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I have a similar problem with ground bees. They look like small bumble bees but are in a rock garden that I am trying to turn into a raised vegetable garden. I am sifting through the dirt to separate the rocks from the top soil and have found several holes. The bees did not sting me yet but I have not found the nest yet. I have about 2 inches of rocks to sift through and am not sure how deep I can dig before I find the next. Any suggestions? I don't want to get stung but don't want to be surprised if my shovel hits the nest.
Watch from a safe distance and locate the entrance(s) to the underground nest. After dark, pour the Sevin dust into the holes into the nest. Bees will get coated with the dust and bring it all the way into the nest. The nest will die in a few days.
Has worked for us with yellow jackets.
Your mileage may vary. Be watchful and make sure there are no outside bees still active.
I recently purchased a home in northern Durham county and am really happy with everything - except the bees that live in the ground outside my front door. I utility technician told me they were yellow jackets and can be very aggressive if disturbed. I haven't had any problems yet, but am concerned about the first time I have to mow the grass - assuming it ever rains again!
I don't want to treat them myself - I'm a wimp and am too chicken to apply products myself. Old-timers tell me to pour gas down the hole and run like the Devil's chasing me.
Can anyone recommend a pest service to remove them? Thanks in advance!
my dad tried the gas method. on the bright side he killed the bees, but on the other bright side, he never had to worry about cutting the grass in that area again. even now it's just weeds and crabgrass... try a lot of rubbing alcohol or something that won't stay in the soil
Please do not pour gasoline or kerosene into the ground!
The easiest and safest method is to buy a can of yellow jacket insecticide (Lowe's, Home Depot, or any garden store will have it). Make sure it's specifically for yellow jackets. The can sprays about a 15 foot stream, so you can stand safely away from the nest to apply it. Simply go out at dusk or later (a flashlight will help), spray the entire contents of the can into the hole, and you're done.
On second thought, that ^ is not the easiest and safest method. The truly easiest and safest method is to have raccoons discover the nest. No fooling--I once found a large yellow jacket nest in my yard. When I came out the next day to check it out, it had been completely dug up (it was about the size of a basketball!), and there were no yellow jackets to be found. There were raccoon paw prints all around, though, so I knew they had done the deed. I asked my county extension agent about this, and he said it's true that raccoons will raid nests--they'll eat both larvae and adult wasps. Amazing, huh?
Please do not pour gasoline or kerosene into the ground!
I have to agree with that, and yet at the same time I've violated it in the past. Years ago, I had a nest of bees in the ground in my backyard. They swarmed out en masse each evening - quite a site to see. I tried everything to get rid of them - powdered poisons, spray killers, hose end bug spray, etc. Nothing worked. A rural native "old timer" I worked with told me about the gasoline method, and in desparation I poured about a quart of gas down the bees' hole. Worked like a charm. (And it did nothing to my grass.) I certainly wouldn't start with that method, and maybe the bug killers of today versus a few years ago are more effective.
We have a TON of underground nests in our backyard, with many entrance holes. I've used dish soap and water (not boiling, just from the garden hose) and it kills them for the summer, but they come back each year. I just squirt a good dose of soap into the hole, then squirt a direct shot of water into the hole for a few seconds. I do it at dusk, as the sun brings them out, but they're in the holes and don't come out in the evening.
This works too and does not require pouring dangerous chemicals in your yard, to get in the groundwater and eventually into someones well.
An easy non-poisonous way to get rid of them is to put a glass bowl over their nest. You must do this after complete dark to make sure they have all returned home. The next day you will see them trying to leave the nest. The glass is important because the bees will not try to dig their way around it as it seems easy to fly away but they keep trying and trying. Eventually after a few days the nest dies of lack of food and water.
My wife DID mow over an undetected yellow jacket nest, and received several dozen stings as thanks while she fled. Being a methodical, eye-for-an-eye sort of guy, I formulated plans for a counterattack.
Step 1: go to HD/Lowes and purchase a foaming insecticide spray intended for yellow jacket nests
Step 2: wait until dark
Step 3: bundle up in thick winter clothes from head to toe (another reason to do this at night)
Step 4: sneak up to hole and blast insecticide directly into nest, continuously, until foam completely fills the hole
Step 5 (next morning): pour large pot of boiling water down hole, allow to simmer
Step 6: insert hose far into hole and flood hole
Step 7 (next day, assuming no visible activity): wearing good running shoes, dig up nest and vengefully stomp into oblivion
(optional step 8: remove winter clothes)
Surprisingly, there were still living larvae in the nest following this assault, though adults were indeed lifeless.
It is worth noting that the nest can be several feet down a hole that initially goes vertically down, and then turns horizontal and even up for a distance before the actual next structure. Presumably this keeps them dry in heavy rains.
...of course, this is a coming from a guy who, as a kid, would catch several hornets/yellow jackets in a jar, roll it down a hill, and watch them fight
I am resurrecting this thread to see if anyone can answer my yellow jacket question. I went out a little while ago to dig out a couple of dead azalea bushes. As the roots of the first one popped out of the ground, so did a swarm of yellow jackets. Fortunately, I am fast when I have to be.
After reading about the experience of others, I am trying to figure out where the second hive opening might be. There is a second dead azalea about 2' below (on a hill) the one I dug up. Is it likely the nest extends under that bush? Do you think the bush died because of the nests, or did they nest because the bush was dead? I am looking for advice on how to go about eradicating the entire nest, since my son is very allergic to stings. if I just treat the opening I created, can I be assured the poison will spread throughout the nest even if I can't find the other opening?
I am resurrecting this thread to see if anyone can answer my yellow jacket question. I went out a little while ago to dig out a couple of dead azalea bushes. As the roots of the first one popped out of the ground, so did a swarm of yellow jackets. Fortunately, I am fast when I have to be.
After reading about the experience of others, I am trying to figure out where the second hive opening might be. There is a second dead azalea about 2' below (on a hill) the one I dug up. Is it likely the nest extends under that bush? Do you think the bush died because of the nests, or did they nest because the bush was dead? I am looking for advice on how to go about eradicating the entire nest, since my son is very allergic to stings. if I just treat the opening I created, can I be assured the poison will spread throughout the nest even if I can't find the other opening?
Since you are quick on your feet....
You might treat the entrance you know of, and when you have the chemical applied, poke a stick in to stir them up again.
If they come out and back in through the chemical and spread it in the nest, you may not have to worry about the 2nd entrance.
But, be quick...
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Sevin Dust
