a BEE hive then contact some beekeepers - they will come and take the hive and make use of those precious bees - DO NOT KILL BEES.....
This is wonderful & helpful.
You explain everything very clearly & in a non annoying way (unlike many RUclips channels😂)
Glad it was helpful! And that you didn't find me to be annoying since I sometimes get annoyed by myself when I edit my own videos 😆
No, not at all! But I can totally imagine having to see myself on video when editing and it would be painful!
So kudos to you Mister.@@TylerLloyd
That’s helpful - I’ll try the dish soap if there is a next time. I couldn’t help giggling at the evasive maneuvers when you were spraying them from a distance. We had a big colony in our little orchard and just did a can of yellow jacket killer directly into the opening and then ran like hell. It worked, though. Many years ago when there was a nest in the yard, we poured in a little gasoline at night and then threw lit matches at it until it went up in a fireball. Stupid, I know, but wildly entertaining.
Gas and a match definitely works, but I’m always afraid of starting a brush fire.
You are hilarious! It sucks when we can’t really co exist with critters. Yellow Jackets are no joke and I am thankful you shared this!
I try my best, even though it feels like some of the comments want to call me a mass murder. I love and value all animals, but I’m part of nature just as they are and trying to carve out my little place to exist as well.
@@TylerLloydmass murder is acceptable with wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, fire ants, etc. They'd murder us if they could without remorse. ,
I’ve used dishwashing soap several times on wasp nests. Very effective. I put a cup of it into a gallon sprayer, so I can direct a soapy stream onto the nest. They drop instantly. I suspect that less soap may also work, but I haven’t been able to find the precise formula online.
Good idea with the sprayer. After getting stung a few times, nighttime was my preferred option.
Very nice, I am currently at war with a yellow jacket hive & this might come in handy. I especially like that you were curious enough to know why that works & share what you found. Tyvm.
Delta Dust. A few puffs at dusk, hive dead.
I have them going into a small opening under the eaves under a track of lights that I had installed last year. I wonder if there is any way to get the Dawn dish soap up there? I'm glad you found a way other than using insecticide. I guess that's why they use the powder to get them, like you said it removes the oil.
I was stung 5 times this summer clearing my back yard. I am a bit hasitant to go there now. I am gonna try the soapy water thing as soon as I get some time.Thanks.
In my teens I worked as a house painter in Texas. Whenever we came across a Yellow Jacket nest on a house we would tie a wad of newspaper to the end of a pole, light it on fire, and use it to burn the nest. This method was quick, efficient, and 100 percent effective. There were never any survivors and it was over in seconds.
did you burn down any houses, in addition to the bee nests, using this method?
@@silversage2728 just minor collateral damage 😅
Looks like I’m going with Dawn. How I found the nest in my outer backyard, I mowed right over them and luckily didn’t get stung. Thanks for the video.
Impressive on not getting stung! Hope it works as well for you as it did for me.
You were lucky. I once stepped in a ground nest in the woods while getting firewood. They quietly climbed up between my boots and pants legs then started stinging at the top of the boots. Pain city.
@@dianamcanally5515 Crawled up your boots..Damit! I figured that Yellowjackets would just swarm and sting. I ended up purchasing a Try-vex PPE bee-wasp nest removal suit off of Amazon for like $50.00. I went to exterminate them, but the whole in the ground is small and hard to see in the middle of the night. I’m going to use gasoline.
Thanks Tyler for your information.
Was able to use my pump sprayer filled with the stuff (dawn, water and vinegar) from a distance and spray a nest that was on my roof inside the attic air vent. I remained on the ground and shot it way up so it came down like rain on the vent and they started coming out like crazy, falling dead in less than twenty seconds. Went up on the roof afterward to remove the nest with the end of a coat hanger, and wow it was the size of a baseball and full of larvae gross! Great video! Thanks for posting.
You’re welcome and I appreciate the tips for hard to reach nests!
Along with doing this at night, it's good to place a screen weighed down with a rock or brick to prevent them from getting out and stinging.
in my woods, I stepped right ON a nest, must have crushed part of it, normally they swarm around below the knees, this time they swarmed me, chased me down the road for a mile. One sting is annoying, but 30 is dangerous. Swollen arms and hands, way past annoying. Just a reminder to pay attention when walking through wooded areas. There will be one small hole and a few wasps coming and going. Also; Tyler is not allergic and can get away with short sleeves.... when going after a nest, cover all areas with thick clothes, they can sting through pants and gloves,
Great point on the long sleeves! And good reminder to stay aware when out in nature.
