Killing Yellow Jackets (not honey bees)

I'm a live and let live kind of person. Until now.

Yellow jackets have taken up residence in one of my flower beds at the base of (under) my 17yo Japanese Maple. Pulling weeds, and I grabbed a vine that apparently woke everybody up. I got 18 stings before I could get away.

There isn't enough witch hazel in the world to stop those stings. Double dosed on Benadryl and used an entire tube of lanacaine creme and they still hurt. Swelling was awful, one sting was the size of a golfball. Yellow Jackets can have the 200 acres surrounding me on all sides that my neighbors have left to run wild, but they can't have around the house. If one of my puppies had that many stings, it could have killed him. These guys have to go.

Old timers are telling me to get rid of the nest -- wait till dusk when they are sleeping and pour the hole full of kerosene and light it up. I'm over "good will towards all" and will do what it takes. Problem is the Japanese Maple that I am (used to be very) fond of.

Any ideas?

etnredclay

This forum is for question relating to adding data to the BugFiles database.

We have a forum on Garden Pests and Diseases Here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/pad/all/
and if you post your question there, you may get some help,

Kennedy
BugFiles Administrator

Oops and thanks!