From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: Wasp's nest in water heater compartment
Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 00:12:41 -0400
Message-ID: <qtn9ov49je7725tvh96d45aav447rekcvf@4ax.com>

No, but then again I use my rig almost every weekend.

Here's a tip for dealing with wasps.  CRC brand contact cleaner.  Available at
Home depot in the electrical department.   This stuff is meant to degrease
electrical contacts but when it contacts wasps it turns off Mr Life!  All
movement ceases.  Most amazing thing you've ever seen.  10X better than wasp
and hornet spray.  Other brands will work if they contain a chlorinated
hydrocarbon.

John

On Wed, 08 Oct 2003 10:31:39 GMT, "Nadyne Nelson" <nadyne@verizon.net> wrote:

>I'm leaving tomorrow to go north for a few weeks and I brought the MH to my
>mechanic to check all systems.  When he opened the compartment to light the
>water heater, he discovered a huge wasp's nest with thousands of wasps.  He
>got rid of it for me (luckily without getting stung!!) but I'm just
>wondering what I can do to prevent that from happening again.  If I hadn't
>brought the MH to Gary to check out, I would have been stopped somewhere and
>would have found that nest on my own with absolutely no way to get rid of
>it.
>
>Anyone else ever have this problem and what did you do about it?

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: Ivory liquid as bug killer (from the black widow thread)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 01:54:34 -0400
Message-ID: <300n70hmsb49p8uvkhckl2m8ilu6tta1p9@4ax.com>

'Bout what I expected.  I always marvel at what efforts people go to, avoiding
just using the stuff made for the task.

Anyway, back when I worked TVA construction in the good old days BE (before
epa) we were equipped with the most marvelous wasp killer I've ever seen.  It
was a big aerosol can filled with a mix of some sort of insecticide and R12.
The R12 froze the wasps in place until the insecticide killed them.  With the
passing of R12 I thought those days were long gone.

Then one of my lineman friends told me about the CRC brand electrical contact
cleaner.  His utility issues it to the line trucks for cleaning cables before
splicing.  This is a halogenated hydrocarbon based cleaner, probably 1,1,1
Trichloroethylene ("trike").  He told me that it was an amazing wasp spray
too.  I procured a can and gave it a test.  The can is equipped with a deluge
nozzle just like the long range wasp sprays and that old TVA freeze spray.

I hosed a nest containing probably 15 wasps.  Motion simply ceased.  Wasps did
NOT fly away.  They did NOT drop off the nest.  They simply ceased living,
frozen in time and place.  Every bit as effective as the old TVA freeze spray.
The stuff doesn't get cold enough to thermally freeze the critters so it must
be the solvent action of the trike.

Trike has fallen victim to the EPA ozone hysteria so it can't be purchased in
"stores".  CRC does make a consumer grade contact cleaner but it is not trike
based.  The good version has to be purchased at an industrial supply company
such as an electrical supply house.

John

On Mon, 12 Apr 2004 03:19:42 -0400, in rec.outdoors.rv-travel Bill Da Man
wrote:

>I've done a limited test.
>2 0z of Ivory dishwashing liquid in about a quart of water.
>
>1. Sprayed a wasp on its nest. It flew off, barely missing my face, and
>disappeared. The next day it was back - assuming it was the same one.
>
>2. Sprayed two wasps on a nest. One did nothing, and the other landed on
>my leg. The next day, there were two wasps working on the nest.
>
>3. Sprayed another two wasps on a nest. Neither flew, but both began
>wandering around the soffit away from the nest. Later, both were gone,
>but the next day, two wasps were working on the nest.

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair,misc.rural
Subject: Re: water soluble hornet killer
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2005 02:36:11 -0400
Message-ID: <pt9kc1l42nuda0044cj9i3sg02oo97mis5@4ax.com>

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 08:05:55 -0400, Frank Thompson
<gnx52@alltel.invalid.net.i> wrote:

>Real Kill Wasp & Hornet Killer does a great joib on instant killing.
>Contains tralomethrin and  d-trans allethrin. It is aerosol spray. Too
>dangerous to get on ladder when at war with hornets.  Anyone know
>of water soluble compound that is equally effective that I can apply
>with my pressure washer from the ground.
>Frank
>Georgia

I've found gasoline to be one of the best wasp killers.  A couple of
shots into the nest hole from a squirt bottle filled with gas causes
instant death.

Similarly, a mason jar of gas upended over the hole of a yellow jacket
nest nukes 'em to the next world instantly.

(now we pause while the econazis howl....)

Only a small amount of gas is involved with the spritz bottle so the
fire hazard is minimal.  Just don't light a match to check your aim!
:-)

Another great nuker is R-134a refrigerant.  I got the idea from some
heavy duty industrial wasp killer we used to get at TVA.  It was a mix
of some insecticide and R12.  The R12 froze the bugs in place until
the poison killed 'em.  One blast of the stuff and animation ceases.