Thanks I will try this. I have a ground nest in flowers up against the house.
Good luck!
Thanks Tyler, I tried this way and worked perfect
Great! I appreciate you letting me know. 😊
Dawn dish soap is awesome. It works better than tomato sauce for skunked dogs. Here's what works: 2 tbs of dawn dish soap, cup of baking soda, half cup of peroxide. Mix with water to make a watery paste. Massage onto skunked dog. Let stand about 5 minutes. Rinse pup and reapply if needed. This works better than all other treatments for skunked dogs. Trust me on this one. My dogs got skunked 4 times last year alone.
I 100% agree it works, that is what I use when one or more of our dogs get skunked after learning the hard way to NOT take them straight to the bath!
Appreciate the tip! I haven’t seen a skunk on our property, but my dog goes after anything that moves.
@@dawn_keyes One time after my dogs got sprayed they ran back into the house and started rolling around on my mattress. RIP bed mattress! God that smell is something else up close!
@@stansmith4054 - I know what you mean. I had 2 out of 5 get skunked at the same time and my husband opened the door to let them back in and they did the inevitable slide across the livingroom carpet and up on the furniture (that was luckily covered at the time) But, I was finally able to get rid of the carpet without any complaints that time.
Hope this helps (posting in several vids because you all have been helpful to me) - I wanted a non toxic (as possible) solution to wasps/ yellow jackets. My children have been stung terribly by these things, so it was my turn to deal with it. I found their location through keen observation - just watching insects come and go and found a large concentration of them going into the ground, which was home for them. I was inclined to use gas, but then learned 1litre is enough to poison 1Million litres of ground water. No bueno. So I used regular tap water and four kinds of soaps: dish, a liberal sprinkling of "Comet", 3 dishwashing machine dissolvable pouches and 2 scoops of borax/soap flakes. Suffice to say there was enough bubbles for Africa. I carried a very large bucket of water (half a metal full size trash can worth) to the location, far away from my home. It was heavy going as I am fat. Tip: use a stout stick to help with the digging in of the handle by carrying the stick under the handle. I went at 9pm on late summer night. It was dark out. Using my head flashlight, I located the hole. There were dozens of them still buzzing around the hole. I was dead afraid having been stung by these before. I decided to forgo the funnel, steel wool as some advised. The hole was just far too big. I poured the water and the foam overwhelmed them. I poured about half quickly, then calmed down and poured till it soaked into the hole. Observed for a second, then got chicken and poured more in spurts, until it was all gone. I was shocked at the size of the things guarding the entrance at night. These were easily half as long as my tip of thumb to thumb joint. Not as thick obviously, but seriously large. Yellow jackets on kind of steroids. I saw them all on the surface completely motionless (I read the soap dissolves their wax, filling their spiracles, which drowns them instantly). After all was poured, I waited ten seconds at the hole and saw nothing come out. I was still scared in case there may be workers still coming back to the nest. I got out of there and will go look at it tomorrow/next day and report back if there is interest.
Thank you for sharing! What did you find the following day?
@@TylerLloyd my pleasure. The next morning I found activity at the wasp net entrance, though the big boys were dead, and severely diminished in terms of numbers. Not good enough. Last night I went with an acquaintance, and we poured double the amount of the soapy (hot) water concoction in at night time. There were no guards on duty. I poured my large container in slowly, and then he did his. We found several stragglers possibly coming from a second entrance close to the original gaping nest hole and doused those. The soap kills quicker than wasp spray poison I have found - back to back tests within 12hrs of each other. This morning I went to check twice. Before 7am and now at 1030am with sun. There were about 5 wasps in total buzzing around, I sprayed poison onto them and onto the nest entrance quite thickly. Otherwise, quiet and dead still after observing ten minutes. I might go again tonight to just rid the nest of any other wasps near the entrance. Feels way less stressful with about 99% of them eradicated. I am a believe in this method. Less environmentally negative than other methods. With limited water supply (no hose), it requires a few dosings. No big deal. And highly effective.
@@LitoGeorge thank you for the update! And yes, without a hose it makes it a little harder but still better than other options in my opinion.
