Our adventures in Oregon gardening continues. Within the last week an infestation of jellow jackets has developed in my garden, particularly in the area where there are rows of turnips and mustard close together. I've watched for a while, and there does not appear to be a nest nearby, they just seem to like the area. There are so many I'm afraid to work in that area while they are there. What to do?
try a yellowjacket trap - basically a bottle partially filled with colored sugar water (I don't know if a one-way top that they sell at garden stores is required)- yellowjackets go in, can't fly back out, drown.
(If you have a compost pile nearby, make sure the green is always on top of the house stuff - garbage attracts yellowjackets. )
PS - I hung out a couple of traps (Rescue! Yellowjacket trap) but they are happily ignoring the traps :(
Those yellow jackets are just trying to clean your garden. Here they are no problem until a dry August occurs then they search for water. They like sugar water aka soda and have been known to enter soda cans. They like to spare with my hummers so I provide a yellow trap on occasion too. Hummers are primary here.
I once weeded a jacket nest and was stung many times. If you see a hole about the size of a US quarter and yellow jackets come and go mark it and give ground. If possible but take it out if kids and others may stumble on it.
Bill
Do they bother you when you working in the garden? I'm afraid to pull a turnip for fear of there being a bee on it that does not take kindly to my pulling it's food source out :)
We get some hornets here, but not very many and they are not very agressive (unless you disturb their nest). But yellow jackets are *everywhere*.
I'm curious that they are ignoring the trap I put out. It came with some "attractant", but I'm thinking they are not interested in that, they want food, so maybe I need to put some meat or fruit in the trap?
Matthew, bees do not eat turnips. When you see bees around the garden, their main interest is the flowers. To them, you're like a maintenance person changing fluorescent bulbs in a busy office, with your ladder getting in everyone's way. It's their office.
I've got a butterfly bush, which (obviously) attracts butterflies, but also bees, some of which seem to be on steroids. They're huge. But, I give them as much space as I would a person operating a miter saw, and I haven't been bothered. They also hang out in the large flowers of eggplants, melons, zucchini and other stuff. They may fly out & take a look at you, but you're more likely to cut yourself on a piece of glass hiding in the soil, then be bothered by them.
I suggest you grab a good book, set up a chair right alongside the garden, and spend a few hours near them, watching what they do. I doubt they'll even notice you.
No, unless of course you squeeze it. RARE!
They like to eat meat luckily very small meat ;))
In my yellow trap ( Color matters!!)_ I just put sugar water 1:4 . Same as hummers NO COLOR dye stuff YUK . They (Jackets) can get in easy but is difficult to get out and drown.
Now taking out a nest is another matter and I'd do it at night with a simple toxin or water . A hose with water first choice. Pyrethrum my second choice . Search 1600 X-clude.
Bill
When I said "bee", I meant the yellow jackets. We have many "bees" around here, and they are our friends. They don't bother us, we don't bother them. Yellow jackets are another story. My sister-in-law is deathly allergic to their stings, I'm not to crazy about them either, and I would happily kill every one of them :P
We had yellow jackets in the yard when the kids were small. Their nest was underground about 8' from the house. I found it while mowing. As I mowed I thought about the nest the kids and decided that I had to do something. Gas. I dumped about a quart into the hole. Continued to mow continued to thing about the nest and the little kids.
Second bright idea. I stopped the mower went into the garage and got a news paper fashioned it into a long fuse and lighted it. I then went to the nest and touched the fuse to the hole. Everyone watched in amazement as flames shot out of several holes around the yard.
While it got rid of the yellow jackets, and no >>Matthew, bees do not eat turnips. When you see bees around the garden,
LOL I see a picture of a small mushroom cloud rising from the middle of your yard :-). You were lucky the gas didn't make them mad enough to come out and defend their nest. I can handle nests - but the nests aren't on my property, they just like to forage in my garden for food. And at any given time, there are maybe 10-15 in the garden. I'm guessing either a large nest(s), or a lot small ones not far away.
