I wasn't talking about over-the-counter. Something shouldn't cost hundreds of dollars just because it requires a prescription.
My first kit was a vial and a syringe, not some Star Trek technology. It came in a little red plastic case.
I found a 2019 article where CVS stepped into the ring and worked with an alternate manufacturer to get the cost for a 2pak down to $10, after a manufacturer $100 off coupon. I gotta pick up a script tomorrow. I'll ask the pharmacist what the best course of action is.
The yellow jackets didn't stop going in and out of the nest until about 8:45 pm. Drained the hose of water. Poured about a cup of Dawn in at the faucet end. Shoved the other end into the hole. At first I let the water trickle to move the soap down before a lot of water. About 9:15 a few of them started crawling out. Kept turning the water up gradually. At one point I added another half cup of Dawn just for good measure. Maybe a dozen yellow jackets lined up along the hose looking confused. Tossed a bucket of water with Tide on them. Waited until 11 pm hoping the water would start to puddle up in the yard, but it never did. Not a good sign. The nest opening is about 3 feet from the top of a bank formed from a pile of large rocks. It's possible this opening goes down into a pile of rocks underground. They might very well have another opening. Or the water may have just wandered around between rocks and missed the actual nest completely. I can keep annoying them tomorrow if necessary. At least the hose will be nice and clean inside now. Not to worry about drinking from it.
I was taking a shortcut through the woods while walking home from elementary school one day, by myself, for some reason, and I tripped on a brush pile that I had decided to walk over, I think it was to avoid a wet spot. One of my legs went through some of the brush, and then I started getting stung by hornets. They were everywhere, and because I panicked, I had trouble getting my leg out. I was stung more than a dozen times and still had to walk nearly a mile. Thankfully, I was not allergic, but it sure was painful.
That reminds me of an expression, an old farmer I knew used when someone had a bad hair day: "You look like you came through the brush pile backwards".
The walking may have been a good thing. When I got stung some of the stingers stuck in and you had to scrape them out with a piece of cardboard. Both legs started burning really bad. It seemed to be worse if you sat down, so I paced the floor. Finally took off walking about a half mile to the track and back, thinking maybe it would hurry the poison through the system. It seemed to help. Or maybe it would have gotten better anyway. Who knows. Everything was fine by the next morning.
I wonder if the yellow jackets will be back. I guess you'll see if they are entering & exiting the hole inn the ground. My vote is for gasoline...and to look for other access points. Water is not dramatic enough.
The jury is still out this morning. I expected to see at least a dozen dead ones on the ground, but there were none and the hole had been dug out larger. Some critter must have come by and ate them (spiced with Tide). Maybe a skunk or the raccoons, or a bear (or a zebra? ) Two yellow jackets came by, hovered over the hole a long time, and finally went in. Normally they go straight in and out, no hesitation. Maybe these two were out carousing last night and finally made it back home. The water is turned on again. Gasoline and fire scare me. It is 77F degrees right now with 87% humidity. Like a steam bath. Got the lawns all mowed yesterday. High predicted today 95. It's either raining or hot. I'm done outside for today.
When I burned out the nest I had, there were fragments of nest scattered around but I don't recall any corpses. I think they'll go down with the ship [nest], perhaps trying to save the queen but not their own lives.
Starting any fire with gasoline is very dangerous. I use kerosene myself. A buddy of mine was trying to get rid of moles or voles, and poured gas down the holes and lit it. Some old tree roots caught fire and he ended up calling the fire department. When I use gas, it is away from the house, and after pouring in in the hole, I cover it with a brick or concrete block, and let the fumes kill them. Then there's the odd, old underground coal mine or gas well that might burn forever. Think CA Wildfires!
Wellll, I am going to try a diy poison trap today. Beer did not work, coke did not work although they always draw yellow jackets at picnics. I believe different times of the year requires different lures. Sugar for spring and early summer and meat for fall. Apple juice is often recommended. Will mix in borax for them to bring home to the hive. It happens to be in my soffit next to my front porch. I believe it is a continuation of a next I thought I had gotten rid of last year with spray and diatomaceous earth. They just moved further in and up higher, I guess. I poisoned ground nest with spray by my foundation shrubs. Several applications. No digging. I am allergic.