Never a dull moment 

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 07/30/2018 at 00:45 • Filed to: Casa de Zoidberg

8

18

Was outside digging up some ferns. Pull up one node and I see some tiny heads. Then a dozen more. Then they start shooting out like bullets. Yaaaay yellow jacket nest!

I had noticed there seemed to be an awful lot flying around our yard when we moved in, so I just figured there was a big nest high up in one of the trees. Not under a fern directly against the house! Anyway... There were lots. Like... Maybe a hundred or so in the air once I had dstrubed them. This put a snag in my gardening plans.

So I spent maybe two hours killing them with my old method back when I worked at the state parks. You get a pump sprayer and fill it with concentrated Simple Green and one tenth GoJo, or dish soap as a substitute. You identify the point of entry and soak it down. When they crawl out you target the individuals. When scouts return, you spray from directly above and it’ll knock them to the earth. Sprinkle in half a dozen necessary retreats, per gif:

The solution coats them and suffocates them within seconds. Then the best part: when the numbers die down, it’s time to start digging. You strike the earth and pry upwards. Keep the shovel erect (heh) and spray down into the fresh earth, all while stopping to attack any and all stragglers still airborne. I was very lucky: my first dig bisected the nest. The jackets left in the nest had no path to escape except where I had dug. They were greeted with a switft , soapy death.

It was bigger than a softball. I was expecting larger, but every cell had a big juicy larva in it. When doused, half of them attempted to flee, but died even faster than the jackets.

Yellow jackets are assholes, but they are not smart. I managed to not get stung once. If you ever inadvertently stepped on a nest as I have, you’re fucked. Otherwise, you can actually stand a foot away and kill every one of them with crap you find under the sink.

DipodomysDeserti > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 00:59

1

LongbowMkII > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 00:59

9

You need to just tell everyone that every house in Seattle has a softball sized yellow jacket nest on it. That ought to temper those property values.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > LongbowMkII 07/30/2018 at 01:01

1

I like where your head is at. People  inconvenienced by minor things leave the door open for me to swoop in and get a deal.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > DipodomysDeserti 07/30/2018 at 01:03

5

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 01:18

3

Tristan > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 01:42

3

I’m all for conservation, but if all those little bastards went extinct, I wouldn’t be bothered one bit. I got roughly 7 stings when I was trimming back a patch of pampas grass when I lived in Florida. They are dumb, but I was caught off guard by a lady asking me for my Subway order.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tristan 07/30/2018 at 01:44

0

I got 20 stings a decade ago when I unknowingly stepped through a hollow stump.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 01:46

3

The only valid solution:

Tristan > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 02:10

0

GAH! Emergency room?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tristan 07/30/2018 at 02:33

0

No, just 24 hours  of rather sharp pain. Mostly just got my ankles and thigh.

user314 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 07/30/2018 at 06:29

0

See, now I wish the mosquito CIWS had worked out.

All you’d have to do is program it to target hornets and wasps. 

jimz > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 06:36

2

RacinBob > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 07:29

2

My nest was in a rotted lilac stump in the yard. I just put the garden hose on it and left it run all night and that eliminated the problem. The only surprise was in the morning the water was still going in and not leaving a trace. That must have been a heck of a stump.....

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 09:31

1

I will have to remember that method! Thanks!

OmerCarrothers333 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 10:48

0

I was stung by a wasp a couple years ago. Fucked me up so bad, I had to go to the doctor’s and get a saline IV   drip because my heart wasn’t working right.

So yeah, kill ‘em. Kill ‘em all.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > user314 07/30/2018 at 13:46

0

This reminds me of a plan I have to annihilate all invasive species in an area, followed by all invasive species on the planet when outside their native range . In this case it would only need to be programmed to kill yellow jackets and mos q uitoes.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 14:04

1

We found one in the forest doing some trail work so we dumped chainsaw gas into the hole and lite it on fire. Added sticks for a nice warming camp fire/yellow jacket roast.

Tristan > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/30/2018 at 17:11

0

Ouch!