And those worthless "traps" have sat in the garden all day, and the yellow jackets just fly past them, completely ignoring them :(
How old are you?
We had a yellow jacket ground nest in our small orchard in Oregon. The dogs were being stung and avoiding the area but I didn't find the nest until the day I stepped on it. I was swarmed immediately and hi-tailed it back to the house swinging and swatting. Many, of course, got in with me and I even found several inside my clothes. That night we dug out the nest and sprayed it. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Be careful in your garden until you find the nest hole, then you can decide if you want to tolerate their presence. I think they become more aggressive in fall, but we and our neighbors were getting stung at any time in summer.
46
I have never had any luck with any type of yellow jacket trap. A few might inadvertently find their way in, but nowhere near enough to make a bit of difference to the number of yellow jackets abroad in my yard. I also found the bait seemed to attract other unwelcome species, such as bald faced hornets.
According to masterbeekeeper.com, the most effective way to deal with them is by spraying an appropriate pesticide into the nest opening in the evening (when most of them are home). They warn to dress appropriately, secure sleeves and pants legs, establish "an unobstructed escape route," and if light is needed, use one covered with red cellophane so the yellow jackets cannot see it. They also mention that 2-3 treatments will likely be needed; to avoid wearing light colors, perfume, or cologne; and, due to the high risk of being stung, "you may wish to seek professional help."
Jo Ann
Matthew Reed wrote:
Update: I conversed with Sterling International, Inc. about why their traps were not catching any of these. I did a bit of research and took a close look and I believe that these are paper wasps, not yellow jackets. I did not understand what the different insects are called. These "paper wasps" are very common here, I've lived with them for years and am somewhat familiar with their behavior. I just didn't know they were called paper wasps. As for the yellow jackets, I'm also familiar with them as well, but did not know they were "yellow jackets". We have very few of these around here, which is a good thing. Ahh..I have learned something today :)
So - any experience with paper wasps? Should I take steps to trap them to reduce the populations? I know where to look for nests, and have not seen any around my house or garden. I know that they tolerate you approaching their nests to about 1-2 feet before they will take defensive action - they built nests in the entrance to an apartment I once lived in. You could stop, look up, and see an active nest 12 inches from your nose. They pretty much ignored us.
Again, my concern is that they may take offense to my working in the garden with them and disturbing their foraging. Plus my children play nearby. To date there have been no stings, but I'm careful to avoid working in their immediate vicinity. I notice they are not in the garden during early morning or late evening hours, but prefer the warmth of day.
Oh, here are some pics - not very good, taking pictures of them was a bit tricky, but this one is quite good:
At our former house we had a lot of yellow jackets. Our oldest son was/is deathly allergic to their stings (we had a very close call) so my husband was very vigilant. He would spot where the nest was in the ground, go back at dusk when most of the pests had gone to bed for the night, poured gasoline in the hole and set fire to it. All we had were one or two strays the next morning who had been out gallivanting the night before. (Fortunately, no house fires!).
OK I found a simple way to get those ground bees oe Yellow Jackets. Go out late in the evening and put some Seven Dust in and around the hole. They will be gone by morning. I have tried the gas and all the other stuff that didn't work, then I asccidently tried the Seven dust and it has worked for me everytime.
From Mel & Donnie in Bluebird Valley
Everything you ever wanted to know about yellow jackets.
LOL. It's also illegal and contaminates ground water... not to mention the turf in that spot will die, and the soil will need to be dug out and replaced if you want new seed to grow there.
Jeez man, what were you thinking!? :-P
I do hate Yellowjackets though. They're very aggressive. I've been stung at least 500 times, in the last 20 years, by them.
I've got to disagree with you here. If we were talking about honey bees or bumble bees, I'd agree completely. They are very passive and rarely sting. But yellow jacket wasps are an entirely different story, they're aggressive as hell and will sting at the slightest provocation.
On the other hand, I think it's a little silly to fear them. The stings are more surprising than they are painful. Of course, if a person is allergic then he would be wise to keep a *very* healthy distance from them.
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