aggressive ground wasps

[cheldi]

Our property (3 acres, Pennsylvania, partially wooded along perimeter but majority land we use) is plagued by underground wasps for the last couple years, and seeming to escalate yearly. We have tried spot treating with diatomaceous earth, good ole wasp sprays, vinegar flooding, etc. It seems like they just move a few feet and start again. We only find out when we dare to walk over their area and are suddenly attacked.
Are there any good yard-wide amendments or treatments that will help us control these things? Our humans and dogs have been stung multiple times. We've even had tiny baby ones make it into our house somehow and cause a huge ruckus. At least with those we can get everyone but my brave husband inside while he tries to kill them. We'll have chickens for the first time this year and now I'm concerned about how we could safely treat it if the stupid wasps decide to take hold in their area. They already did build a nest in our compost pile last year, which is right beside the new coop and run.

 

[Debbie292d]

From the Spruce:

Diatomaceous earth is a natural insecticide powder that you can sprinkle around a wasp's nest to kill the wasps. This method typically takes a few days to work, but it's one of the most effective ways to remove a ground wasp nest.

I see you've already done that. I would get a giant bag of it and spread it throughout your whole yard.

 

[CloneFly]

Our property (3 acres, Pennsylvania, partially wooded along perimeter but majority land we use) is plagued by underground wasps for the last couple years, and seeming to escalate yearly. We have tried spot treating with diatomaceous earth, good ole wasp sprays, vinegar flooding, etc. It seems like they just move a few feet and start again. We only find out when we dare to walk over their area and are suddenly attacked.
Are there any good yard-wide amendments or treatments that will help us control these things? Our humans and dogs have been stung multiple times. We've even had tiny baby ones make it into our house somehow and cause a huge ruckus. At least with those we can get everyone but my brave husband inside while he tries to kill them. We'll have chickens for the first time this year and now I'm concerned about how we could safely treat it if the stupid wasps decide to take hold in their area. They already did build a nest in our compost pile last year, which is right beside the new coop and run.

Permethrin. I've had more luck with Permethrin than Diatomaceous earth and it's sold as a powder and concentrated liquid. You can spread it around their nest and flood the nest with the liquid as well. It *should* also deal with the eggs... best of luck and hope this helps. Wasps are no fun!

 

[Acre4Me]

Permethrin over DE. DE is ineffective when wet, so rain will negate it anyway.

Permethrin may not work great if their nests are deep-I don’t know much about ground hornets so not sure if they have shallow nests. Permethrin is the synthetic version of natural pyrethrins, which occur in marigolds. It is considered safe around animals.

I’ll also suggest a call to your state Ag agency, and/or your local county Ag extension office. They may be able to guide you with local advice. The websites of state Ag agencies can be really helpful too- they might have a section on pests and control. Helpful because it will be more region specific.

A couple of years ago yellow jackets set up home in our house wall!! They chewed through the drywall behind a kitchen cabinet and started showing up inside. Thankfully not too many bc of the convoluted path to come into the house. We ended up tearing up that section of wall from the outside. Our house is brick, except that one short wall where they entered, so we were able to remove that exterior wall. We had tried spraying them with a variety of hornet/yellow jacket sprays, but their entry point was not directly connected to their nest - they walked an electric wire in the wall, through a hole in the stud (for the electric wire) to their nest. So before we removed the wall, spouse sat outside in the summer towards dusk, wearing heavy clothing/hat/boots for protection, while sitting there sucking up the YJs with his shop vac as they were coming home for the evening, coming out to check the noise. Hundreds of YJs later, and when darkness occurred, the wall was removed, and nest thoroughly sprayed with hornet spray. It worked.

Good luck