Another bee/wasp question

[Adelle]

Hi!

We have a wasp/yellowjacket hive in the ground next to our deck. Not sure which category the bugs fall into re: wasp or yellowjacket or what. They are really aggressive and consider our deck as getting too close to the hive. After two years of not being able to use the deck, I think its time to get rid of them.

I hate to use insecticides, but feel that's the only choice I've got.

Which pesticide, and how do I do treat the nest? We are zone 5 (Massachusetts) and the ground is currently still frozen.

If I do this treatment, how long should I wait before planting edibles in that area (I've coveted the spot for a kitchen herb garden).

Thanks!

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) We have a wasp/yellowjacket hive in the ground next to our deck. Not sure :) which category the bugs fall into re: wasp or yellowjacket or what. They are :) really aggressive and consider our deck as getting too close to the hive. :) After two years of not being able to use the deck, I think its time to get :) rid of them. :) :) Probably need to wait and make sure they are even there before you do anything. Unless you are in an area that does not freeze, yellow jackets nests will die out each year. An area that was attractive to one queen to set up a nest can be attractive to another queen the next year and will nest near the same area, but I haven't seen that too often. At the first hint of Spring like weather you might put out some YJ traps baited with frozen apple juice concentrate...they will be looking for Sugar with they first become active and you might be able to reduce the number of queens that may be a bother later in the Summer. If you find a ground nest, you can reduce the numbers with screen and making a "minnow trap" apparatus. Make three, as one fills up, replace it with an empty one, the nest will die out.

[enigma]

"Adelle" wrote in news:8bOdnboDab_2G73ZnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

they'd be yellowjackets, but they don't winter over. if you've had a nest there for 2 years, it's just because it's a great place to nest.

why? boiling water works. a skunk works even better, & they're a whole lot cuter than an insecticide can ;) (seriously, we have a bachelor skunk that lives under our barn & eats catfood with the barn cats. he's been there for 5 years & we have never had a spray incident. he eats 5-7 ground wasp nests every year, actually he probably eats even more but those would be ones i've found)

as soon as the ground thaws, go dig up last years nest. it's dead. keep the area cultivated & the wasps won't return (or you'll be able to destroy the nests before they get a foothold). lee

[newsreader]

There was a similar thread last year, and many folks offered up some nice solutions. One was to take a 5 gallon bucket, fill it about 4" with very dry sand. Put a sheet of cardboard on top, then flip it over, centered on the nest, and slide the cardboard out. Supposedly the bees come up the ground hole, climb up thru the dry sand, only to find themselves trapped in the bucket & unable to climb back down thru the sand. On a hot sunny day, it gets too warm in the bucket they die.

Another, along the same lines but more interesting to watch, is to simply place a very large clear glass bowl over the hole. Basically the same result happens, only you can actually see if it is working.

Both methods should be done when the bees are nice & active, probably several months from now in your area.

[Adelle]

Thank you all.

The ground traps sound interesting.

The opening to the nest is up against the foundation, and the skirting to the bulkhead door is too close to let a bucket cover the entire opening.

I'll talk to my husband about digging it up. I can handle surface cultivation, but not deep digging.

We are in an area with lots of skunks, but while they waddle around the yard, they don't come right up to the house. Maybe it's the scent of our dog (or our late cats') that cause the skunks to keep their distance.

Adelle

[mihai cartoaje]

We had a yellowjacket colony in our garden for 3 years and during that time, our cherries were not damaged by insects.