@@TylerLloyd once again, my pleasure. Great news is that I visited the nest site 4x today throughout the day. The nest is dead. No flying wasps, although there are a load of them dead in the entrances. Safety along the route, resumes. Thanks for the tips, advice, experiences all. Cheers Tyler
Thank you, and with the numbers that exist one less nest isn't going to harm the species
You can also use a pump up sprayer with water and dish soap to spray any nests that are not in the ground.
we had a nest located on a steep slope and up under some roots. could not get close enough to pour anything into the hole. So I took a large shopvac, added the longest hose and attachment I had and just slid it up near the hole. As the wasps came out, or tried to return, they were sucked up into the vacuum. I left it there, running, for about 2 hours and got most of them. A few were still returning to the nest, but a shot down the hole of spray and the nest was done. I think the Dawn idea is probably a more reliable solution in the long run.
😆 i love the many uses of a shop vac but never considered doing this. Not a bad idea!
Also, you can also fill the shopvac about 1/3 full of water-dishsoap mix. It will kill the insects when they hit the drink.
This is the second brilliant solution I have found in the comments!
Dawn dish soap is also great for fire ant mounds (in the south).
Good to know!
I have bumble bees in a hole on the floor of my garage. I used Javex bleach in water to deter them but it was not effective. I will use dish soap next. Thank you for posting this video.
You're welcome! I love bees, but would not love them in the middle of my workspace.
very helpful just discovered my hidden pest ... perfect timing
Glad it helped!
There was a large nest in the ground in my backyard. I put on my beesuit and studied the spot and noticed that there were two entrances. So I took a couple of large branches and jammed them into the entrances as deeply as I could. I wondered if they'd dig their way back out but the yellow jackets never reappeared.
Nice! I eventually want bees so if I have a bee suit, I’ll try this out.
@@TylerLloyd I built my first top bar hives in 2009 and then added langstroths a few years ago. Even if I didn't have bees, my suit has come in handy more than once when dealing with wasp nests.
I did something similar with a nest in a rotten tree that had several entrances. Took a big commercial roll of plastic wrap and wrapped the tree a dozen times one cool summer evening. Several months later we cut down the tree and it was nearly hollow and full of dead yellow jackets
I've always used the non ecological method. Gasoline. I'm glad to know that dish soap works. I've also noted that yellow jackets seem to have mutiple holes.
This one is kinda funny & discovered by accident. My son & I use to make a trip every summer to a tiny cabin my dad built on my great grandparent's homestead in Alabama. On the way, we stopped at fireworks warehouse in MS & bought this HUGE box of assorted fireworks on clearance for $20! Several of those things they called artillery shells, that came in a box with a launcher & 4 or 5 of these round balls with a fuse, little bit bigger than a golf ball. You would light one, drop it in the launcher & run away, producing really cool display, like you'd see at a fireworks show. Well, unbeknownst to me, my son decided he wanted to set a few off during the day, while I was out working on the tractor. When I got back to the cabin, I saw a hole in the ground with smoke coming out of it & knew what it was by the smell. He got a scolding & was told never to do it again, without adult supervision, done. The following summer we return to find that spot had sunk down about 6", about an area the size of a football. Curious, I dug it out & found a charred ground hornet's nest, about the size of a football, LOL An expensive way to kill them, but it worked & I imagine a satisfying method had you been stung.👍
Thanks, trying this tonight. Got stung 3 times today.
Be aware that most colonies have a second entrance. If you can find it, either treat both or cover one entrance with a board. I haven’t tried the Dawn treatment, but I’ve had good results with Sevin dust. Just dump a lot of it on the entry and the wasps will get it on themselves and carry it into the nest. This may take 2-3 days to get all, but works really well
Dealing with an infestation right now. Have a nest with 3 entries! Each time I though I had it they popped up. Haven't used dish soap yet but it's going down the hole tonight. 3 active nests going on currently
I have taken out 2 yellowjacket nests this summer with sevindust. I go out at night right before dawn and ease a spoon of dust into the entry. No muss no fuss.
It has worked for me. Put it in an empty dish soap bottle stick it in the hole and you squeeze so the dust blows into the nest
Sevin is Carbaryl. Extremely toxic. Cancer-causing. Look it up.
I feel your pain...literally. I tried vinegar and had the same results. Here is what worked for me: I went out after dark with a large pot of boiling water and poured the entire thing down the hole, and that was the last I saw of the yellowjackets. Problem solved.
