**The Dumbest Way to Destroy a Yellowjacket Nest โ€” Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/dumbest-way-destroy-yellowjacket-nest/ Learn a simple, chemical-free method to destroy a yellowjacket nest using just a shovel and dirt, with insights on effectiveness and risks. ## Key Takeaways - Covering a yellowjacket nest entrance with dirt early in the morning can effectively neutralize the nest without chemicals. - Yellowjackets are less active and less aggressive in cooler morning hours, reducing sting risk during treatment. - Large nests may require repeated dirt coverage as yellowjackets might dig new exits. - Traditional methods like sawdust or chemical sprays have drawbacks such as cost, toxicity, and close proximity risks. - This shovel-and-dirt method is simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly but not guaranteed for all nest sizes. ## What the video covers - The video demonstrates a straightforward method to eliminate yellowjacket nests by covering the entrance with dirt using a shovel. - No chemicals or sprays are required, making it an accessible and inexpensive solution. - The best time to perform this is early morning when yellowjackets are slow and mostly inside the nest. - Yellowjackets aggressively defend their nests but may be confused by the dirt covering, reducing stings. - The method has worked reliably in the past, though larger nests may pose challenges with yellowjackets digging out. - The video compares this shovel method to traditional sawdust and chemical treatments, highlighting pros and cons. - The narrator monitors the nest after covering it to see if the insects dig their way out or remain trapped. - There is some humor and caution about the risks of getting stung and the unpredictability of yellowjacket behavior. - The video concludes with a disclaimer that the method might not always be effective and is for entertainment purposes. - Additional footage and commentary discuss wildlife interactions with yellowjacket nests and alternative control methods. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Introduction to the shovel method for yellowjacket nests 2. 01:03 Morning attempt and yellowjacket activity 3. 01:54 Observing the nest after covering with dirt 4. 03:35 Effectiveness and past experiences with the shovel method 5. 04:34 Speculations on nest interior and yellowjacket behavior 6. 05:19 Comparison with traditional sawdust and chemical methods 7. 06:14 Monitoring new nest entrances and follow-up actions 8. 07:48 Reflection on method efficiency and entertainment disclaimer Answers ## Questions about this video What is the main method used to destroy a yellowjacket nest in this video? The video shows covering the yellowjacket nest entrance with a shovel full of dirt early in the morning when the insects are slow and mostly inside, which can suffocate and trap them. Is it safe to use this shovel and dirt method without getting stung? Performing the method early in the morning when yellowjackets are less active reduces the risk of stings, and the video narrator reports not getting stung during attempts. Does this method work on large yellowjacket nests? The method is generally effective but may be less reliable on very large nests, as yellowjackets might dig new exits, requiring repeated dirt coverage. ## Full Transcript โ€” Download SRT & Markdown 00:00 Speaker A If you are so unfortunate as to have one of the world's most hateful things, a yellow jacket nest, I'm going to show you the simple trick I use to get rid of them. And it's definitely a trick on them. It's so simple people have a hard time believing me when I tell them how well it works. You don't need any spray or chemicals, assuming you already have a shovel, you're not going to have to buy anything. 00:12 Speaker A them. It's so simple people have a hard time believing me when I tell them how well it works. You don't need any spray or chemicals, assuming you already have a shovel, you're not going to have to buy anything 00:24 Speaker A Because a shovel is all you need. This does work well, but the yellow jackets are not going to be happy at all about it. If you know anything about yellow jackets, you know they do not repress their emotions. They wear their hearts on their stingers. And I don't want to get in on that. 00:38 Speaker A on their stingers. And I don't want to get in on that. Since I don't want to have to deal with a bunch of yellow jacket emotions, we're going to wait, get up early tomorrow morning, do this when it's still cool, 00:50 Speaker A Since I don't want to have to deal with a bunch of yellow jacket emotions, we're going to wait, get up early tomorrow morning, do this when it's still cool, when they're still slow, while most of them are still in their nest. So, we'll see you in the morning. Hopefully, we can get this done without somebody getting hurt. Especially since that somebody would likely be me. It is now 01:03 Speaker A tomorrow, early in the morning. It is not as cool this morning as I was hoping it would be. 01:10 Speaker A tomorrow, early in the morning. It is not as cool this morning as I was hoping it would be. Maybe the weather people were right when they said, "It's not going to be as cool this morning as you were hoping it would be." Okay, we do need one more thing beside a shovel. 