Ground Digger Wasp

[JR]

I have been fighting these guys since last month they will not give up. I pour lemon ammonia down there hole and they dont come back. They just move a few feet away. Any of you have a way of killing them that wont harm my dogs. I am going nuts. I have been nailed 3 times so far.

[Mugwump]

Hot charcoal.....stuff it in the holes and spread around....we had them once at a place we lived..stung my oldest son on the arm..he swelled up so bad that we took him to the emerg room...his hand looked like he had a plastic glove on...huge/swollen.....I threw the charcoal from the grill all over the rock area...they moved..it trapped/killed a bunch too....you can pour the charcoal fluid/light fluid/gas/diesel...down the hole and burn it too......the extreme heat/flames kills most, and the smell deters them from locating close by....if they move too close for you..do it again....they be gone soon..

[JR]

Thanks Jon I will try that tomorrow. It hurts like heck when they sting you. I dont swell up that bad. I just dont wont them to sting my dogs

[BillT]

I use many buckets of warm detergent water. Insect cuticles are water repellant. Soap, detergent, or organic solvents will wet their surfaces so that they can be drowned. Detergent is easy and will largely become fertilizer.

This works well on the large underground yellow hornets we have.

I have a friend with a different approach: he mixes bleach and ammonia and then quickly dumps it on the underground nest he wants to kill. bleach mixed with ammonia will liberate chlorine gas with will kill things without drowning them.

[PaulineMi]

Be sure to avoid inhaling any bleach/ammonia mix. 

We've used the charcoal fluid burn method Jon describes with success.

[BallAquatics]

Be sure to avoid inhaling any bleach/ammonia mix.

Very sound advise.  The chlorine gas combines with hydrogen in your lungs to form hydrochloric acid.  A very affective method of suffocation.

Dennis

[JR]

Well I went out about 1 am today and did the ammonia and bleach in half of the holes. And got a bright idea of trying starting fluid, Fired it up They both worked very well. Have had very few wasp today. Hope to get the rest tonite.

[Mugwump]

'starting fluid'...like carb cleaner..LOL..a blow torch...LOL., sorry, I had this vision of you torching them commando style  ....charcoal lighter, right?

[JR]

No starting fluid. Your right carb cleaner.  Patty thought I was nuts. I filled the holes with it and set it a blaze. I am going to hit them again in about a hour. The starting fluid works well.

[Mugwump]

I'm humming the theme from 'Ghost Buster's'...but singing 'wasp busters'....LOL....I used cold start ether once on a ground hog hole...sprayed like crazy, then tossed in a firecracker....sucker went off like a bazooka....whoooooooosh..flames shooting out of the hole...plus another that I hadn't noticed...out pops the ground hog still smoke'n...he ran off somewhere and I never saw him again....how he survived that...I'll never know.... ..but he be gone....

[BillT]

Ether, nice!
I read about a chemistry building where a liter of ether spilled, vaporized and then then blow up (in a chemistry building), badly damaging thte building.

Keeping things exciting I see!

[Mugwump]

Ya know, a 'Roman Candle' stuck in there would work wonders too   

[JR]

The Wasp be gone to. Should have thought about starting fluid last month.

[PaulineMi]

Hooray!   Glad you got this done before causing some kind of explosion.  Boys..... .  Lol.

[LizStreithorst]

I used cold start ether once on a ground hog hole...sprayed like crazy, then tossed in a firecracker....sucker went off like a bazooka....whoooooooosh..flames shooting out of the hole...plus another that I hadn't noticed...out pops the ground hog still smoke'n...he ran off somewhere and I never saw him again....how he survived that...I'll never know.... ..but he be gone....

Good Lord!  And I catch hell for trying to feed a baby fish to my cat