Bathroom full of bees

[GHerrmann]

I just found out where all the bees flying around in my house are comming from. Seems like they have setup shop in my bathroom exhuast ducting.



I have been fighting them for several days, spraying bee killer where the duct exits outside. Its hard to get a good shot at them cause there is a little flapper door where the duct exits the house. Don't want to spray it through the fan cause its flamable. I have kept the door to the bathroom closed and the lights on and fan running 24 hrs a day. They can still get past the spinning fan.



These are yellow jackets and they are huge. they are about twice the size of a normal one.



Now I need to take a newspaper in the bathroom for two reasons, one to read and two to swat.



Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of them fast and safe? Keeping in mind I'm disabled and can't climb a ladder to get close to the outside vent and I don't want my wife to do it. maybe hire a pro.

 

[FOXY005]

I have had good luck with the Raid Wasp and Hornet spray that shoots out to 20+ feet, spraying nests that they have built under the eaves of the house. I would unload a can of that into the outsude vent openiing and it should do it's job. I think just the residue from the spray kills them for a prolonged period of time. I have gotten stung 2 times this year cutting the grass, I guess I was invading their territory and those stings are nasty to deal with for at least 2 weeks. Fortunately I am not alergic to the stings. I finally located the nest and emptied a can into it from a distance. Solved my problem. Hope the spray solves your problem.

 

[MVenditti]

Beer, hard boiled eggs and beans. When you hit the bathroom turn on fan and gas em. :-laf

 

[fest3er]

Hire a neighborhood kid to climb the ladder and spray. Have him scope it out one evening to figure out where they are and how many there are, then cogitate a day to make a plan of action.

Wait until after dark when they're all home. Spray the vent first, then open the flap and spray inside as best he can, but not too much. Then tape the vent shut and remove it. But carefully and slowly. As soon as there's an opening, start spraying in spurts. And keep spraying in spurts as he removes the vent. They're probably not too far from the outside end. Once the vent is off, he should be able to see the nest and spray it good. Then have him come back in the morning to investigate and maybe spray again, then clean it out.

Or buy a 'bug bomb' and hang it under the exhaust fan. Turn the fan on and light the fuse. Exit bathroom and close door. Maybe constrict air passage to slow air flow and maximize density of smoke in the tube.

Or make a high-voltage bug zapper under the fan to zap the buggers as they come in. And one outside to zap them as they come and go.

Or hire a pro.

'Big yellowjackets' sounds more like hornets.

 

[BIGNASTY]

:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf

Beer, hard boiled eggs and beans. When you hit the bathroom turn on fan and gas em. :-laf

Now that's a good one

 

[fest3er]

Beer, hard boiled eggs and beans. When you hit the bathroom turn on fan and gas em. :-laf

Is that a Polish or Italian gas chamber?

 

[Superglide]

I believe it would be Polish, especially with the addition of pickled sausages.



I had a wasp nest in the old house and used a wasp spray after dark. Bees/wasps use the sun as a navigational aide and don't venture outside of their nest at night. I forget what the spray was, however, it was like an expanding foam which dissipated after a while. Worked like a charm.

 

[SRath]

Wait until dark on a cool night; tape one end of the ductwork tight-shut and have a cover ready for the other. Tape a cord onto one of those household bug-bombs and toss it in and close it up FAST. It will kill them.



The next day, pull the bug bomb can back out using the string, then get your shop vac and start sucking the dead bodies and nest out of the ductwork.



You will need to get some hardware cloth (wire mesh) and make the exhaust vent bee-proof to keep any strays from returning.



Yellowjackets are generally the same size as regular honey bees, just more streamlined. They build nests in the ground. It sounds to me like you have bumblebees. Be grateful, they are nowhere near as aggressive and downright mean as real yellowjackets.



I found a dead Monster Wasp out by my shop last week. That sucker is HUGE! Bigger than a bumble bee. Everybody I show it to just freaks; its easily the size of a cicada locust and very brightly colored with a huge, fat stinger and a gigantic wasp-shaped body with big hornet-shaped wings.



I do NOT want to 'accidently' find the nest that brute came from, but I think it's in the old camper I'm dismantling and junking... I found him laying dead right next to it and I know for a fact there is large bumble bee nest in the water tank compartment and plenty of regular wasp nests, too. I'm thinking of just dragging the darned thing out to the middle of the driveway and dousing it with gasoline and diesel and putting a match to it. I've got all the appliances out already.

 

[GHerrmann]

Beer, hard boiled eggs and beans. When you hit the bathroom turn on fan and gas em. :-laf

I think thats what attracted them into the vent in the first place:-laf plus with that combo I may not make it to the bathroom in time



So far no bees today.



Thanks for all the ideas. I'm going to keep spraying them each day. Going to try to lift the flapper with a long stick or 1x2 While spraying, then wedge the flapper shut. Think I'll spray area every couple of days untill first good freeze. Then cover vent with screen.

 

[rscurtis]

Scott I think what you're referring to is a Cicada killer wasp. Should be about 2" long. From what I understand, solitary wasps such as these and mud wasps are not agressive to humans unless accidentally handled or stepped on.

 

[SRath]

Well my trees are chock-full of cicadas alright. Always have been. Plenty of dead ones and empty skins all over the place. It gets VERY loud around here when they all fire up in the evening.



Maybe I should investigate breeding a colony of these fearsome cicada killers to get rid of few thousand cicadas? That might be like turning mountain lions loose in Iowa to control the deer populations, but since a local guy did in fact kill a large mountain lion 30 miles from here last winter, the DNR is having a tougher time denying they would do that... they certainly can't call all the lion and lion track sightings "urban legend" anymore.