01:20 Speaker A But if you have yellow jackets, you probably have dirt. Get as big of a scoop as you can get. 01:27 Speaker A But if you have yellow jackets, you probably have dirt. Get as big of a scoop as you can get. Hopefully, they aren't active early this morning because it's so warm. If they are, you might get to see me do the yellow jacket dance for real this time. Just like it says on fireworks, light fuse and get away. I didn't hear any buzzing. 01:46 Speaker A Just like it says on fireworks, light fuse and get away. I didn't hear any buzzing. 01:54 Speaker A Okay, now I hear a few buzzing. Looks like there were a few that were up early this morning. Most of them should still be inside where they have now been buried. And I didn't even get stung. They didn't even come after me. Which is commonly the case early in the morning. 02:01 Speaker A Most of them should still be inside where they have now been buried. And I didn't even get stung. They didn't even come after me. Which is commonly the case early in the morning. 02:12 Speaker A They will aggressively defend their nest, but they're not real smart when there's a bunch of drama going on around their nest like a bunch of dirt getting dropped on it. They don't always know to go after the fleshy thing that's running the show. They might be stinging the dirt because to them that's what's doing the initial assault on their nest. 02:25 Speaker A the show. They might be stinging the dirt because to them that's what's doing the initial assault on their nest. 02:32 Speaker A At least until they realize it's dirt. That is if they have the ability to realize it's dirt. Now you may be thinking, "That's stupid. They're just going to dig their way out." One would think, wouldn't you? Let's take a look from a hopefully safe distance, see what's going on. Zoom the camera into I only see two or three of them buzzing around. 02:48 Speaker A distance, see what's going on. Zoom the camera into I only see two or three of them buzzing around. 02:56 Speaker A We'll check in later, see if they dig their way out or not. One time I was out in the woods, there was a yellow jacket nest where I was going to be working the next few days. At the time I didn't have any sawdust or chemicals or anything to kill them with. 03:05 Speaker A At the time I didn't have any sawdust or chemicals or anything to kill them with. 03:12 Speaker A Just inhaled a fly or a little Glad it wasn't a yellow jacket. Anyway, it was a little gnat or something. That was stupid. Anyway, I had a shovel. I thought, "I'm just going to scoop some dirt on there, see if that works." The next day, they didn't dig out. The nest was done. 03:25 Speaker A Anyway, I had a shovel. I thought, "I'm just going to scoop some dirt on there, see if that works." The next day, they didn't dig out. The nest was done. 03:35 Speaker A I was surprised it actually worked and they didn't dig themselves out. Being digging insects and all. After that, the shovel became my go-to method. There was one time, maybe two, where they did dig through. I just came in the next morning, plopped another plop of dirt on it. That took care of them. But this is a huge nest. I don't think I have ever done this with a nest anywhere near this big. So, I don't know if this is going 03:49 Speaker A morning, plopped another plop of dirt on it. That took care of them. But this is a huge nest. I don't think I have ever done this with a nest anywhere near this big. So, I don't know if this is going 04:00 Speaker A to work. I wouldn't be surprised if these ones dig through just because there's so many of them. We're going to keep an eye on them today, find out if they dig their way out, or find out if this was just a bad idea with a nest that big. I try to imagine what might be going on inside there. If they're digging themselves out, they're going to have to do it from the inside. What are they going to do with all that dirt? Do they have space inside to store it? My 04:13 Speaker A that big. I try to imagine what might be going on inside there. If they're digging themselves out, they're going to have to do it from the inside. What are they going to do with all that dirt? Do they have space inside to store it? My 04:25 Speaker A guess is when they designed that nest, they probably didn't account for some jerk face with a shovel coming along and pouring a bunch of dirt on top of them. Maybe there's enough room in there for all of them and the dirt. I don't know. 04:34 Speaker A Maybe there's enough room in there for all of them and the dirt. I don't know. 04:38 Speaker A I've never been inside a yellow jacket nest. I don't know how things work in there. Or since we did this when it was still dark, maybe they don't even know it's morning yet. They wake up, look up toward their hole and see, nope, still dark. Then they roll over in bed, go back to sleep. They might end up just sleeping in there all day thinking, gee, this sure is a long night. 