My nemesis The yellow jacket wasp. Bad attitude and a painful sting. Every summer I have to deal with 2-3 nests after getting too close and feeling a sting or two. But this winter I found dozens of queens hibernating in the firewood. Almost everytime I needed some wood, there would be a queen hanging onto a piece. Never have I seen so many in the woodpile. This spring, there are more than plenty of queens buzzing around. Yes, they're just as annoying as their offspring. This summer is probably going to be bad once all the new nests get going. I have been spraying, swatting and squashing dozens of queens, but they just keep coming. Sorry about the bad pic, but you get the idea. Queens can sting too so I hung back.
Couple of summers ago I was minding my own business when I was attacked by a swarm of bald faced wasps. They got me on my arm several times but I was able to run to the back door and get in the house. Those crazies literally were flying into our back door trying to get me. Hope you’re ok, Greg! I hate yellow jackets too
I've found the best medicine for yellow jackets is Sevin dust. Sprinkle some around the entrance to their hole and they land in it, track it in and it wipes 'em out. Of course that requires them to be in the ground, which they almost always are around here. A couple of years ago I discovered a nest in the back yard. The entrance was about 5" long and 1/2" wide. I got the Sevin dust, but before I could get enough down they started getting agitated. So I backed off and decided to dose 'em again after dark. Headed back out around 2200 hours with the Sevin and a flashlight. About 20' from the hole I flicked the light on and shined it on a skunk's backside. I didn't think the skunk would appreciate me powdering his butt, so I went back in the house. The next morning there was a hole you could fit a basketball in and paper jacket next strewn about in a ~ 6' circle. And that was that. So, if you don't have Sevin dust handy a skunk works too. 😎
@Stumpy @LollyGirl No problems with stings yet. And Stumpy - could you ship me your skunk? I'll put him on a leash and walk him around the house. 😎
@Greg I'll get him right out.
@Stumpy, Those little bastages are the a-holes of the bee family. They lit me up one time when I was cutting the grass. I didn’t mean to disturb their stinking little hole in the ground. So I dropped back to reconnoiter and stake out their entrance. I came back well after dark and blasted a good amount of starting fluid down the hole, stepped back and flicked a match in there. It was a good subterranean blast and all I had to do the next morning was to spray a little bit with wasp and hornet spray to finish off the ones that were on long range patrol during the blast.💥
I absolutely had to add my bee video that I took on the beach the other day to add to Greg's perfect thread he began! LOVED everyone's stories! Had a couple of scream out laughs reading them. Best part of these forums, I think. I almost stepped on this guy at least a mile from my car and that would have been trouble for me. I was fascinated though with his strength navigating off of the shell piece and buzzing over to the piece of sea grass as a lifeline. Winds were sooo high that day; a sandblasting day which made it more odd that he could hang on.....
Yellow jackets are just bad news. Get some boric acid and just apply it to areas they are around and they will carry it back to the nest and it will kill the nest.