The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[aoxa]

I have used the homemade traps and they worked well for yellow jackets in Aug. I used chunks of salmon and tuna as bait. Only used the traps when we were eating outside. Usually my motto is 'live and let live' with critters. Big and small. I always like to go for the non lethal ways first and poison is not even in my arsenal. I can't see or access the actual nest under the porch deck. This morning while the air had a chill, I removed the steps and tried to dig out some soil and see if it would expose the nest. Well, that woke them up and they came swarming out. I still can't see the nest entrance. I've read they often build it in abandoned mice or rat holes. After twenty five years, I'm sure there are some of those tunnels under the porch. After raking and digging, I poured another cup of kerosene over the spaces and dripped it into the soil. Had to run for my life again! I'll go out in a bit and see if there is still hornet action. If this doesn't do anything, I'll consider something else. I will never plant anything or have chickens on the soil under this porch, so if I have to contaminate it, the insects will be the only thing affected in this spot. The hornets have made sure mice and rats have vacated!

You need to borrow a bee keeper suit!
If you can get it right in the nest under the deck I wouldn't worry about the poison either.

I am not sure what their nest would look like. I picture something similar to an ants nest, but with a larger hole... You could poison and cover with a big rock....

 

[jlynnet]

I've heard smoke will calm them down. Not sure if you could do this first, then zap them with spray. Do it in the evening when the birds are in. We had ground nests when we started clearing our land to build. We had to wait until night, then sprayed the hole. We had to hit them 2 or 3 nights in a row.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I put them back in the isolation with one of my regular birds for two weeks. That is the only time do not do 4 weeks. I am going to start with tthe dry powder milk this next time right away when getting home. I am also going to invest in Oxine now.

Quote: I hear that if you use a bar of ivory soap, and try to put it by the hole and cover it all up with aluminum foil over the hole they will leave too. That is the only thing i know about wasps.

 

[MumsyII]

If I could see the entrance to the nest, I could zero in my efforts. I can't remove the boards without tearing down the whole porch. Cover, supports, floor, and all. We can't afford to rebuild this right now.

The supports for the porch cover are built onto the top of the floor board planks. Very old. When it comes down, it can't go back up. It has to be rebuilt.
The hornets come out from under the step in the front and up through the middle of the deck.

 

[aoxa]

If I could see the entrance to the nest, I could zero in my efforts. I can't remove the boards without tearing down the whole porch. Cover, supports, floor, and all. We can't afford to rebuild this right now.

The supports for the porch cover are built onto the top of the floor board planks. Very old. When it comes down, it can't go back up. It has to be rebuilt.
The hornets come out from under the step in the front and up through the middle of the deck.

Yes that makes things much more difficult...

Wrap the deck in duct tape?

Okay jokes aside, I am not sure what else to suggest.

Love the RIR running, from the wasps/hornets? hehe

 

[Leahs Mom]

I put them back in the isolation with one of my regular birds for two weeks. That is the only time do not do 4 weeks. I am going to start with tthe dry powder milk this next time right away when getting home. I am also going to invest in Oxine now.

Dry powder milk?

 

[ChickChickChicky]

If I could see the entrance to the nest, I could zero in my efforts. I can't remove the boards without tearing down the whole porch. Cover, supports, floor, and all. We can't afford to rebuild this right now.

The supports for the porch cover are built onto the top of the floor board planks. Very old. When it comes down, it can't go back up. It has to be rebuilt.
The hornets come out from under the step in the front and up through the middle of the deck.

If you can determine where the floor joists are (look for nail or screw heads) you could saw down the centers of two joists and remove only a section of the floor. Look both on the deck surface and also along the sides of the porch (for nail or screw heads) to determine where the joists are and in which direction they run (usually on 16" centers, but perhaps on 24" centers). If you TRULY get lucky the joists will run parallel to the building... in that way you could yank up several floorboards with no sawing involved.

 

[aoxa]

If you can determine where the floor joists are (look for nail or screw heads) you could saw down the centers of two joists and remove only a section of the floor. Look both on the deck surface and also along the sides of the porch (for nail or screw heads) to determine where the joists are and in which direction they run (usually on 16" centers, but perhaps on 24" centers). If you TRULY get lucky the joists will run parallel to the building... in that way you could yank up several floorboards with no sawing involved.

Now this is helpful!

 

[lalaland]

the really tough thing for Mumsy is I am doubting it will get cold enough to kill the buggers in the winter, assuming it was possible to put up with them that long. Its a really tough problem. I think I would give in and go for the big guns/poison. Seems like it is a threat to your health /chickens, would think you could get seriously stung.

wish you weren't having this fun!

 

[Kassaundra]

If I could see the entrance to the nest, I could zero in my efforts. I can't remove the boards without tearing down the whole porch. Cover, supports, floor, and all. We can't afford to rebuild this right now.

The supports for the porch cover are built onto the top of the floor board planks. Very old. When it comes down, it can't go back up. It has to be rebuilt.
The hornets come out from under the step in the front and up through the middle of the deck.

I don't know if this will work, but what if you covered the porch floor area as best you could w/ tarps and blocked as many air ways as you could and threw a couple of bug bombs under there? I know you couldn't block all the air holes but if you blocked enough of them to slow the air escape maybe the poison would stay under long enough to kill them????? Less invasive then tearing your porch apart.