Yellow Jackets

[flowerbug]

...
However, last weekend poor Luke (horse) had half a dozen baked potato sized welts on his barrel and under his belly. I blamed the Bald faced hornets in his shelter, thinking that when I threw his hay over the fence onto the mats in his shed I had banged the wall and got them stirred up. So I killed them.
Yesterday I saw about 5 wasp nests under the eaves that I hadn't noticed before, so now I'm not sure what attacked him. They'll be sprayed tonight though because fair is fair.

if it is a cool night they can be knocked down with a stick. no need to spray anything. then step on them (do i really need to say wear good shoes here?)...

 

[Nyboy]

Stepping on a nest is a good way to visit a ER

 

[thistlebloom]

if it is a cool night they can be knocked down with a stick. no need to spray anything. then step on them (do i really need to say wear good shoes here?)...

Some of them are quite high under the house eaves.
You step on yours, I'll spray mine.

 

[Collector]

Stepping on a nest is a good way to visit a ER

When it a bald faced hornet nest, I wait till dark when they are all home spray hornet killer in hole then stick rag in hole to keep them in. In the morning pull out rag shake bees out and done deal.

 

[thistlebloom]

I was just watering the raspberries this morning and a yellow jacket stung me under the arm. Huge welt!
First sting of the year for me.

 

[Collector]

@thistlebloom there are way to many yellow jackets this year, and still early in the season for them they still have time to increase the colony size. Hey they gotta go.

 

[thistlebloom]

@thistlebloom there are way to many yellow jackets this year, and still early in the season for them they still have time to increase the colony size. Hey they gotta go.

Yep. It's war now. I figure they can have the 8 acres of woods I don't use, but the 2 I do is my territory.

 

[Collector]

@baymule it worked amazingly well it has reduced the number of yellow jackets by 80% or more. The good thing about it is the mason bees and honey bees are not interested or eat any of it. We are not putting anymore out now that we have drastically reduced the number of bees buzzing around. Great tip thanks

 

[majorcatfish]

we have been lucky this year...

 

[Zeedman]

How to get rid of yellow jackets:

Buy some Front Line flea and tick topical insecticide for dogs (fipronil)

Get a small can of cat or dog food, use half, mix with fipronil and set where pets cannot reach. The yellow jackets will carry it back to the nest, in a week or two, the nest will be dead. Set out fresh each morning, they like it fresh.

That sounds like an interesting method... and you don't need to find the nest(s) to kill them. Pretty similar to the way I kill carpenter ants, when they enter the home or garden.

I have two reservations about using poisoned food, though. My main concern would be for the insect-eating birds - those that eat suet - which might also be attracted to the food. I don't know how toxic Front Line would be for them. For that reason, were I to use this method, I would cover the food with hardware cloth or something similar, with holes just large enough to allow the wasps. I wonder, though... would other animals (such as raccoons and opossums) also be attracted to the scent?

My other concern is that if effective, it would wipe out all meat-eating wasps within feeding range - and not just on my property. For those with a deathly allergy to stings, that is obviously not a bad thing. But keep in mind: those same wasps are effective insect predators. They are a valuable part of my OPM strategy; so I allow many wasp nests on my property, and only target wasps if their location makes them a threat. Wiping out all meat-eating wasps could have undesirable side effects, since they are constantly on patrol for caterpillars, aphids, and other pests... not only in my gardens, but in all the surrounding areas. This could potentially have negative effects on the entire local ecosystem, so I would use such measures only as a last resort.