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Thread: Yellowjackets!!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
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    Dallas, Georgia
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    Yellowjackets!!!

    I was always taught that if you leave them alone they won't bother you. This is not true this year. I have been stung twice this year, my wife once and yesterday my granddaughter got stung. All were unprovoked attacks. I can't seem to find the nest or I would exterminate them. Any suggestions?
    To bad our local college football team is not that mean. (Georgia Tech Yellowjacket)
    Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
    Don

  2. #2
    Don,
    I've used traps before. Just put them away from where people are and out of the wind. Sometimes you have to move them around to get inline with where they travel. But when I've used them they have have really worked well. Also...make sure they are dead when you empty them...from one who knows.
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    Glenn Clabo
    Michigan

  3. #3
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    Northwest OH
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    Don - in our neck of the woods, the darn things mostly live in the ground, so if you're looking up, don't. on the other hand, my brother has a bigt nest in the ceiling of his porch, so that shoots that theory.

    although Gersty will slap me around for saying it, i've always had pretty good luck with Sevin on these critters - if they're in/around something you value. if not, i suggest they meet mr. gasoline.

    and finally, my experience is that they'll hit you for no good reason. years ago when the orchard was still operating, i used to keep a 4" flat blade mud knife handy when we were washing apples for cider. there was something perversely gratifying about the "ping!" when cracking one out of mid-air.


    b

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn Clabo
    Don,
    I've used traps before. Just put them away from where people are and out of the wind. Sometimes you have to move them around to get inline with where they travel. But when I've used them they have have really worked well. Also...make sure they are dead when you empty them...from one who knows.
    Glenn, what do you bait the trap with? I've tried them before and they didn't work well for me.
    Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
    Don

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Don Farr
    what do you bait the trap with?
    Seminoles. The YellowJackets will choke in the fourth quarter!


    Tony (Georgia Tech, Class of '75)
    Last edited by Tony Falotico; 10-13-2003 at 7:44 PM.
    Tony

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Don Farr
    Glenn, what do you bait the trap with? I've tried them before and they didn't work well for me.
    i'm not glenn, but i'd use sugar water. they have a terrible sweet tooth.


    b

  7. #7
    Don,
    They come with a bait...which I think is just cool aid or something sweet like that. I also think that you need to move them around if they're not getting any action.
    Glenn Clabo
    Michigan

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    dawsonvill GA
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    Don
    when I have had problems with Yellow Jackets ( the bee types) I set a half empty coke in the yard and at dust if I am attracting them then I follow them to their nest. they are in before dark I guess it scares them. then I pour a mason jar of gasoline down the hole.

    Good Luck

    Roger

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Conway, Arkansas
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    <B><font size=+2>I hate them varmints!!!!!</font></B>

    I always welcome them with 1 gallon of gasoline in a pump sprayer with the spray set on fire to help warm them up a bit....streaming type spray I might add....not the "mist".....could cause you problems!!!!

    (Disclaimer) Don't go and do this as it could result in bodily harm.
    Last edited by Dennis Peacock; 10-13-2003 at 2:23 PM.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
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  10. #10
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    Partial remedy

    Yellowjackets can be particularly annoying this time of year. They are attracted to sweet smells. They are a real pain when I remove honey from my honey bees.

    If you or someone you knows gets stung, there are a couple of things you can do to reduce the pain from the sting. Apply ordinary household bleach directly to the sting with either a clean rag or paper towel. Or make a paste of meat tenderizer and apply the paste directly to the sting area.

    As far as ground hornets go, pour a tablespoon of moth crystals or moth balls down the hole and plug it with a wadded up plastic grocery sack for a couple of days. It is less harmful to the grass and soil than the gasoline remedies, though admittedly not as much fun as Dennis' flaming sprayer idea.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  11. When they go after the sweet stuff it is for themselves, but when they go after meat it is to take back to the nest to feed the young. At one time there was a trap like the one shown above but it contained a meat product laced with a potent formula that wiped out the nest. Of course it didn't take long for the EPA to scotch that idea.
    What you do today determines what you can do tomorrow.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Dallas, Georgia
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    500
    Thanks for the tips guys. I bought some traps and spray this morning and a new bulb for my bug zapper. The bug zapper worked good on them last year but is not doing much this year. I guess the yellowjackets are attracted to the smell of the other dead bugs and they get zapped when they check it out.
    I will continue to try and find the nest, but I live in the woods and it could be anywhere.
    Got stung on my back while I was working in my shop. They have evaded my space now, so there WILL be a war......
    Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
    Don

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