See this guy? Some of you will know him well. He’s called a Yellow Jacket Wasp. And sadly, he has been a problem these last 2 years around here. Seems like anytime you have a hot dry Summer you get a lot of these guys. ?? Last year they built a nest under our back step. I tried to co-exist with them, but after a while it just didn’t work. They were getting into the house. We couldn’t barbecue or sit out back either – they would land on our food – or us. Their sting is pretty bad. I once got stung by one and I could still feel it 2 years later.
Finally, I decided I had to do something about them. I tried to block the hole to their nest – hoping they would re-locate. Didn’t work. Then I sprayed Wasp Killer into the hole when they were asleep. That didn’t work either.
Finally, a friend told me about this stuff.
Rescue Yellow Jacket Killer
It’s made by an outfit named Rescue and called Yellow Jacket Killer. I didn’t really want to kill them – or anything … but …
Fill the bag half way with water and hang it up, he said. “There’s something in there that attracts them.” DON’T hang it near your door, barbecue or picnic table though, he advised.
I was skeptical …
But then … I was amazed. They were swarming around it instantly. It started killing them … and killing them. They couldn’t wait go in there and die. I felt like Mickey with the magic broom sticks … like it was out of control … it was Yellow Jacket BootHill … in my backyard. The guys under the steps disappeared pretty quickly. But others kept coming. The neighbor accused me of Yellow Jacket genocide …
It’s slowed down a bit now, but hasn’t stopped. You see that black mass in the bag? That’s dead Yellow Jackets. Hundreds of them.
I pray that Yellow Jackets don’t hold some essential place in the balance of nature? But why else would they exist?
If they’d just built there nest some place else …
I’m open to any solutions that might get rid of them without killing any. ??
