Hidden Yellow Jacket Nest (Spray Foam)

Need to get rid of a yellow jacket nest somewhere inside our porch ceiling/soffit.

Tried using a shop vac to remove them all (two separate attempts, with a week between each attempt) and when that didn't work I removed the soffit to expose the nest.

Unfortunately it appears the nest is hidden up behind the spray foam insulation shown in the second photo.

They are entering and exiting using the grout lines where the soffit meets the brick (see red arrow in photo).

I'm thinking my next steps should be sealing that gap between the wood ceiling joist and the brick wall.

Used a can of spray foam in our previous house to do this and it created a huge mess on the brick that was almost impossible to clean up completely. I'm thinking exterior grade caulking might be a better way to go, but not sure if that will be enough.

Any other suggestions or recommendations much appreciated, thanks.

 

Can you access that area thru the attic?
You could caulk the 2x to the brick just before you reinstall the F channel.

 

Two story house, so the porch roof is not accessible from the attic on the second level.

Also there isn’t a way to access the space above the spray foam (if there even is a space above it).

Is it possible the yellow jackets have made their nest inside the foam?

I’m also thinking about spraying some One Shot Jet Foam hornet and wasp killer in that gap between the brick and the wood joist before sealing it up with caulk.

https://www.wilsoncontrol.com/en/pro...et-wasp-killer

 

A insect smoke fogger might work better. I've had good luck smoking wall cavities and soffits to kill insects.

 

Any details on which fogger you used?

Single use disposable can or the reusable electric/propane powered ones?

 

Whatever treatment you perform, DO NOT seal anything until the activity has obviously stopped. I've been to YJ jobs where the homeowner sealed them up immediately or too soon after treatment and it can turn into a "grade B" horror movie inside the house as they will chew through the dry wall and angrily enter the living spaces. We want them to move through the treated space as opposed to avoiding it. They want to keep using the same entry/exit point, so let them.

I've never used the foam but I like the idea. If the applicator tip fits reasonably well into the opening, then it should work well. I'd test fire it out in the yard for a second to see how much pressure there is at the tip; I wouldn't expect a lot , but I'd want to know, so I could determine the level of face splash guard I'd want.

Bees, ants, termites all like foam insulation including rigid board insul as it is easy to hollow out and protects them from temperature extremes. The same reasons we like it.

A good grade of exterior caulk after the danger has passed, should work well as a prevention.

 

Wait until they're all back in the nest - around 3 am.
Get bubble solution, A) from the dollar store or B) put soap and water into a French -coffee-press and churn to a thick foam or C) use shaving cream. Put a long vertical line of bubble-foam above the bug-exit, so that it continually creeps down and blocks the exit, and then setup a shop vac / mulching leaf blower.
The soap coats the wings so the insects can't fly, and get sucked through the leaf vac / shop vac. It ALSO coats the inside of the vacuum tube, so the insects can't get a grip on the inside of the vacuum and hang on.

 

Waited until sundown tonight to spray the One Shot foam, and I have another can ready to go for sunrise tomorrow morning.

The One Shot "applicator wand" has a similar diameter to the straw on an aerosol can of WD-40, so it fit nicely in between the mortar gaps in the brick. In some of those gaps I was able to insert the applicator wand almost completely before spraying, so hopefully it got into the right places.

Also when spraying One Shot between the mortar gaps at the bottom, I noticed it started coming out of an opening higher up in the spray foam where there was a crevice/void. Not sure if this gap in the spray foam was created when the house was being built, or if it's another entrance/exit tunnel made by the yellow jackets, but definitely filled it with One Shot.

Appreciate the advice to wait until they are completely gone before sealing, and always happy to find a new use for our coffee press.

Also worth mentioning that both times I used a 5hp shop vac with 14' of 1-7/8" hose and didn't find any of the yellow jackets were able to hang onto the inside of the hose. The shop vac worked really well, but both times I don't believe I was able to get the queen and/or a lot of them returned afterwards. Filling the shop vac with soapy water before I started to vacuum them made clean up much easier, and meant I could empty it out the same day a few hours after vacuuming.

 

The yellow jacket traps you can get at Home Depot or Lowes are astoundingly effective. While I don't have a problem with them entering my house (that I know of), they're really common out here in the Reno NV area and the reduction you see in flying ones and the volume of them that collect in the traps is HUGE!. Really nice to find a product that exceeds the claims! Even when having an outdoor barbeque (that seems to draw them for miles) when they arrive for the festivities they end up being far more attracted to the traps than the people or food making your outdoor experience far better. I would expect having a few of these close to your house will reduce the likelihood (or, at worst, volume) of ones that get into your house.

 

Looks like you got very good coverage and that is encouraging. That nest could be several feet away, so we may have to rely on the yj's going in and out for a while as opposed to a direct hit on the nest that gets good coverage immediately. Their path could also take a turn or two, which slows down the process. Don't get impatient as this is ow it works sometimes.

 

PAbugman, is sunrise and sunset the ideal time for additional applications of the jet foam?

Or should it be done during the day when they are more active to help spread the foam inside their nest?

 

Given a choice I'd rather do it when they are in there such as dawn and dusk. Rarely did I ever have that choice though due to scheduling, etc and it worked well most of the time anyway.

 

A very simple solution is ant killer powder with Deltamethrin insecticide. Insects track it into nest and kill rest of them. No need to seal.

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

The liquids and spray are all short term, immediate contact killers and not residual.

Here are small bellows squeeze pump bottles with long nozzle that works great.

https://www.google.com/search?client...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8