# Yellow Jackets in Wall



## jaywillis24 (Aug 23, 2021)

mathmonger said:


> I've got a nest of yellow jackets in the foundation wall where the electrical wires poke through. I sprayed it 4 times with the Ortho hornet and wasp spray. It slows them down a little bit, but they refuse to abandon that hole. I feel like the spray is just foaming up around the opening and very little is actually getting inside. I'm thinking about using a drinking straw or something on the can to inject the poison deep in there. Is this a good plan? Is there a better way to go about this?


I have a nest in the soffet next to a 2nd story deck. I sprayed with Ortho but then a few days later they come back and forth all day. It looks like they're either bringing something back or taking something from the nest. It's like a conveyor belt of YJ's coming and then going all day! Any thoughts?


----------



## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

Get powder to apply to their nesting area to kill all the workers.


----------



## A. Danger Powers (Aug 13, 2021)

I find the spectracide pro wasp & hornet killer has better foaming & residual action than ortho. Alternatively, all the wasp & hornet killers use a synthetic derivative of Pyrethrum. This product is available in dust/power/pellet/liquid form which may be easier to apply in your situation. Pyrethrum has pretty fast knock-down power.


----------



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@jaywillis24 welcome!

Oh, yes, yellow jackets. More fun than . . . mumps? Herpes? (Etc.)

In a cold climate, yellow jacket colonies last one season (thank God!) then disappear, with the workers dispersing and dying off, while the queens hibernate over the winter to make new colonies in the spring. In that situation, at this time of the year, wait, then seal up the holes and keep new queens out, and you should be good to go.

In a warm climate, they may live in one spot a number of years, and eventually form -- unless annihilated -- these scary mega-colonies with combs the size of easy chairs, and I wish I was exaggerating. In that case, you'll have to have a pogrom, and I generally concur with @A. Danger Powers and his advice. 

So, the big question is where are you? City/county and state and this is important. If you're in, say Cleveland Ohio, my old home town, they're gone after a season. In Cleveland TN, not so sure, and in Cleveland, Texas (I've been there) I'm pretty sure they'll live over.

So, let us know, and tell the little ones (unless they already know ) to be careful.


----------

