Yellow Jacket hive (Sheridan, Buffalo: house, crawl space, live)

[ruggedindividual]

I guess it's that time of year, the yellow jackets are buzzing. It seems I have a nest either in my walls or in my crawlspace. I saw somewhere that to estimate the size of the hive, count the number that enter AND exit in a 5-minute period, then multiply by 15. I hope someone can discount that method, because I counted 122 entering and 135 exiting, for an estimated hive of 3855 yellow jackets.

Anyone in Buffalo or Sheridan that can recommend an exterminator? I needed to get into my crawlspace today, but I don't feel like today is a good day to die.

[HighlandLady]

Ugggggghhh....I wish I knew who to recommend, but I don't. I am deathly allergic to the bloody fiends. Good luck with this!

[Kristynwy]

OMG I am sorry to hear that...

In Oregon we lived in the foothills of the cascades and we used to get underground nests a lot. They were awful little stinkers! Got stung a couple times myself...

We waited till dark cause they aren't as active after dark, and then poured some gasoline dwne the hole of their nest... and it killed every single one of them and the fumes continue to kill any that may have not died completely...

That always did the trick, but under a crawl space is tricky... I wouldn't have the first clue how to get rid of them... I am not sure who to recommend as an exterminator, but that is what I would suggest...

[ElkHunter]

Are you sure they are yellow jackets and not just paper wasps?

I had a real problem with paper wasps around here and I bought that spray that comes in a can and can "Shoot up to 20 ft". haha It worked like a champ. But I didn't have to go into a crawl space to get them.

[ruggedindividual]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Are you sure they are yellow jackets and not just paper wasps?

100% sure it's a yellowjacket problem. They've got the characteristic side-to-side erratic flight right before they land. Pretty aggressive buggers too. Tried to swat one away from me with the broom and it wouldn't leave me alone. Most wasps would get lost.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by navyvet79

100% sure it's a yellowjacket problem. They've got the characteristic side-to-side erratic flight right before they land. Pretty aggressive buggers too. Tried to swat one away from me with the broom and it wouldn't leave me alone. Most wasps would get lost.

Sounds like it. The reason I asked is because last year and this year, paper wasps have really been a big problem around here. Never seen them before last year and all of a sudden they are setting up camp. I walked around my house and under the eve found 14 nests. Sprayed them all down. A week later, there were 10 new nests.

[Robhu]

I had a large hornets nest in the wall of my garage.
My nephew works for an exterminator and he came over to check it out.
He used Sevins Dust, like you put on garden plants to keep the bugs off. I had never heard of anyone using that before.
He put the dust in a contraption like something blacksmiths used to use to blow on a fire to make it hotter. When he worked the handles the dust blew out of a nozzle into the wall.
No more hornets. He said his company uses Sevins Dust all the time.
I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself. If the nest is big it would be better to get and expert.