Glad the boiling water worked! If I have a nest that isn’t super far away from my kitchen, I’ll give that a try.
@@TylerLloyd Yes, it worked perfectly. I should have mentioned I also tried flooding the nest with water via garden hose but it wasn't effective as they came back.
@@misterdrummings did you do dish soap and water hose, or just water hose?
I love the environment but also love my yard, don't like getting stung (as I have had a lot of run-ins with ground hornets), so Dawn dish soap it is. Thanks for the tip!
Totally agree!
Another thing that's worked well for me on about half a dozen ground wasp nests is to sprinkle about 1/4 cup of Sevin dust at the opening of the nest. The wasps carry it in on their wings and kill everyone on the inside as well. Within 24 hours there is no activity. I use a Dollar Tree water squirter from the beach/toy section to suck up the Sevin dust if I don't want to get close to the nest at night.
I have killed off 4-5 of these nests in my yard in the past few years. The method I use is boiling water - boil water in an electric kettle, then at night (9pm or so), pour the entire kettle down the entrance of the nest. This has been super effective in my experience, and it's environmentally safe. Sometimes I have had to return the following night and do it again. Doing it at night ensures that most of the yellow jackets will be in the nest. Good luck!
Appreciate the suggestion to simply use boiling water. Even better than soap!
We tried boiling water this week, and it didn’t work for us. :(
@@debragraff4649 have you tried dish soap yet? Others mix it with water and then pour, but I liked my squirt and then hose method. Just have to be able to reach the nest with a hose.
@@debragraff4649 What happened? How much water did you use? On the last nest I had to do it three (!) nights in a row before they were all gone - perhaps I did not use enough water the first 2 times.
I’m Southern. I just used Dawn Dish Soap at 6:30 PM when the temp dropped to 55 degrees so they are cold and quiet. We are used to this yellow jackets are always a problem.
I don't remember them being a problem as a kid, but they sure are an issue with my new house.
@@TylerLloydBengal dust works or pour some powdered sugar with it
dishsoap is the way to go for home purposes for sure
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels bad about killing the yellow jackets. But they engaged in war. They swarmed me on my front porch a month ago, stinging me 8-10 times that lead to cellulitis (a secondary infection). I just found their nest in my pumpkin patch. Toxic chemicals are not an option. Thank you!
Dish soap is amazing for many pests. We had an Aphid infestation that was greatly mitigated with a spray of dish soap water - Now the Ladybugs are doing the rest :)
It is! The one thing I will caution is that the soap does not discriminate and will kill any insect, the good and bad. So like you said, use when they’re out of control and then allow nature to keep them in balance.
You can also mix some daqndish soap in water in a sprayer and add some peppermint oil . This mixture is good for spraying under your roof eves to deter them. They dawn dishsoap helps the peppermint oil stick to the surface when it evaporates. I use it around all the door racks in my cars as well so they dont make nests there.
Nice! Do it at night when they are all in the hive and cooler.
In the Midwest yellow jackets do not 'over winter'. The colony dies after the first hard frost. Although, queens that were born in the same year will over winter deep under tree bark, attic space, or some other confined area and start a brand new nest in the late spring or early summer of the next year. Great video, personally I prefer using pesticide dust for yellow jackets.
Sevin dust. Sprinkle in the hole when they're inactive before dawn or after dusk. Whole nest dead within a day.
Or you can target them with soap 🤷♂️
To avoid the stings wait until after dark to spray the nest.
Agreed! No need to try and dodge them like I first tried 😆
I had a yellowjacket nest near my garden that I wanted to get rid of, but I didn't want to use chemicals. I read that if you put something solid over thge next, they'll just dig around it until they find light. So I used a large inverted glass bowl instead and sealed around it using spray foam. When I checked the next day, I could see them in the bowl. A few days later, all activity ceased and the nest was no longer active.
Sounds like a good environmental choice.
Thanks, that’s what I was hoping for.
can I ask you a question? I was clearing areas out yesterday in the yard. nothing happened. it wasn't until 8 hours later something started to swarm over the entire yard into the neighbors yard, but the most were hover over the ground. they were so fast we couldn't see them with our eyes and too fast to get a picture. could you see yellow jackets if they are swarming?
Do a search for "ground / digger bees".
We had some in our yard.
They don't really hover, but buzz quickly around a small area (a few inches) and stay near the ground.
