# Destroying an underground yellow jacket nest with liquid nitrogen **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600 "2022-11-26T18:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/21 "2022-11-27T17:57:49Z")
I would think that as it boils off, the cold gas would get into more nooks than the hot water. And also, wasps are better adapted to avoiding water than to avoiding a gas, which probably suffocates them even when not cold enough to kill them immediately. But mostly, it’s more exciting to the human. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/22 "2022-11-27T18:04:28Z")
Last summer the wife pointed out some yellow jackets coming from the ground. I was on the riding mower and I dropped the blade down, revved her up and parked over the nest. I bailed out and watched from a distance. It did work but I don’t know that I recommend it. Especially since the blades should stop if you get off the seat but my blade switch has failed. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/23 "2022-11-27T18:30:07Z")
Insects are endothermic, so the nitrogen not only freezes and suffocates them, but the initial cold front slows them down enough to prevent a fast reaction to the attack. Also, boiling water is only some 60C above their temperature tolerance while liquid nitrogen is more than three times that the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/24 "2022-11-27T18:53:56Z")
I used about half of this bottle > **[Ground Cinnamon | Fiesta Spices](https://www.fiestaspices.com/product/ground-cinnamon/)** > > Since approximately 2000 BCE, cinnamon has been a prized possession of many ancient nations. It originated in Egypt, but eventually travelled the world with middlemen of the spice trade. Runs about 3-4 dollars a bottle for that size. I can see where that would be relatively expensive compared to [https://www.ortho.com/en-us/products/fire-ant-2-step/ortho-orthene-fire-ant-killer1?kpid=go\_cmp-18863552820\_adg-141967694383\_ad-634002908376\_kwd-12484313\_dev-t\_ext-\_prd-\_sig-Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLsF0H-WWhwuHCMwirzPBSN3eAMdSNXPTKpDf\_6cqmXscDnXU-td7wUaAv4uEALw\_wcB&utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=paidsearch&utm\_campaign=G+|+Ortho+|+Search+|+Generic+|+Fire+Ants&utm\_term=fire%20ant%20killer&utm\_brand=Ortho&utm\_sbu=Controls&utm\_agency=Acronym&utm\_placement=Text&utm\_segment=Nonbrand&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLsF0H-WWhwuHCMwirzPBSN3eAMdSNXPTKpDf\_6cqmXscDnXU-td7wUaAv4uEALw\_wcB](https://www.ortho.com/en-us/products/fire-ant-2-step/ortho-orthene-fire-ant-killer1?kpid=go_cmp-18863552820_adg-141967694383_ad-634002908376_kwd-12484313_dev-t_ext-_prd-_sig-Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLsF0H-WWhwuHCMwirzPBSN3eAMdSNXPTKpDf_6cqmXscDnXU-td7wUaAv4uEALw_wcB&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=G+%7C+Ortho+%7C+Search+%7C+Generic+%7C+Fire+Ants&utm_term=fire%20ant%20killer&utm_brand=Ortho&utm_sbu=Controls&utm_agency=Acronym&utm_placement=Text&utm_segment=Nonbrand&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLsF0H-WWhwuHCMwirzPBSN3eAMdSNXPTKpDf_6cqmXscDnXU-td7wUaAv4uEALw_wcB) If you have to treat 100+ fire ant mounds. Besides, this isn’t about money… it’s about using one study to say that something doesn’t work, when in reality it doesn’t work for the amount they tested, _and they didn’t bother to try larger doses_ and then declared that it didn’t work at all ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/25 "2022-11-27T19:49:32Z")
It might be inconvenient to carry boiling water across a large property. On the other hand it would be more readily available and you could boil it with a camp stove at the location. Maybe boiling water with cinnamon added would be better. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/26 "2022-11-27T19:52:06Z")
Water of any temperature plus soap. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/27 "2022-11-28T01:02:22Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It might be inconvenient to carry boiling water across a large property. And it wouldn’t be, to carry liquid nitrogen? Plus, most folks have both a source of water and means to boil it both in their home, so you’d only need to carry it across your property, but very few people have an air condenser in their home, so they’d have to carry the liquid nitrogen from someplace much further. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/28 "2022-11-28T01:33:26Z")
That is literally one of the points that I made. Why did you only post that one line? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/29 "2022-11-28T02:04:41Z")
I’d just get [Badminton Racket Guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMN6G1E50fA) to sit out beside whatever lawn holes I’d might have. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/30 "2022-11-28T11:42:56Z")
You said you could boil it on site with a camp stove. But even without using a camp stove, it’d still be easier than liquid nitrogen. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/31 "2022-11-28T13:10:00Z")
Look around you… can you fashion some sort of rudimentary nitrogen liquefaction unit? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/32 "2022-11-28T15:40:10Z")
I’ve had good luck killing burrowing insects by pumping RTV or other caulking material into the hole. The stuff initially blocks the hole, and any insects trying to burrow out through it gets stuck in the sticky mess. Eventually it solidifies and blocks the entrance. Any insects that were trying to dig their way out generally got stuck in the stuff before they could succeed, and eventually any left just starved. Not as dramatic as liquid nitrogen or molten aluminum, but you don’t need the special equipment ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/33 "2022-11-28T15:47:16Z")
Everybody seems to be missing the point. You use liquid nitrogen or molten aluminum **because you can**. You wouldn’t think you’d have to explain this to people, yet here we are. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/34 "2022-11-28T15:57:43Z")
i would think it would work underground but above ground wasps nest we just buy the bog standard cans of fake snow around xmas and hise em down til they fall in the bucket of water we catch them in ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/35 "2022-11-28T16:07:47Z")
I watched some videos where people were using small drones to cut down wasp nests. Probably messy for the drones, but enjoyable to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/36 "2022-11-28T16:17:50Z")
I saw a video once of a drone attacking a bald-faced hornet nest. The loud “thwack-thwack-thwack” of hornets hitting the camera raised goosebumps. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/37 "2022-11-28T16:17:56Z")
My SiL and brother have a yellow jacket nest inside the siding of their house only ten feet from the door, and the walkway goes right by it. How do you get to them to kill them without taking off any siding? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/38 "2022-11-28T17:12:07Z")
Honey bees removed from a wall and relocated elsewhere. That required cutting and patching the wall. You can’t see any difference after its patched. Siding is easier because the carpenter can lift it up, remove the nails, and it will come off. It can be reinstalled over the patched wall without any damage. I think hornet removal would be similar. Except they have to be killed before removing the nest. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UGzaIDAOQX0/maxresdefault.jpg "Bees in a wall. Removal and relocation.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGzaIDAOQX0) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/39 "2022-11-28T19:52:46Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Look around you… can you fashion some sort of rudimentary nitrogen liquefaction unit? And don’t lose your shirt! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600/40 "2022-11-28T20:14:13Z")
Expanding foam insulation seems like it would also work. That shit is hella sticky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-an-underground-yellow-jacket-nest-with-liquid-nitrogen/975600.md?page=3)