Wasp nest in ground

[NJA]

Anyone got any ideas for getting rid of wasp nest under ground?

I was being nice and letting it stay as I thought it was ground bee's which are pretty harmless and nice creatures.  But a blighter attacked me and my arms swollen up.  

Seems like a larger hole(1"-2") and a constant stream coming and going should have given it away as yellow jackets not bee's. 

Tried foam but not worked yet (maybe I keep trying that?)

Any other ideas that have worked?  Soapy water apparently?  Petrol and a match?  

Dynamite sound good fun and effective but non of the layby pop-up firework cabins sell it😕

[peds]

Putting a bin lid over it and ignoring it for a few months worked great on mine.

[GarethM]

Nice little bonfire sounds like a plan.

[rapalaman]

Nippon or similar ant powder sprayed round the entrance in cool evening or very early morning. They drag it inside on their bodies and then it takes effect on the queen. Had to deal with 7 or 8 this year and used this on 3 of them.

the foam only seems to work if applied directly to a hanging nest or in a roof space where you can see the entrance

[Paul in the woods]

It's getting late in the season now, they'll die out naturally in a week or two.

Edited November 4, 2024 by Paul in the woods

[NJA]

24 minutes ago, rapalaman said:

Nippon or similar ant powder sprayed round the entrance in cool evening or very early morning. They drag it inside on their bodies and then it takes effect on the queen. Had to deal with 7 or 8 this year and used this on 3 of them.

the foam only seems to work if applied directly to a hanging nest or in a roof space where you can see the entrance

I can see the entrance its a hole about 1½" across so I filled it with wasp foam.  Not sure how many more times I'll have to do it.

I had wondered if powder was more effective

[NJA]

7 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

It's getting late in the season now, they'll die out naturally in a week or two.

Ok thanks.  But will they just return next year do you know?

[NJA]

47 minutes ago, GarethM said:

Nice little bonfire sounds like a plan.

Doesn't matter if it works or not, its an excuse for a bonfire!

[Paul in the woods]

If they are common wasps then the new queens will hibernate somewhere and find a new nest site next spring.

 

They're likely to be nesting in an old rodent hole and there will be loads of them to use. There's a chance they'll nest there again but I've only known them nest in somewhere like a loft in multiple seasons.

[Peasgood]

14 minutes ago, NJA said:

Ok thanks.  But will they just return next year do you know?

They don't reuse nests so they won't come back to that one.

I'm not mad on wasps but if you have got this far through the year with no bother I don't see the need to do anything now, they will be gone soon enough.

Wasps do a great deal more good than harm, they eat an awful lot of pests in the garden. If they just dropped the stingy bit they'd be more popular than bees that just arse about in flowers and sting people.