Help! Yellowjacket nests on the coop!

[Imp]

Here's a couple interesting articles about wasps. There are some solitary wasps, not sure they match yours though Sonoran Silkies. Sounds like all yellow wasps are called Yellow Jackets somewhere. I've never had one of the wasps on the nests act aggressive, just the ground ones.

Helpful hint #1
Do not knock down old fence on top of their nest. Especially repeatedly.

I think I have a nest in the walls of my house somewhere. Every winter I find 2 or 3 times ,JKs in the house, and I'm too far north for them to be coming in. In 14 years haven't been able to find them.
I also have a wasp that is similar to the paperwasps only on the east side of my house. They act like they are going into the attic, but have never found them inside.


http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg3732.html

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05525.html

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Unless you are an organic farmer then invest in a bottle of tempo SC plus. Move your chickens to a safe spot for the night and spray the inside and outside of the coop No need to spray the floors Just the Upper walls and places the chickens cannot reach. Tempo is a farm safe spray used in alot of dairy farms. Make sure not to spray it on the floors and lower wall as this really isn't needed for wasps. Tempo has a 30 day residue So you have a 30 day window for each application. Unless it rains and the rain is capable of washing off the tempo. I use it faithfully I even dip cats and dogs in it. You can typically find it in any of your local Co Op's

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sonoran, I found this at the link given. I suspect this is what is called yellow jackets in your neck of the desert. I grew up with the ones that nest in the ground or in cavities like my parent’s attic, the ones that can only sting once because their barbed stinger stays in the victim. That kills the yellow jacket when it pulls its insides out along with the stinger. I can vouch that the in-ground type are extremely aggressive when their nest is disturbed.

Perhaps the most conspicuous and commonly seen wasps in the Sonoran Desert are the paper wasps (Polistes). Paper wasps are large, (about 1 inch, or 20 to 25 mm) social wasps that build paper honeycomb nests. Paper wasps are longer, thinner, and more smooth and shiny than honey bees and have longer, narrower waists (called petioles) than do bees. Common paper wasps include the yellow paper wasp, whose color is true to the name; the Navajo paper wasp, which is deep chocolate brown with the end of the abdomen yellowish; and the Arizona paper wasp, which is slightly smaller and more spindle-shaped than the other 2 and is brownish-red with thin yellow cross bands on the abdomen.

http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_wasps.php

2pinkmom, I don’t know what part of the country you live in but I expect you are actually dealing with wasps, not what several of us call yellow jackets. They are different.

 

[Mattemma]

Ortho home defense spray will give very fast knock down.The bifen ingredient is the same used by the pest company when they sprayed a hornet nest in the kids playhouse.But the professional sprays are much more expensive.

recently noticed some type of wasps under the over hang of the chicken shed.I sprayed with weed killer as that is all I had,but they were still going good.Next day I was planning to go get the bif spray but there was a storm. I REALLY wanted to get those guys,because I thought they were the ones that stung my dog the other day(wasn't). Since it was raining I figured they would be less likely to swarm me,so off I went in the rain with a can of oven cleaner.Sprayed the heck out of them,and as they fell to the ground I stomped each one.

I did get my bif spray finally and I did find the bees that stung my dog.They were in a crack in the garage wall foundation right next to the chicken shed were I have garbage cans collecting rain water via the gutter. Normally I don't bother bees and wasps,but I go to that spot often and can not have them stinging me. The bifen spray in the crack stopped them immediately.Add crack filling to the list of house duties!

Foam sprays shot a good 10 to 20 feet.Pretty good knock down.And much cheaper than the bifen spray.

 

[noodleroo]

Ridgerunner; that's the best info on the difference in 'yellowjackets' that I've seen. Thank you. I know that the ones that make paper nests are really different from the ones that live in the ground in the way they act and how they look. I know that everything has a purpose, but I'm not too excited to be around anything that flies and stings...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I grew up in Texas (Dallas), and that is probably where I had my first and worst yellow jacket experience. Repeatedly stung by several yellowjackets as I opened the back gate. I was 6. I'd been told to stand real still if bees or wasps come around and wait till they go away. So I was standing there screaming as they continued to sting me. In my young child mind I thought it would be worse if I ran away.

The things I see here look exactly like what I recall from childhood. We do seem to have more bees than I remember as a kid, but that may be because I never encountered any aggressive bees. My uncle's brother(?) is/was a beekeeper somewhere in the Ft Worth area.

I find a fair number of single "cell" mud tunnels on the exterior walls. Not as long or fancy as the one in the photo of the organ pipe wasp nest shown in wikipedia. Did learn one good thing about wasps and yellow jackets; they eat spiders. One type targets black widows!

I was always taught that all wasps could sting repeatedly, that bees only once as their barbed stinger would catch and pull off their abdomen.

OK, now to go read all the articles listed.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I would just buy a can of the Hot Shot or Raid that has the long shooting ability and let them have it..they will die almost instantly and then knock the nest down if you want....it is safe and reliable. I am HIGHLY allergic to insect bites so I keep a can or two on hand at all times. Now, if it's hornets you are talking about....be VERY VERY CAREFUL..they don't play fair at all.

 

[turbo13]

I had same trouble with yellowjackets and wasps.They had nests, about 6 on the ceiling of my coop.What I did was to use straight white vineger mixed with dishsoap.I applied this with a spray bottle,it has a stream setting.I waited till dusk when the bulk of these critters were home for the night. Next day most were dead.Be sure to soak the nests. Some that spent the night out,regrouped,then they left .I knocked the nests off. This was a month ago,none returned.