Yellowjackets as entertainment

Welp, found a yellowjacket nest in the front under a nandina bush. I hate those fuckers, and didn't want to wait until tonight to kill them. Also, I don't want to kill the bush so my normal method of a little bit of gasoline down the hole is out.

So, I went to Lowes and bought a bug zapper. Used a nylon tie to press the button, and then with some string and deft maneuvering I dragged it across their entrance. Now I'm working to the sweet music of yellowjackets getting zapped, and there's a rather good sized cloud of them surrounding it.

I figure a few days of this will cause their queen to depart the hive and get zapped herself, or abandon it.

I hate those things.

View attachment 152101

 

Got a pic of that, I'd love to see it.

I hate those fuckers too. My youngest son is allergic to those things and near bout died from them a few years ago.

You just never get stung once because they're like a cloud when they attack.

 

It didn't attach in the first try, for some reason. This is what is sitting across their entrance right now.

 

Makes a real satisfying ZAP sound when they land on it, too. There must already be close to 100 dead bees on it. Maybe more.

 

That's awesome. Thanks for the info! I would love to see it bite those fuckers.

 

I haven't heard a zap in a while, but I saw it kill one so it's still working. I think it's cooking their corpses.

 

After almost two hours

 

Check and see if they have another escape hole nearby. Also, is that thing zapping the ground it's touching?

 

It did initially but I think that it only audibly zaps if it gets a chance to build up a charge and it isn't getting that with all the bodies in there. However, as soon as a bee tries to crawl through it it dies, so it's working. The picture doesn't do it justice, but there are well over a hundred bees in there at this point.

This is actually exceeding my expectations. I put a big-ass hurting on the colony, but will probably need to change the batteries tomorrow. I need those bastards gone this weekend, because I wanted to get the knotweed and wild strawberries out of there and plant some cushion mums for the fall.

 

If you can, get it off and replace the batteries and keep it ready to hit any. Boil a big pail of water and pour it into the hole. Do this a couple of times. Actually, I've taken a mesh football jersey and put it over a cowboy hat and tucked in into my collar, wearing a jump suit over some other clothes thick enough not to get stung through to do this.

You can get some flying insect/wasp killer that is flower based (pyrethrin) to keep on hand and your plants will be ok.