Yellow Jackets Indoors


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Old 04-21-06, 12:41 PM
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Question Yellow Jackets Indoors

Hello, I need some help. The apartment building I live in has a big yellow jacket problem. The super has allegedly removed most of the nests; however, every couple of days I find one in my apartment. I have taped up every place i could find that looks like an access point, and set up a Raid deep fogger 3 days ago. Today was the first time I had seen one in 5 days, it was crawling on the floor.

I am not very experienced in this area and would like to know if it is possible that the one I found this morning was a) dying since it was crawling on the floor and not flying and b) if it is feasible that it is a remnant from the fogging or if I should assume they're still getting in.

Any help anyone could give would be immensely appreciated. Thank you.
 
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Old 04-21-06, 01:33 PM
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It is possible that they did not get all the nests or that some are still about looking for the nest if knocked down. If you have only seen one unhealthy one in five days, it is possible that the fogging finally got to him or that he finally encountered residual insecticide from fogger. For an occasional indoor yellow jacket a quick knock down with the fly swat is most effective.
 
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Old 04-21-06, 01:50 PM
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And call your super and let him know what's going on (maybe he'll do something) especially since you mentioned he removed "most" of the nests...which means he didn't get all of them...?

Like twelvepole said...the 1 or 2 flying around, they could be looking for their nest that was knocked down (I've pondered the same question when I knocked down the ones I had and felt bad for that 1 that seemed lost and wondered what happened to his nest).
 
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Old 04-21-06, 03:41 PM
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Thank you both for replying. Believe me, I call the manager every single day, this guy just isn't as active as I would expect. I say most of the nests because I honestly don't know if they've gotten all of them. There were no nests inside that I know of, I just assumed (prayed) that if there were indeed a nest inside I would see a lot more than one yellow jacket every couple of days.

My biggest fear is that I will be stung while I'm sleeping, as I am allergic to bee stings and possibly yellow jackets as well. I have inspected almost every inch of my apartment and taped up everything I could find that might be an entrance spot, but was worried when I saw the handicapped one this morning, wasn't sure if it was a new one that got in through an undiscovered entry point.
 
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Old 04-21-06, 03:57 PM
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So sorry to hear that. Is there anyone above the manager? That gets me mad about people like that!

In any case...maybe this will soothe you a bit...the yellowjackets are more active in the afternoon and settle down at dusk. They prefer to rest @ dark. Not to say don't worry about anything but this is their nature I guess you could say.

I surely hope you don't get stung. Do you know if the nests were outside?
 

Last edited by DIYaddict; 04-24-06 at 09:02 AM.
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Old 04-21-06, 05:02 PM
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Yes, as far as I know the nests were outside...I was thinking if there was one inside the apartment I would see more of them. I even found them building a nest in my BBQ which I sprayed heavily then threw out (it was old anyway). I was also thinking maybe they are inside the walls but I have no way of getting to them if they are...the owner of the building is also the manager and claims to be doing whatever he can but it's not working, at least not as fast as I would like.

I am just praying that everything I've done has worked and the one I spotted this morning was the sole survivor.

Also, if anyone has any great ideas of how I can figure out if there are any still inside the apt., that would be great too.
 

Last edited by jeni18; 04-21-06 at 05:16 PM.
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Old 04-23-06, 06:41 PM
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Jen, unless your super understands yellowjackets, he may not have solved the problem, merely exacerbated it.
As wasps are foragers,similar to bees, the time of the day is also important. Wasps and bees tend to all return to the nest after sundown and that is the ideal time to treat them. If he did his control during the day, there is a excellent chance that up to 50 % of the colony would be absent. Those absent and not treated with a spray or drione dust etc will in all probability survive.
The end result is that the wasps will look to begin construction of a new nest in either the same place or some other area, usually not too far from the original site.
 
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Old 04-24-06, 12:42 PM
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How are you doing so far? Have you seen any new ones lately? Just a thought...maybe that 1 flew in when you opened your door to walk into your apt? (Possible) Anyway, check out this site and read up on it and be careful with whatever you use

http://www.pestproducts.com/yellow_jacket_elimination.htm

Also, maybe you can call a real professional (to keep you alive!-I mean, so you won't be stung or anything since you're allergic to them)
 
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Old 04-24-06, 09:28 PM
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Hi DIYAddict, thanks for checking up on me! I didn't see any on Friday and went away for the weekend -- I'm going home tomorrow. The building owner told me the super put screens on all the vents on the roof, I hope that helps but considering I already put netting over the fireplace, the oven exhaust vent, the heater and the window, I don't know if it will make a difference. I looked at that site you sent me, I think the nests are gone, they filled the eaves with a foam caulking where the nests used to be.

I called a professional and they said they'd have to treat the whole building -- for $3000. Obviously I'm not paying for that! Maybe I can find someone who will come inspect my apartment and bugproof it. Either that or I'll have to check into a mental hospital.
 
 

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