Inside a wasp nest

Looks like a yellow jacket nest. I thought folks in New Zealand had more sense than do something like that.
Andy

That boy ain't right!!! A little gas in the entrance, wait a couple hours. Some more gas!! Then when none are flying get the nest.

Never underestimate a New Zealander!
Their creativity excels.

Probably "Show and Tell" at primary school.

When European Wasps first became a nuisance here (Tasmania), as a good Public Servant I reported a found wasp nest.
Curiously the powers to be seemed ambivalent to their own decree to report such finds and were completely uncooperative.

Chainman and I decided we'd fix it!
Took a gallon of petrol (your gas) and tipped it down the hole.
Stood back expecting a result but not the outcome we received.

I've never heard a louder Therwump in my life.
The whole ground erupted and flung stuff everywhere.
I don't think we had any more concerns after that.

Nate The Surveyor, post: 412779, member: 291 wrote: Those boogers can mess up a corner setting....

Been there, done that, tore the tee shirt off as I was running away!

Wonder what the cameraman is wearing?

A few years ago I had about three yellow jackets sting my ankle while I was mowing my front yard. I avoided the area and returned later to see where they were coming from. I found the hole. Once it was dark I emptied an entire can of wasp killer into the hole. The next morning a raccoon, I guess, had wondered by and finished the job for me. There was a hole dug out the size of a basketball with chewed up comb everywhere.

I completely avoid yellow jackets and ground hornets. Those guys do not mess around. That video goes to show how many of those devils live down there.

[USER=7070]@StLSurveyor[/USER]
Do raccoons eat the wasps? What do they get from the comb?

Richard, post: 412799, member: 833 wrote: [USER=7070]@StLSurveyor[/USER]
Do raccoons eat the wasps? What do they get from the comb?

Larvae

Richard, post: 412796, member: 833 wrote: Never underestimate a New Zealander!
Their creativity excels.

.

About 10 years ago I got stung by one of those on my index finger and it hurt like hell, so I called my Pa who is a retired Pharmacist, living in England at the time and he said stick your digit in a bottle of vinegar. I did and the pain went away almost immediately and there was no swelling. Maybe a placebo but not willing to re-test.

Richard, post: 412796, member: 833 wrote: I've never heard a louder Therwump in my life.
The whole ground erupted and flung stuff everywhere.

I once drove a peg into the ground and went through a wasp nest - that went Therwump as well. the whole ground erupted and flung wasps everywhere. It was the last set up of the day and we had to wait two hours before we could retrieve the instrument.

Jules J., post: 412791, member: 444 wrote: That boy ain't right!!! A little gas in the entrance, wait a couple hours. Some more gas!! Then when none are flying get the nest.

That's almost the same way to get a rattlesnake out of a gopher tortoise hole. Except you use a hose to pour the gas in the hole and then get the hell out of the way of the hole entrance. Mr. Rattlesnake will make an appearance very quickly. 😉

If you are somewhere that you can't safely use gas, an alternative is bleach. Works just about as well for moving them.

FL/GA PLS., post: 412818, member: 379 wrote: That's almost the same way to get a rattlesnake out of a gopher tortoise hole. Except you use a hose to pour the gas in the hole and then get the hell out of the way of the hole entrance. Mr. Rattlesnake will make an appearance very quickly. 😉

But don't use too much gas, it will kill the snake, and the gopher (tortoise). About a capful from a canteen is plenty if you also blow on the open end to get it into the hole. Also be aware that the rattler will normally come out and then curl up over the top of the gopher hole. They are usually too groggy to bite, but I'm not gonna push it.
Andy

I spend every Sunday morning in a W.A.S.P. nest; the best way to empty the nest is to wait until coffee hour and they leave on their own

Yes, they are prone to make me run!

Nothing wrong with fear and common sense.:)

Richard, post: 412796, member: 833 wrote: Never underestimate a New Zealander!
Their creativity excels.

Probably "Show and Tell" at primary school.

When European Wasps first became a nuisance here (Tasmania), as a good Public Servant I reported a found wasp nest.
Curiously the powers to be seemed ambivalent to their own decree to report such finds and were completely uncooperative.

Chainman and I decided we'd fix it!
Took a gallon of petrol (your gas) and tipped it down the hole.
Stood back expecting a result but not the outcome we received.

I've never heard a louder Therwump in my life.
The whole ground erupted and flung stuff everywhere.
I don't think we had any more concerns after that.

Had a similar incident once with a tree stump...

Dug all the dirt away from the stump and cut it off below the ground surface. Sawed the exposed parts of the roots off. Let it sit for a year or so to dry out. Drilled three 1-1/2" holes vertically into the exposed stump surface. Filled the with gasoline every day for a week so it would soak in.

On a beautiful, calm Saturday morning I went out, filled the holes with gasoline, took the gas can as far away as possible (like Dad taught me), and returned to the stump. I watched it for a minute and then lit a match and the entire back yard went "WOOSH!!) in a huge ball of flame! As I stood there pulling my singed eyebrows off I realized that while I was taking the gas can far away the fumes had spread out over the entire back yard - a possibility that had never occurred to me.

I'm much more cautious with gasoline now!!! That stuff is dangerous!

Jim in AZ, post: 412847, member: 249 wrote: I'm much more cautious with gasoline now!!! That stuff is dangerous!

I've learned that kerosene is a much better for burning wasps, brush, etc. It lights easily but doesn't tend to create clouds of explosive vapor like gasoline does.

I learned a hard lesson in Desert Storm. We had bought kerosene stoves from the locals that were very similar to this:

It's just a pan for the fuel and several wicks to pull it up to the burner. For the first couple of months we were near aviation units so Jet A (kerosene) was readily available. Shortly before the ground war began, we moved close to the Iraqi border and were far enough from the helicopter bases that we could only get gasoline and diesel. Being resourceful young knuckleheads we tried to run them with what we had. We quickly discovered that the diesel was impossible to light and gasoline was just plain dangerous. So we figured if we mixed diesel and a bit of gasoline we'd have homemade kerosene. It worked long enough for us to heat our MRE's then about the time we started patting ourselves on the back, the whole thing went up like a roman candle. I had forgotten that even when mixed, the gasoline would still evaporate at a much lower temperature than the diesel. So once the pan got warm, the gasoline evaporated and ignited around the edges of the pan. We nearly burned the tent down before we managed to snuff it out.

Stephen, thats plain old funny!
Some of us never live to share our poor decisions!
Thanks

Fire departments and Foresters mix torch gas for control burns that is usually 4 parts diesel and 1 part gasoline with a little motor oil mixed in. I like to drain out old gas from the boat, mower, 4 wheeler, or whatever has been sitting for several months and mix it 50/50 with diesel. Have never tried cooking with it:).

James