# Does smoking calm Yellowjackets?



## claytr (Aug 26, 2009)

I need to puff some powdered Sevin in hole in my friends house to get rid of a huge Yellowjacket nest. I know it would be better at night, but this won't be an option. After I suit up will smoking the hole calm them like it does honey bees?


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## Bitteroot (Apr 13, 2009)

My grandad used to park a push mower over the hole while running and left it.... It worked for him more than once. I have never been brave enough to try it since I'm allergic to them demons!


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## claytr (Aug 26, 2009)

That's not what I asked. Does smoke calm Yellow Jackets like it does honeybees? Besides I can't put a lawnmower up against the siding
of the house.


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## power napper (Apr 2, 2005)

I have just dumped the sevin into the entrance opening, some gets spilled around the entrance but it works--am estimating about half a cup or so of sevin dust.
When no yellow jackets are coming or going in a few days seal the entrance or dig the nest up-whichever suits. There will be capped brood inside the nest hatching so be careful.


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## claytr (Aug 26, 2009)

The problem is I need to use a turkey baster and puff the sevin in a hole
that goes straight up. I have dumped it over a hole in the ground many times, and I know that it works, but since I will be puffing several basters full of powder, I need a way to calm them in the process. I know all the ways to kill them, all I want to know is if smoke calms them like a honeybee?


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## Hambone (Mar 17, 2008)

I was smoking a nest of paper wasp last night for the fun of it. They didn't seem to calm at all. They actually seemed quit angry about the whole thing.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I tried smoking yellowjackets last year. I don't think it worked at all. Trouble is, I was smoking at an entrance that went into the basement area and wall cavity. Even if smoke was effective, I don't know how far it traveled and how many yellow jackets may have been exposed to it. I gave up.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Not in my experience. I don't think smoke works with YJ's.


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## BoBn (Jul 7, 2008)

Smoke doesn't work with wasps.

Smoke disorientates honey bees. I don't think that it calms them. It just temporarily messes them up.


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## Jack Grimshaw (Feb 10, 2001)

The only smoke a yellow jacket respects is after a 1/4 cup of gas and a match.

Try a few qts of soapy water.Early morning is best.

Jack


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## trapperbob (May 27, 2007)

You have to remember that smoke really doesn't calm honey bees it makes them go down into the comb and ingest honey inorder to prepare to flee from the fire that they think is coming except for brood yellow jackets have nothing to protect but themselves so they will go into self defense mode and trust me they can defend themselves well.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

Turkey baster.

You might consider using a 1/2" piece of plastic pipe with an "L" on the delivery end, charge the end, and blow it into the area.
I have used green Light Horticultural oil and it works too.
I have used a smoker in the past and it does not seem to make any influence on their behavior.
I do use WD-40 and apply it directly to them and it will knock them out of the air. Do not inhale the fumes!
Ernie


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## Truchaos (Jun 30, 2008)

Jack Grimshaw said:


> The only smoke a yellow jacket respects is after a 1/4 cup of gas and a match.



I've found smoke doesn't work with yellow jackets. 

I've also found that some gas without the match works just as well. 

This year I tried placing a white plastic bucket over the hole for a few days. I watched as the yellow jackets bounced around inside, then I needed the bucket and removed it. Oddly, today I noticed no activity in the nest.


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## Chick (May 21, 2009)

Watch it, they will make another hole.


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## Beee Farmer (Aug 11, 2008)

claytr said:


> That's not what I asked. Does smoke calm Yellow Jackets like it does honeybees? Besides I can't put a lawnmower up against the siding
> of the house.


I guess it depends on what you are smoking Probably wont calm the yellow jackets but might calm you enought to get that lawn mower in place.


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## dave28210 (Nov 10, 2008)

Jack Grimshaw said:


> The only smoke a yellow jacket respects is after a 1/4 cup of gas and a match.
> 
> Try a few qts of soapy water.Early morning is best.
> 
> Jack


I agree. I tried smoking some yellowjackets that had taken up in the side of my compost heap, and it just seemed to disrupt things for a few seconds, until the smoke cleared that is. Did it calm them? No, it just confused them briefly. However, gas and a match will "calm" them quite well. 

On the side of a house, I don't know. Is it the house or a shed? Depending on that, doing a sort of cutout with extermination in mind might be possible. But I know if it is your home and not a storage building, barn, etc, then doing structural damage and paying to fix it may not be the way. 

Then again, sealing up the entrance with caulk or some other material might require them to bore a new entrance that may be in a position where YOU can do more damage to THEM. I have done something similar to that on my shed, but not with yellow jackets. Good luck.


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## Gene Weitzel (Dec 6, 2005)

I have removed several yellow jacket colonies out of structures. Smoke does not do much and they can sting through the bee suit. I used a mixture of 1 cup 190pf vodka, 2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap and a quart of water in a pump sprayer. Calmed them right down......permanently.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I don't know. But it seems to work for people. Especially if one smokes grass. But I never saw a yellow jacket smoking. Do they use a pipe or do they roll their own? 

Oh, you mean a bee smoker? No. Doesn't do a thing for them.


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## BEEDONE (Jul 26, 2014)

Blowtorch worked REAL well, Toasted everybody that was home in seconds  ( got them at night ) And it works real well in hard to reach places or as is usually found when the hive hole is at the bottom. Cant really use sprays or lawnmowers on those. LOL. Do bee aware that they WILL come tumbling out but fortunately without wings so you shouldn't have any attack issues but it is a surprise to have two dozen yellow jackets raining down on you. Just don't burn your house down! :no:


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## db_land (Aug 29, 2003)

claytr, I know you know this, but be very careful about using smoke, fire, gas or anything like that in your friends house --- especially in the walls/attic. Smoke doesn't work on yjs anyway. On a big yj nest I have used a shop vac with the intake positioned to catch every yj as it exits/enters the hole --- soon there are very few yjs left looking for a fight! You may need to let it run for an hour or two. Then use the baster or a long tube to dust the nest area with sevin and seal the hole.


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## Yvesrow1 (Jan 27, 2013)

*Smoking a Yellow jacket nest was a VERY BAD idea but now its off my bucket list...*


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Brake cleaner calms em right down and completely evaporates without leaving any residue


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## Bee Whisperer (Mar 24, 2013)

Smoking Yellow Jackets just stirs them up. 

Can you attach a hose to the end of a funnel, charge the funnel and hose with Seven, seal around the hole and tube/hose, and blow the Seven into the wall with the blower side of a shop vacuum? That way you could get it further up into the wall; maybe.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Brake cleaner. It'll knock them right out of the air and kills them extremely quickly.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

You all do realize this thread is an old one from 2009 yes?
Use a propane or map gas torch but don't light it. Just the gas itself puts them all to sleep.


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