04:50 Speaker A dark. Then they roll over in bed, go back to sleep. They might end up just sleeping in there all day thinking, gee, this sure is a long night. 05:01 Speaker A Probably not. I'm just making stuff up. I always used to use the old tried and true logger's method. Go out early in the morning when they're still in their nest, pour a little bit of sawdust down their hole. One of the biggest problems with this method is, unless you have some kind of a long thing, you have to get right up into their to be able to do that. At least with the shovel, you have a long handle. Plus, you're pouring a bunch of toxic junk in the ground, and sawdust is expensive these days. But if you get them early in the morning when 05:07 Speaker A Go out early in the morning when they're still in their nest, pour a little bit of sawdust down their hole. One of the biggest problems with this method is, unless you have some kind of a long thing, you have to get 05:19 Speaker A it's cool, they're still in their nest, I don't remember ever being stung doing that. So, why sawdust? Because it works. It works very well. A lot of the old-time loggers used to think sawdust was the cure for a lot of things. If you get a bug bite, a mosquito bite, a tick bite, ah, just 05:32 Speaker A it's cool, they're still in their nest, I don't remember ever being stung doing that. 05:38 Speaker A pour some saw gas on it. You get stung, ah, pour some saw gas on it. That'll make it feel better. You get poison oak, ah, pour some saw gas on it. Then as time went on and our society started taking the scientific method more seriously, we realized maybe pouring saw gas on yourself isn't such a good idea. 05:53 Speaker A pour some saw gas on it. You get stung, ah, pour some saw gas on it. That'll make it feel better. You get poison oak, ah, pour some saw gas on it. 06:03 Speaker A Of course, you can use bug spray. There's the type you can spray from 20 ft away, but you have to be careful not to get that on you, and then consider the collateral damage. What else might it kill in the process? I like the idea of using C4 or something similar just for the entertainment value of it, but they say it's dangerous. We're not supposed to have it if we're not qualified to use it, blah, blah, blah, and that could be a problem during fire season. Sun's been 06:14 Speaker A Of course, you can use bug spray. There's the type you can spray from 20 ft away, but you have to be careful not to get that on you, and then consider the collateral damage. What else might it kill in the process? I like the idea of 06:27 Speaker A up for a while. It's warming up now. Let's see how our friends are doing. They're definitely not looking friendly, and there's a lot of them now. Either some of them got out early before I covered them up, or a lot of them spent the night out, or they found a way out. 06:42 Speaker A up for a while. It's warming up now. Let's see how our friends are doing. 06:47 Speaker A The dirt I put on there hasn't changed. They're not getting out through that entrance. I wonder if they have another one. They don't look like they're in a very good mood at all. I'm going to go over here. It's a little after 8:00 in the evening. Let's see how our friends are doing now. 07:02 Speaker A The dirt I put on there hasn't changed. They're not getting out through that entrance. I wonder if they have another one. 07:09 Speaker A Oh, they do have another hole. Maybe it took them a while to open that one up. It's about 6 in to the upper left of the dirt pile. The dirt I put on the original entrance is still intact. Let's get up early tomorrow morning and cover up the new entrance. See if that does it. It probably won't, but what else do we have to do early in the morning? 07:19 Speaker A Oh, they do have another hole. Maybe it took them a while to open that one up. 07:24 Speaker A Maybe this is what happens when the fire danger is so high, we can't actually do any work around here. I resort to harassing yellow jackets. I got out about 15 minutes earlier this morning when it's even more dark. Instead of setting a camera up close, I'm just going to use the trail camera for footage. It is silent. I hear no buzzing. I only see a couple moving around on the ground. I'm going to go raisin bran on them and give them a 07:32 Speaker A Let's get up early tomorrow morning and cover up the new entrance. See if that does it. It probably won't, but what else do we have to do early in the morning? 07:42 Speaker A second scoop, which was very poorly executed because I kind of half chickened out. Couple hours later, sun's up. It's warming up. Let's see what's happening. There's a huge difference between today and yesterday. Very little activity today. They were buzzing all around by this time yesterday. 