Over the weekend, I have been working hard in my shop on a massive cleaning and organizing job. My neighbor was helping me, and as we were finishing up late last night; we decided to put a box of lawnmower parts in an old chair on my carport. That's when the REAL fun started. When I flopped down the box of parts, I managed to piss off about 10 million yellow jackets who had built a nest in the innards of the chair. I got nabbed once, and my neighbor got stung three times. Naturally, the shop was open and the lights were on, so they sent a reinforced brigade in there to deter human occupation. We decided to shut down operations for the night. This morning, I went to the hardware store and came back with a bunch of aerosol concoctions that were designed for the task. I can tell ya, that whoever thinks that can sprays 22 feet is either a supreme optimist or a bald faced liar. I can pee further than that stuff can spray. I used two cans of spray and two foggers that we slid into place with a 10 foot stick of conduit. I then put the hose into the chair and turned on a gentle stream for about 2 hours. There was still lots of activity, but my neighbor insisted on snatching that chair off the carport and into the yard. This action did nothing good for their poor disposition. I got stung again. This was starting to suck. Lebron was now wondering what to do next. I had wanted to leave the hose in place for a day or two and drown them, but that option was now moot. I told him that we were gonna kill it with fire. I tossed on about a pint of Coleman fuel and followed it up with a beautiful toss of a wooden match! (See action photo below.) I gave it a few more booster shots of Coleman fuel and kerosene. We pushed the chair over with the conduit when it became safe to do so and let it cook inverted for a while longer. Eventually, it wound down and I extinguished it with a hose. Take a peek at the mayhem inside. This is the same chair I must have jostled a dozen times when I was lifting my MINI on the carport in my MINI Accessory thread. When I had it up in the air, I went under there with a creeper, scrub brush and a hose and washed the undercarriage. It's a miracle they didn't attack then. Remember this folks, yellow jackets usually nest in a hole in the ground, but sometimes, they establish a nest in an unlikely place above ground. Be careful. A swarm of those things can put you in real danger. I have recently had some episodes of anaphylactic shock, so I kept my Epi-Pen handy. Rawhyde
This is frigg'n hilarious! I've never had ta fry these pests, but I'm gonna remember this if I ever do.
Not. Hilarious. OMG. I want to run screaming down the street, now at 4:30 in the AM, just reading this. Serious heebie jeebies. One of my most despised creatures on Earth... but I did develop really good instincts and reflexes as a child, growing up on a farm and in the woods.... knowing "the sound" when you step on something you wish you didn't... stop, don't want to think about it any more.... Do like the flaming chair pic, though.
Glad you took care of those vile critters. If anyone has to deal with a nest of these baddies wait until just after sundown. They will all be in the hive, then let them have it.
I had a neighbor years ago who hit a nest by mistake with a weed eater once (he was changing the string and popped a nest). He got stung 20-30 times before he could sprint across the yard and dive fully clothed into the pool. I'm trying to imagine any other way to take care of these suckers in a chair like that. I'm thinking a giant tarp to bag it up (maybe one of those big christmas tree bags), but that would require a lot more close contact than I would like... Your solution had the added benefit of fire, which makes anything very cool.
Not too much, but I would think not a good idea to explode and spread the little critters over a wide area. Think contain and destroy. Flamethrower, etc.
We had a big nest at the annual British Car Day I attended In Dayton, OH, this August. Fortunately, it was discovered quickly, but not until after a few people were dive bombed. A big sign was hurriedly put up showing where NOT to walk or stand, and that was good, because it would have been EXACTLY where each Class winner would pull for each photo shot! Can you even imagine the ensuing mayhem?
Perhaps they were told something was longer and that was their basis for measurement? If ya know what I mean? But I agree, 90% of those cans don't go past 10' at beast. Glad you got rid of the little buggers. Though I would have used far more flammable material. But then again I am a bit of a pyro.
I'd say it was just about right! [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEcgSgVFzoA"]Yellow jacket extermination - YouTube[/ame]
About to go BBQ some Yellow Jackets myself now... Little bastards are making a nest under my porch step! (Dont worry its concrete...)