# Yellowjacket wasps must be EX-TER-MI-NATED! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364 "2016-07-19T22:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/21 "2016-07-20T16:20:34Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Here in Minnesota, we just creep up to the nest and whisper “Winter is coming”. Game of drones? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/22 "2016-07-20T16:24:00Z")
Lay a window screen over the entrance … block the edges well … no food and they all die. I actually allow the yellow jackets to build nests in and around my wood shop … keeps all the kids from poking around where they shouldn’t. I don’t bother them and they don’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/23 "2016-07-20T16:28:24Z")
You may have already seen this… [![](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/956/772/9ae.jpg) ](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/956/772/9ae.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/24 "2016-07-20T16:32:41Z")
You have the bucket, you have the water. Why not just mix in some fast drying cement and put a trowel a shovel full into the hole? Then slap on additional so its on nice & thick and even with the wood of the stump on the edges of the hole . If you feel artistic, write an epitaph like: ~RIP~ Mr. Bee ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/25 "2016-07-20T16:33:47Z")
I can’t endorse this mass genocide of bees. Can’t you think of a more humane way of ridding yourself of them? If I were you, I’d gets the largest, loudest stacks of speakers I could, and play KISS, Metallica, Slayer and Flight of the Bumblebee, until they give up and surrender. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/26 "2016-07-20T16:41:36Z")
How are you fixed for [molten aluminum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IugvemOyZY)? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/27 "2016-07-20T16:43:45Z")
A lot of these solutions require close proximity to the target for a prolonged period of time. Ill-advised. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/28 "2016-07-20T17:14:54Z")
I’ve used it on gophers but it should work on yellow jackets too. Take hose from welding set up and pump oxygen and acytalyne down. The hole. Once you have it full light gas. You’ll get a very satisfying thump and some flames that go away quickly. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/29 "2016-07-20T17:55:15Z")
Home improvement projects such as this require you to dress up in makeshift protective gear (hockey mask, football pads, welding mask, hip waders) while blasting **Bad to the Bone**. Extra points if you have elderly neighbors working in their yard next door that you can give a polite tip of the hat to, eliciting a comical double-take, while setting up for work. It made my recent wasp-killing project much more enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/30 "2016-07-20T19:18:00Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > I can’t endorse this mass genocide of bees. > > Can’t you think of a more humane way of ridding yourself of them? > > If I were you, I’d gets the largest, loudest stacks of speakers I could, and play KISS, Metallica, Slayer and Flight of the Bumblebee, until they give up and surrender. Yellow jackets are WASPS, not bees, bees are good, Yellowjackets are pure evil ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/31 "2016-07-20T19:26:13Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Yellow jackets are WASPS, not bees, bees are good, Yellowjackets are pure evil Yellowjackets are an important control on the population of caterpillars and other pest insects. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/32 "2016-07-20T19:41:38Z")
Wasps are awesome. I’ve heard it said that for every other bug you don’t like, there is a wasp that preys on it. We’d be buried under bugs if it weren’t for our ninja wasp and spider friends. Quit acting like an asshole and waving your arms around. Treat them like your feminist womyn friend. Act casual, make no sudden moves and you’ll probably be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/33 "2016-07-20T19:47:45Z")
I wiped out a nest under some bushes a few years ago and haven’t had a problem with any other pests. I’d rather put up with caterpillars that don’t attack me, anyway. What I did was wait until almost dark when they were in the nest. Then I stuck the hose in (fast!) and let it run for about 45 minutes. They haven’t been back. It didn’t hurt the bushes, either. Some of the methods suggested here might hurt the tree. I don’t like wasp killing chemicals because they can kill bees. I get along fine with them and enjoy watching bumbles in my flowers. Then there’s the business about them dying in high numbers. ☹ ETA: These wasps were also by the street where kids walk to school. They couldn’t stay. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/34 "2016-07-20T19:54:51Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > ETA: These wasps were also by the street where kids walk to school. They couldn’t stay. I agree. Wait. Which species are we talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/35 "2016-07-20T20:03:48Z")
Heh, try out this yellowjacket nest for size: 😃 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ynSPtTa9c) ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/36 "2016-07-20T20:11:20Z")
[Go Jackets!](https://www.pinterest.com/phigamgal/go-jackets/) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/37 "2016-07-20T20:16:04Z")
> [@AndrewL](#): > > Yellowjackets are an important control on the population of caterpillars and other pest insects. Yellowjacket nests are horrendous booby-traps. Here is one case where the NIMBY sentiment is quite apropos. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/38 "2016-07-20T21:42:35Z")
[A flamethrower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thaP_5d8ZpQ) is indicated. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/39 "2016-07-20T21:49:38Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > [A flamethrower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thaP_5d8ZpQ) is indicated. Nope, that’s not a video of flaming wasps with a flamethrower … this is. ;) ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364/40 "2016-07-21T04:36:29Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Yellow jackets are WASPS, not bees, bees are good, Yellowjackets are pure evil [Correct!](https://twitter.com/wowfactsoflife/status/466193679443832832) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowjacket-wasps-must-be-ex-ter-mi-nated/760364.md?page=3)