Yellow Jackets – Do We Have To Use Synthetic Insecticides?

Q: Is there no other way to kill yellowjackets besides using synthetic insecticides? 

A: As a matter of fact, there is one way that has been tested and found useful by a UGA entomologist. Dr. Paul Guillebeau read somewhere that putting a clear glass bowl over a yellowjacket nest entrance would kill the inhabitants. He tried it twice and it worked as promised. Why it worked for him and others is still up in the air. Perhaps the insects starved to death. Would it work if the entrance was simply covered by an equivalent piece of wood. Is there something about the clear bowl that prevents the critters from digging under the rim? Inquiring minds want to know! You can aid the research by emailing your experience with using a clear bowl to Dr. Guillibeau at bugman@uga.edu.