Thank you all.

The ground traps sound interesting.

The opening to the nest is up against the foundation, and the skirting to
the bulkhead door is too close to let a bucket cover the entire opening.

I'll talk to my husband about digging it up. I can handle surface
cultivation, but not deep digging.

We are in an area with lots of skunks, but while they waddle around the
yard, they don't come right up to the house. Maybe it's the scent of our dog
(or our late cats') that cause the skunks to keep their distance.

Adelle

"newsreader" wrote in message
...
Adelle wrote:
Hi!

We have a wasp/yellowjacket hive in the ground next to our deck. Not sure
which category the bugs fall into wasp or yellowjacket or what. They
are really aggressive and consider our deck as getting too close to the
hive. After two years of not being able to use the deck, I think its time
to get rid of them.

I hate to use insecticides, but feel that's the only choice I've got.

Which pesticide, and how do I do treat the nest? We are zone 5
(Massachusetts) and the ground is currently still frozen.

If I do this treatment, how long should I wait before planting edibles in
that area (I've coveted the spot for a kitchen herb garden).

Thanks!

There was a similar thread last year, and many folks offered up some nice
solutions. One was to take a 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 4" with very
dry sand. Put a sheet of cardboard on top, then flip it over, centered on
the nest, and slide the cardboard out. Supposedly the bees come up the
ground hole, climb up thru the dry sand, only to find themselves trapped
in the bucket & unable to climb back down thru the sand. On a hot sunny
day, it gets too warm in the bucket they die.

Another, along the same lines but more interesting to watch, is to simply
place a very large clear glass bowl over the hole. Basically the same
result happens, only you can actually see if it is working.

Both methods should be done when the bees are nice & active, probably
several months from now in your area.