I'm allergic to bee and wasp stings so I have to be careful. Two years ago the yellow jackets took over our blackberry and raspberry bushes as soon as the fruits ripened. They were pretty preoccupied by the berries and we were able to pick some. Late August I got stung near the corner of the barn, was not a pleasant experience. Later that night when I was feeling better I went out with a flashlight and found where they were nesting. There was a small hole that went into the outside barn wall and they had 4 guards sleeping just outside the hole.
Something to Note: Yellow Jackets only ever have one entrance to their nest and once you block it you can starve them in the nest.
So I went and got DH and we went out with a can of wasp spray and a can of expanding foam. We hit the front door guards with the wasp spray and then quickly went in the hole with the expanding foam. You could hear the whole nest buzzing in the wall for a couple of days but then it got quieter and quieter until they were all dead. I can only imagine how many dead wasps are in that wall!
On the subject of paper wasps, which are usually dark brown and sometimes have very thin yellow stripes on their abdomen, the paper wasp is a natural enemy of the yellow jacket. Paper wasps build a paper nest that has an open bottom where you can see the various cells. The year that we had the yellow jacket problem most of the paper wasps had been killed in the spring by a sudden freeze so we had very few around. Usually we have many many paper wasp nests in the barn loft and around the eves of the house and just about anywhere else they can get enough shelter to fit one in. True paper wasps are non-aggressive and will only sting if they feel mortally threatened. I've knocked down nests sometimes because they were in non-convenient places like the top edge of the loft door while trying to load hay up there. Even when the wasps are on the nest, the nest drops and the wasps fly around in circles for a while and then disperse. I had a nest of paper wasps with about 20 wasps on it at all times that had been built on the hinged lid of my straw bin. I could lift that lid and reach over right near the nest to pull the bar that holds it open, pull a leaf of straw out of the bin and then again reach by the nest and move the bar so the lid could close, they would keep an eye on my movements but never did anything more than turn their heads. I know if one stung me I'd be very sorry but have never had to cross that bridge.
Something to Note: Yellow Jackets only ever have one entrance to their nest and once you block it you can starve them in the nest.
So I went and got DH and we went out with a can of wasp spray and a can of expanding foam. We hit the front door guards with the wasp spray and then quickly went in the hole with the expanding foam. You could hear the whole nest buzzing in the wall for a couple of days but then it got quieter and quieter until they were all dead. I can only imagine how many dead wasps are in that wall!
On the subject of paper wasps, which are usually dark brown and sometimes have very thin yellow stripes on their abdomen, the paper wasp is a natural enemy of the yellow jacket. Paper wasps build a paper nest that has an open bottom where you can see the various cells. The year that we had the yellow jacket problem most of the paper wasps had been killed in the spring by a sudden freeze so we had very few around. Usually we have many many paper wasp nests in the barn loft and around the eves of the house and just about anywhere else they can get enough shelter to fit one in. True paper wasps are non-aggressive and will only sting if they feel mortally threatened. I've knocked down nests sometimes because they were in non-convenient places like the top edge of the loft door while trying to load hay up there. Even when the wasps are on the nest, the nest drops and the wasps fly around in circles for a while and then disperse. I had a nest of paper wasps with about 20 wasps on it at all times that had been built on the hinged lid of my straw bin. I could lift that lid and reach over right near the nest to pull the bar that holds it open, pull a leaf of straw out of the bin and then again reach by the nest and move the bar so the lid could close, they would keep an eye on my movements but never did anything more than turn their heads. I know if one stung me I'd be very sorry but have never had to cross that bridge.
