How to Get Rid of Ground Yellow Jackets

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more details.

As mentioned recently, we have a big problem with yellow jackets. We have the type that live underground. This is a real problem since sometimes you can’t even see the hole to the hive. The kids or dogs will be out playing and accidentally step on the hole. The ground yellow jackets can be very aggressive and their bite hurts like the dickens.

What hubby does is wait until night fall. The yellow jackets will go back to their hole in the evening. He then pours gasoline down the hole and lights it on fire.  Of course take precautions and make sure that other flammable material is away from the hole. Have water on hand just in case.

Hubby let’s the fire burn until the gasoline burns out. The yellow jackets hive is then destroyed! We have tried yellow jacket and hornet pesticides, but the fire seems to work the best.

Do you have any tips for getting rid of ground yellow jackets?

The following two tabs change content below.
Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.

Latest posts by Renae Chiovaro (see all)

Comments

  1. This wouldn’t work for us as we have a drinking water well and it would contaminate the well. We use boiling hot water!

  2. We used your technique. It worked perfectly. We did make one modification which works even better. We used charcoal lighter fluid which burns slower. It ignited the nest which burned slowly for 20 min. We then sealed their tomb with a paving stone. Goners!

    • Hi Don,
      Thank you for sharing your technique! We will have to try that next time. Hubby thinks we have a hive over near the wood pile – urgh! Have a good night!
      Renae

  3. Be careful with products which will flame up: charcoal lighter fluid, gasoline, kerosene, etc.
    My sister poured gasoline on a bed of ants which were close to a wooden shed, the gasoline exploded, burning the wooden shed to the ground and knocking her out. Ambulances, the fire department and police rushed to the scene, causing much embarrassment and a financial loss. Hot water would have been so much better for killing the ants!

  4. I just put a bucket on top of the entrance with a rock on top and left it for a few days. They will starve. When I went to lift the bucket up I noticed the hive had been dug up. Supposedly, a skunk, possum, or raccoon at it. I’ve read that you also can pour honey near the entrance and one of the above animals will find it and then dig it up.