It is really easy to get rid of yellow jackets without all the pouring of
chemicals into the ground. If they are yellow jackets, and the ones in my
area are different looking that bees in that they have brighter yellow
markings and their rear ends are a bit longer and pointier than honeybees.
Although I've seen a bee hive in an abandoned cesspool on the side of a
hill, bees seem to like trees and being up in the air more. Honeybees
aren't generally as aggresive and I've spent hours standing next to a
hive(when I had a few hives in my yard) and been ignored mostly...although
if a guard bee starts buzzing you it's wise to move away).

Buy a yellow jacket trap, a transparent plastic cylinder type of thing that
you hang somewhere nearby. They come with a chemical attractant and the
yellow jackets go into the trap through a narrowing inside cone and can't
get out. When the trap is full of dead yellowjackets you unscrew the top
and dump them, and set it back up again. I've used meat instead of
attractant and it seems to work just as well.

The tradeoff is time...chemicals work quickly, although their residue in the
soil stays a long time. The trap takes days or a few weeks, but when I've
used it the effect has lasted for years. 5+ years later I get an occasional
yellow jacket on my back porch looking for water, but the colony never
returned after it was wiped out by this simple trap. The trap costs around
$10 if I remember correctly, and can be reused many times if necessary.

A chemical way I tried once, before I knew about the traps, is to pour
kerosene in the hole and plug it up with something(a large rag?) good, and
make sure you find and plug the secondary entrance/exit. The fumes will
kill them. I did that in the middle of the night, when they were asleep.

Good luck

John



"D H" wrote in message
...
"glenecho" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I am totally new to this group but figured it would be an appropriate
place to ask this question.

About two months ago I got stung several times by bees while mowing
the lawn. After re-inspecting the area I realized that there is about
a 2-3 inch wide hole in the ground where bees were entering and
exiting. At the time it wasn't bad, and I'm not into killing bees
just because they sting.

However in the last month it has gotten pretty bad. My daughter and I
have both been stung a few times and the dog has been stung also. I
allow(ed) neighborhood kids to play basketball in my driveway and they
started getting stung too (waiting for the lawsuits). I've been told
they can't be bees, that they must be yellow jackets, but I've spent
plenty of time watching them exit this hole, and they are DEFINITELY
bees of some sort. I'm not a expert, but I'd swear they were standard
honeybees. They get pretty upset if you get too near the hole.

Well, they need to go. My father came over with a "sure fix" which
was to pour gasoline down the hole and ignite it. This killed a bunch
of them, but this morning it is business as usual.

The only mistake made here was lighting it. You just leave it in there
and the fumes will spread throughout the hole(s) and fumigate them all. No
more problem. I have done this more than once and never had a recurrence
of
the pests.
If you want to go a more expensive route, call your local
exterminator,
who can come out and put a special powdered chemical around the hole, and
they will eventually go through this powder to get to their queen to keep
her alive. In the process, they'll carry the poison in to her and the hive
is doomed. The queen gone, the hive scatters and perishes. I had to resort
to this when yellow jackets nested in my attic in an inaccessible space.
They were gone in one night. Cost me $35 if I remember right, more than
worth the trouble.
Good luck.
--
Off to ride the mountains, D H
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