It kills them Lin. You need to do it at dusk though when they are all home for the evening, otherwise, the ones that were out foraging will come home later & just continue the nest. I hate using poison too, especially with the dog. We get wasps in the corners of the porch ceilings & if you use poison, it just falls down onto the tile or concrete. If the dog walks through, she gets it on her paws. Not good. Plus, with poison, you have to wait till it's really calm or else it blows back on you. No worries with detergent & alcohol --- it's not going to hurt you.