07:48 Speaker A I resort to harassing yellow jackets. I got out about 15 minutes earlier this morning when it's even more dark. 07:58 Speaker A It's just afternoon and they are very active. I'm g 08:09 Speaker A second scoop, which was very poorly executed because I kind of half chickened out. Couple hours later, sun's up. It's warming up. Let's see what's happening. 08:20 Speaker A There's a huge difference between today and yesterday. Very little activity today. They were buzzing all around by this time yesterday. 08:29 Speaker A It's just afternoon and they are very active. I'm going to stay back here. They did dig through. I imagine that dirt funneling right into their nest is going to cause them problems. 08:53 Speaker A I could wait until tomorrow morning, plop another shovel full right on top. That would be a lot of dirt for them to go through, but I think maybe we've already determined what we needed to determine here, which is that was stupid. Who's 09:07 Speaker A idea [snorts] was this anyway? They're just going to dig themselves out. It worked out well for me in the past on smaller nests, but that is a big dangerous nest. All we really did there was created a dangerous situation. 09:21 Speaker A This could be a really big problem in a case where there could be people around, especially kids running around. Not something you'd want to do in a public place or in a yard or somewhere where there where there might be pets. 09:34 Speaker A But this place is is that. This is remote private property where people just don't show up uninvited. If anybody stumbles through here, which they don't do, they're trespassing anyway. This ended up going from a this is how I do 09:48 Speaker A it video to a don't do it that way video. I think I'm going to leave them alone. I'll just have to avoid that area. I still have the trail camera in the tree next to it pointed at it. I got this trail camera 10:01 Speaker A footage of a skunk digging up this smaller nest. Maybe we can get some footage of a bear or a skunk digging those up. 10:09 Speaker A No, that's not me chickening out. That's just me coming up with a a better idea. 10:16 Speaker A Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? I can't let sleeping yellow jackets lie. So, I got out even earlier the next morning, went raisin bran on them, gave them two more scoops. 10:28 Speaker A It is now about 8:30 in the evening. There has not been much activity today on the nest. Ever since this morning, it's just been small number of them flying around. I haven't seen them flying in and out of anywhere. Nothing's 10:42 Speaker A caved in. It doesn't look like the usual large nest of them I've seen. See, I knew it was going to work the whole time. Never doubted it for a moment. 10:51 Speaker A What we may have learned here is that was a very inefficient way of taking care of a nest. 10:57 Speaker A Why is it the one I do on camera is the one that gives me all the problems when all the ones I did before that off camera went really smooth? 11:06 Speaker A Because that's the way it goes, I guess. I'm wondering if all that dirt funneling down into their nest really messes them up. Do notice I only approach the nest early in the morning when they're inactive. The rest of the time we are 11:19 Speaker A zooming in from a distance. A lot of people make a big mistake with yellow jackets. They'll run into a nest or somebody will. The yellow jackets get all upset, start stinging people, and carrying on. 11:31 Speaker A Then the person will go attack them right then with spray or something. That's a bad idea. Wait for them to calm down, then go after them early the next morning when it's still cool before they become active. Actually, now 11:46 Speaker A that I think about it, probably everything in this video was a bad idea. So, disregard all of it. This video should be considered to be for entertainment purposes only, not any kind of advice. 11:58 Speaker A Before approaching a yellow jacket nest, consult a real professional who actually knows what they're talking about, not just some guy on YouTube. That was probably the most intelligent part of this whole video. If this video ends now without an update, that means there was 12:13 Speaker A no update. It means tomorrow there were no changes. I'll put a video up here for you to watch about how I spend a lot of time out in the woods, working in the woods without getting stung, and how I avoid getting bit by ticks. 12:29 Speaker A It's the next day. Ooh, looks like they did find a way out. They're coming in and out of a spot just on this side of the dirt pile. 12:38 Speaker A Of course, this method's not going to work. They're going to dig themselves out. They're digging insects. Although it worked for me in the past, this was a stupid video idea. Topics: yellowjacket nest yellowjacket removal pest control DIY pest control chemical-free pest control outdoor safety insect nest destruction shovel method early morning pest control wildlife interaction --- This is the markdown twin of https://sozai.app/transcript/dumbest-way-destroy-yellowjacket-nest/ โ€” the same content, without the markup. 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