Indoor Pest Control - yellow jacket nest in ceiling

I have just had an exterminator bomb my daughters room because a nest of yellow jackets was dripping nector/honey onto the sheetrocked ceiling. When I touched what I thought was a paint spot on the ceiling, my finger went right through the plaster and sheetrock. I can't remember ever running that fast from anything. Now I'm faced with the chore of removing the basketball sized nest. The bees are all dead and there has been no activity around the hole where they were getting in the house. Any suggestions or expectations that I should be aware of before I open up the ceiling. Thanks for all comments.

I had the same problem a couple of years ago. the culprits are called paper wasps around here although I think they are closely related to yellowjackets.

Their nest was directly above our bed and we could hear them chewing at night. We thought we had a mouse problem but there was no indication of mice. Finally they chewed all the way through the drywalled ceiling. A hole about 3" across.

I sprayed the area with a wasp killer and removed the nest. Fortunately it was accessible from the attic. They haven't returned, but I do an inspection in the attic whenever I'm up there.

Be sure to cover up everything well - especially if you have blown insulation! I wouldn't expect any problems removing the nest or making the repairs but it will likely be a messy job :eek:

I opened up the ceiling and as expected it was a mess. Took your advice and covered everything within 5 feet and was pleasently surprised they were all dead. Had the whole thing cleaned out in about an hour, patched it up with a 12"X12" piece of blueboard and the only thing left to do is to get my 10 year old daughter to move back into the room. Thanks