Had the same problem last year...

I researched it and it sounded to me that nothing short of ripping the
siding off (wearing protective gear, of course) and treating the hive
would work. Wasp/Hornet sprays are not effective on yellow jackets -
they just make them angry.

I *did* find that the indoor foggers are toxic to yellow jackets. So,
with nothing to lose but $5 on a pack of indoor foggers and perhaps an
additional sting or two, I tried the following:

- I took an 8' piece of dowel (2x4 would have worked nicely as well)
and used duct tape to affix one of the foggers to the end,
strategically angling the outlet so the spray would shoot up under the
siding

- I practiced leaning this contraption against the siding - well away
from the bees - to see if I could do it quickly and if the fogger
would stay in the right position

- I waited until dusk. All my research said that dusk was best
because the majority of the bees would be in the hive.

- I opened the fogger, leaned the contraption against the house, and
ran like hell

The next day, there were *hundreds* of dead yellow jackets on the
ground below the siding. I repeated my treatment once more the
following evening, just to be sure.

Result - no more yellow jackets.

Try at your own risk obviously - I am not a professional exterminator,
and indoor foggers were never meant to be used in this fashion. If you
do try it, make sure the fogger list "yellow jackets" in the pest it
can exterminate.

-Mike


On Fri, 26 Aug 2005 02:46:54 GMT, John wrote:

Hello all,

I've got a colony of Yellow Jackets residing in the siding of my house
right next to my front door (nice, huh?). All of the sprays I've found
are expecting to be sprayed at an exposed hive, soaking it and killing
the residents. The only one I found to sound at all promising
(supposedly "foamed" to stay in contact longer) failed to do much more
than run down the house really fast. I really don't want to spend $200
- $300 to have someone come out and kill the little nasties, but
reading the labels in the pest control aisle of Lowes is about the
depth of my knowledge on the subject. Anyone have any suggestions?

- John