I experimented with R12 alone and found it to be equally effective.
Turns out that freezing the l'il boogers kills 'em dead, no
insecticide needed.  Now that R12 is EVIL, I've found that R-134a
works almost as well.  It isn't as good a solvent as R12 so it doesn't
soak in as well but it still freezes 'em dead.

You could run a small tube along the length of a paint roller
extension rod or something similar.  Connect the ground end to a
blowoff can of R-134a.  Use the rod to stick the other end in the
nest's hole, turn the blowoff can upside down and let 'er rip!

I've used this attack scenario on large wasp nests with great success.
I've yet to have the opportunity to try it on a hornet's nest.  I have
no doubt that it would work just fine, especially at night.

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: hornets
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:27:39 -0400
Message-ID: <2cppg1pcsfjf4ib1ob54iuhpggokijlhcc@4ax.com>

Agreed, and add one more bit of advice.  do it at night.  You'll catch
them all in the nest at night.

An alternative is gasoline in a garden sprayer with the nozzle set to
stream.  Gas kills them almost instantly and is no more flammable than
the propane/isobutane, hydrocarbon solvated insecticide in the spray
cans.  Obviously you don't want to have any flame nearby.

When I head out to the woods to harvest hornet's nests in the fall,
the garden sprayer is my main weapon.  I locate the nests, log the
place on the gps receiver, then go back at night with the gas and a
long handled pruning shear.  A good gassing makes the nest safe in a
jiffy.

John

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 12:30:47 -0400, "John Gilmer"
<gilmer@crosslink.net> wrote:

>
>
>> eradication?  wait 'til fall?  will they die after a freeze?
>>
>
>I have had a lot of luck just spraying hornet killer at the nest.   You can
>get a can of the "killer" for about $3 at discount stores and they have
>quite a range (over 10').
>
>The range is important because you don't want them to make the association
>between the destrustion of their community with some guy holding a can.
>
>Alternatively, you can destroy the nest with a water spray.   Again, you
>want to be as far away as your water pressure permits.   If too many
>critters get curious you just drop the nozzle and SLOWLY walk away.
>
>Frankly, it pays you to keep your eyes open and "treat" the nests while they
>are still small.   I have routinely sprayed away (with water) small nests
>without the critters attacking me.
>
>Your nest is a little on the scarry size.   I would go for the poison (wasp
>killer, not general insect killer) and really spray the hell out of it.
>Have an extra can or two in reserve and be prepared to come back later to
>take out the critters who were out exploring when you made your primary
>attack.
>
>

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: Yellowjacket management
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:39:13 -0400
Message-ID: <opppg1hkah8ksfmj96t93khf1kqugmsogb@4ax.com>

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:02:51 -0700, just another
<poster@noaddress.com> wrote:

>In article <eYqdnZ2dnZ3suoG8nZ2dnXohkd6dnZ2dRVn-0Z2dnZ0@shawneelink.net>,
> lithar <lithar@hamiltoncom.net> wrote:
>
>> just another wrote:
>>
>> > I recently moved to a rural hillside site and am having trouble with
>> > yellowjackets. I did find
>> > one nest & sprayed it, reducing the problem by about a third.
>> >
>> > Anyone know of plants that they hate? I just want to reduce the numbers
>> > around the house & kids.
>> > There are also plenty of bees, which I don't want to disturb (as they're no
>> > problem).
>>
>> http://www.rescue.com/Products/ReusableYellowjacketTraps.asp
>> http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Departments/Tips/yellowjacket50.html
>
>Thanks, those are terrific, 'specially the aoj site. I'll be trying that one tonight.

Considering that there are thousands of yellowjackets in a mature
nest, all you're going to do is draw a crowd of 'em.

What you need to do is locate the other nests and kill them.
yellowjackets don't travel far from home so if they're bothering you,
the nest is nearby.

They tend to build in low spots, particularly if there is rotted plant
material in the area.  And they tend to come back to the same
vicinity, though not the same nest, year after year.  Once you learn
what to look for, the nests can be spotted quickly.  Mom's dog decided
to fight a nest this year and got stung.  I located the nest in her 1
acre yard in less than 5 minutes.

Wear dark cloths, no perfume or other stinky stuff and move slowly.
Look for them entering and leaving a hole in the ground at high speed.
Mark or otherwise remember where the nest is and then leave.

Come back at night with a mason jar or equiv full of gasoline.  Upend
the can over the hole and leave it there.  Gasoline is instant death
to wasps.  Go back in a couple of days and get the can.  Don't return
earlier because there always seems to be a few that were out of the
nest that hang around for a day or two and are in ill moods.

Next year in the early spring, take steps to keep other queens from
starting nests.  A suitable insecticide on the ground is very
effective.  Filling in low spots and removing rotting matter also
helps.

I've killed literally hundreds of nests using this technique and never
even had a close call with getting stung.

John