Their markings are not as bold as yellow jackets, which might make them harder to see (as per your description).
They apparently have stingers (I just found that out). I thought they didn't, as I've never been stung, and walk right through their area just like I would ant hills. They did have a space about 3-4 feet square, every year for about 4 years. This year, they are gone. Idk if it's because it's getting more foot traffic there, or bc the ants moved in.
I hope that's what you have. So you don't have to worry about getting stung.
But be careful. If they're yellow jackets...(I just got stung 2 or 3 times today)
Good luck.
I agree with Daniel, they may not be yellow jackets. What did you end up doing?
Great video and explaination
Glad you liked it!
If you can get at the nest, you can move it. Get a bucket with a lid and go out quietly at night, cut down the nest right into the bucket (hold bucket as close under the nest as you can of course) and capture it inside and slap on the lid. Move it somewhere (far far away!) I've moved wasps a couple of times this way and it works a treat. Go back in a few days, and the nest is deserted. Unfortunately right now I have an aggressive nest in the double wall of my horse stall. I am going to go out every night and spray it down with soap and water from the top. I doubt that they would be bothered by peppermint since there is a tonne of it growing around here.
A quick fyi, I was never allergic to yellow jackets either, until I got stung by one last year. I had been stung many times by them over my life time, so I was puzzled how I became allergic to them. The doctor said, that people can have an allergic reaction at any time to anything. So be careful with these things, 1 sting put me in the ER.
Great point! I’m not currently allergic but that could always change with the very next sting.
I was just hospitalized w a wasp sting, wheezing, chest pain, vomiting, passing out like coma, falling, concussion: Life threatening. Be careful. Docs said that allergic reactions could happen any time. So scared of them now. EpiPen a must.
@@miming4015 Isn't it scary that a little bug can be so life changing, and not in a good way. I can empathize. One of my favorite things to do was cut grass, and now I don't even want to take a chance.
Perhaps it’s been said here but Sevin dust is very effective. Dump some in the hole and a day later they’ll be wiped out. It’s safe for use in gardens and kills many types of pests.
harmful to living things and environment
Good to know. I just discovered a nest in a flower bed
First, set a yellow jacket trap with the Shawn Woods method of chicken attached to the bottom of a board setting about 2-3 inches above a tote filled with soapy water. Once that has run its course, use a cheap Super Soaker filled with soapy water. The key of course is the soap, which as explained in the video, effectively suffocates them.
I have to admit to being surprised by the effect of Dawn. Generally, when dealing with pests, I opt for discourage rather than destroy.For small bees nests, I've had good success with urine; an old farmer's solution. For larger nests such as yours, I set up a fine mist hose spray. These take days to be effective but my feeling is that products that kill organisms may have undesirable effects on me; myself being composed of organisms. Plus many of those products preclude uses such as growing food or skin contact with the contaminated soil.Also, may present a danger to pets and other unintended consequences.
Edit: @5:14 You make the case why many people want OTC pesticides banned when you use (misuse) the product on a whim. It may not be safe to grow edible fruits and vegetables in that soil.
I am the same. If possible, remove whatever is drawing them to the area or encourage their natural predators.
ummmm.....gas, just pour some gas in the hole when its dark. fumes kill em and they cant/wont use the hole again
Yeah, but then it would contaminate the soil, so that is a no go for me.
Tyler, I found a Yellowjacket nest in a barrel composter bin I have in the corner of the yard. They are going into the barrel through small air holes. Will a pump sprayer with water and dawn work? They are not in the ground just inside the composter. The next day I found another nest in the ground next to my pool filter, that one will get the “dawn of the dead “ treatment! Thanks for the info….
Very informative and thank you for making the video. Just wondering if the dish soap will work as well on other types of wasps and hornets.
You cracked me up with "big soap money".
Got stung 5 times a few days ago, while mowing. Found a large yellow jacket nest. I waited until dark and poured a half gallon of water and dish detergent into the hole and jammed a rock into the opening. Two days later, no more yellow jackets. Life is good!
How much Detergent do you use?
I use 2 kinds of soap combined. Dish soap and the thicker hand soap. Hand soap is sticky, weighs down wings and more thickly covers. They work together to work faster.
Dawn for Yellow jackets. And Palmolive for Rosie You have had to live to understand the latter😀. Great video
Thanks! Saved money not purchasing the traditional wasp spray from the big brand store.