I poured gasoline down hole to yellow jackets nest that is under one of my daylilies. should I move the plant?

My guess is the gasoline may kill the plant roots and eventually the daylily. Were the yellow jackets killed?

hillbilly said:I poured gasoline down hole to yellow jackets nest that is under one of my daylilies. should I move the plant?

I would say yes, and the sooner the better.

That would be a good thing. I have been stung by them in the past and it was a trip to the hospital both times.

I would move the plant, if you think the bees are no longer a threat. I have read that gas or kerosene stays in the soil and contaminates its.

just 8 ounces of gas will kill the whole nest of yellow jackets and from my experience is the best thing for them. I can't say if it will harm the daylilies but I can say it didn't harm a small goumi bush, a fig tree, and few natives. Also the grass around the hole is not affected but keep in mind I only use about 8 ounces and have successfully killed more than 7 nest at my new property and countless others as a youth without any plants being lost in the process. If anyone wants to rid the yard of these aggressive wasps first locate the hole and toss something near it so you can find it later that night. The yellow jackets stay active until night. Around 9pm they are all home and tucked away so 9 or later is the only way to kill them all. creep up on the hole and dump the gas in. Don't light it just walk away and they will die from the fumes. If you light it they will not die and will make a new nest somewhere else. I don't know why lighting it don't kill them but trust me it don't. One side note is when any holes have been near my plants I did put the hosepipe at the hole and flushed it the next day for about an hour on low because I too was afraid I'd loose one of my plants. They tend to like the base of shrubs and trees especially newly planted one less than 3 years in ground. On older trees they tend to like pines not sure what the link is but I have been dealing with them my whole life since a child when my grandpa showed me how to get rid of them so I have some experience with them even if only the redneck way.

I found a yellow jacket nest under a hosta a few days ago. We have poured gasoline on the nests in the past with good success. Daniel, I will wait until dark to do it this time.

Doris

A few years ago we were troubled with a yellow jacket nest in the ground. I tried spraying wasp and hornet spray into the hole in the ground, but it did no good. Then the thought came to try flooding the nest. Being too chicken to place the garden hose in the hole, I stood a safe distance away, and practiced gently throwing the hose toward the nest. I had to drag the hose back a number of times, but when I finally was able to get it next to the hole, I turned the water on low and just let it run steadily for two or three days. It did the job nicely. We have soil that drains readily, so there was no damage to nearby plants. I don't know how this would work with hard-packed clay soil.
Whatever method you use, I wish you success.

Kat

I would not have thought of using just water!

Honestly Kat they probably just moved. the nest are designed to avoid being flooded and if the nest is compromised by flooding they will move to a new area. Each nest will have two entry or exit points so they probably went out the back. Many many people will say don't use gas because it will contaminant the soil but it works and works well and from what I can tell my soil is fine. I think too many people go overboard with the gas and that's the main problem. Like I said before an 8 oz glass will do the job but it has to be done at the right time.
When I was a kid I tried boiling water and got stung several times so please don't try that. wasp spray don't work because of the way the nest is designed you'll only spray in the soil and they will most likely come out the other hole and get you. a powdered Pyrethrin insecticide has been known to work but it's a slow process and pets and kids can get into it. The only other options are hiring a professional which is costly but if you have the funds by all means go for it. In the mean time I'll stick to using gas when I find them.

Hmm... Maybe I just got lucky, Daniel. All I know is that the problem got solved. The area surrounding their known entry hole was pretty much open lawn. I didn't recall having seen any yellow jackets congregating in other nearby places at the time, unless a second entrance was more than 50-or-so feet away.
They certainly are nasty little creatures, though. Depending on any future homes they might set up, I might try your method next time --- if I can get up the courage, that is.
Thanks, Daniel.

Kat

I used 1 cup of gasoline after dark late last August on a yellow jacket nest & they were eliminated overnight. This nest was very hard to find & took 3 weeks to locate. I was bitten severly each week for 3 weeks & finally got severe leg swelling from it.

The nest was in a hole hidden at one corner of a pile of walnut tree trunk logs. These wasps enter & leave the hole at extreme speeds, only one at a time & nearly vertical, making them very hard to see & very hard to locate. They will attack & bite you if you are standing near the nest blocking their flight. So, if you sense very quick "bugs" persitently flying around you or getting on you, you may be near a nest & need to move away quickly. They are fast. I have learned to take cover in bushes in the woods - for some reason they won't fly after you if you're in bushes & they don't seem to make ground hole nest in bushes. They will also make nests in tree & bush branches & in doorways. Brown wasps are relatively friendly compared to these yellow & black killers.

I used baking soda on the bites after the 3rd attack (it should be put on right away to avert pain & swelling, which can be severe to deadly). It is also important to drink baking soda water (1t or 1T/glass of water) to neuralize the sting acid & your own fear-fright acids. And I used red bush tea since it is for hydration & I was also very dehydrated. But the redbush tea unexpectedly also got rid of the leg swelling.

These wasps will both bite and sting repeatedly. One attack can quickly kill a allergic person by the poison, but the swelling that occurs later on can also kill if left to itself. Attack by multiple yellow jackets is definitely deadly. Since I had trouble finding them, I was bitten 4-6x for 3 seperate attacks, on neck, legs & ankles, one each week of August - about 15 bites-stings. My big mistake was not applying baking soda-water paste to the bites at all 'til it became obviously very serious after the 3rd attack.

This also works on black ant hills. I have done 12 small hills & the results are fast & complete. Only used one cup of gasoline per hill.

No damage to grass or to soil or to plants occurred.

Using gasoline to kill wasps never occurred to me.

Last year I stumbled across a nest when planting a new shrub. I was stung several times. Not a pleasant thing.

I sprayed with wasp killer. A few days later when I checked, they were gone.

Wasp spray is probably sprayable gasoline:)