Someone Must Know ???

[WFM]

Someone Must know what it means when the yellow jacket population explodes like it has this summer. In my sheds , under my boat, in the woods, in the ground. There are yellow jacket nests. One customer who has a apple orchard told me he bought hornet spray ten cases at a time , the local hardware had to special order it for them week after week. He said the nest were hanging and in the ground around every single tree. I bush hogged today. Several times near rocks I looked back. The ground covered with yellow jackets I had uncovered. With the rich diversity of orange folks who are members here. There must be a entomologist , forester, scientist, astronaut here who can answer this. Right now 53*F here. Just started my woodstove Sept 13th. Does the hornets mean a blizzard Oct 1 and one of the hardest winters we've ever seen ?? Or a open winter with no snow ??

Thanks

 

[IDKUBOTA]

Last year, in Idaho, we had an outpouring of yellow jackets in August. It was unreal and very unpleasant. Locals stated that it meant that we were going to have a terrible winter. As it was, winter was fairly benign by Idaho standards (Latah county that is). The Farmer's Almanac lists winter as being more serious this year, and in the past week we began having the yellow jackets seemingly come out of nowhere.

What does it mean... haven't got a clue, but I'm glad I have hornet spray and the L3800 with the Land Pride RB 3772. I'm ready.

IDK

 

[ipz2222]

I can tell you what it means. My wife has waged WAR on those suckers for several years. Word has gotten out and they have all gone north. September is our worse time and I've seen 2 this year.. Gonna go hug my wife!!!

 

[Daren Todd]

We haven't had much with the yellow jackets so far this year. Past couple of years we've been covered up.

This year has been mud dobbers and red wasps. It's been a struggle between work and home. Anything sitting for more then a couple days has been swarmed. Tractor, trailer, all the eaves at the house, and every fitting and home at work. Got to the point at work i carry a couple cans of brake cleaner at work. And at the house, spraying and knocking down nests every couple of days. Wifes highly allergic, so I gotta do rounds pretty regularly

 

[Tooljunkie]

No huge explosion of yellowjackets up here.
But i have never seen this many frogs in my entire life.
Cutting grass- maybe fifty in an hour.more than i have seen cutting grass in last ten years combined.

Odd weather everywhere.last winter was coldest in 70 years,this one gonna be worse? Not likely. I hope i never see that again.

 

[The_Al]

Someone Must know what it means when the yellow jacket population explodes like it has this summer. In my sheds , under my boat, in the woods, in the ground. There are yellow jacket nests. One customer who has a apple orchard told me he bought hornet spray ten cases at a time , the local hardware had to special order it for them week after week. He said the nest were hanging and in the ground around every single tree. I bush hogged today. Several times near rocks I looked back. The ground covered with yellow jackets I had uncovered. With the rich diversity of orange folks who are members here. There must be a entomologist , forester, scientist, astronaut here who can answer this. Right now 53*F here. Just started my woodstove Sept 13th. Does the hornets mean a blizzard Oct 1 and one of the hardest winters we've ever seen ?? Or a open winter with no snow ??

Thanks

I would bet these are the German Yellow Jacket variety, which has become prominent. They will live all winter and if they have enough food they can grow their nests to be very large (>50k). They are wasps so it makes sense that an Apple orchard is having issues. Just a guess, but it is most likely just a larger nest(s) in the area.

 

[WFM]

Several years ago I had a customer in Conn who came to pick up his order. When I asked him what he did ? He replied he was self employed and sold hornets , warps ect to companies that made the anti-venom shot for the insects. He would vacuum them up from the nest. Then freeze them , he ran an ad in the papers and almost everyday he get a call to come and get them from home owners. Each species had a different value($$), but most were $3000. -$4000. per lb he got for them. This year I'm guessing the guy is rolling in the dough....

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Arizona: After nearly six inches of rain over the past month, the mosquito explosion is insane. They ran me out of my shop yesterday mid-day. And another hurricane is over Cabo headed this way.

Oh, and the termites, a long-time resident of the Southwest, have nearly drowned, so they have popped up little breathing tubes that often cover small branches they eat. I went on a "mission" killing these guys with Termidor this week. The next rain will wash it in deeper.

WHOO-HOO! Pass the Cutter!!!

 

[hodge]

No idea, but in light of a lack of bee expertise here, you might want to seek out some beekeepers and ask them- I bet they are pretty educated on different species. I have a close friend who keeps them, and he knows a lot.

 

[Burt]

Someone Must know what it means when the yellow jacket population explodes like it has this summer. In my sheds , under my boat, in the woods, in the ground. There are yellow jacket nests. One customer who has a apple orchard told me he bought hornet spray ten cases at a time , the local hardware had to special order it for them week after week. He said the nest were hanging and in the ground around every single tree. I bush hogged today. Several times near rocks I looked back. The ground covered with yellow jackets I had uncovered. With the rich diversity of orange folks who are members here. There must be a entomologist , forester, scientist, astronaut here who can answer this. Right now 53*F here. Just started my woodstove Sept 13th. Does the hornets mean a blizzard Oct 1 and one of the hardest winters we've ever seen ?? Or a open winter with no snow ??

Thanks

We also had one of those explosions here a year or two ago. We were also told that the State had something to do with it but it was unconfirmed.

Along the way, I discovered a FREE WASP TRAP revealed here for the first time on OTT.

Take any used plastic bottle like a water bottle. Cut about 18" of string. Drill a 1/8" hole or poke similar hole into cap. Take a utility knife and carefully slice two 3/8" slot about 1 to 1-1/2" wide in the plastic bottle. I usually put these slot about 2 to 3" down into the bottle. Now, tie a stopper knot in your string inside and outside the cap. Leave 4 to 5" of string inside the bottle...enough to tie some bait on. Chicken, meat, fish, whatever you have. Fill the bottle with sugar water or even some fruit juice and water. Put in two drops of detergent into the water. Hang the bait above the water about 3/4" or so.

I haven't tried beer yet. That might work also.

The attractant water formula can be read in any store that sells wasp traps for 7$ to 15$ each. Meanwhile, your wasp trap is free. Just use bait.

When full of wasps, you can just toss it and put up your new one. FREE!

We filled up a few dozen of these. We tied them 30 feet plus away from the house and that tended to lead the wasps away from the house areas. They work great.

Burt

 

[pmhowe]

Get yourself a skunk! They love yellow jackets. A skunk can keep a ten acre area totally free of yellow jacket nests. They'll also eat a lot of other nuisance insects. Treat them with respect and you'll never be sprayed.

 

[ShaunRH]

Sounds like I need a de-glanded pet skunk when yellow jacket time arrives. They are very smart and docile too if you get the domesticated ones.

 

[ipz2222]

The skunks didn't do nothing for me except stink the place up. Never saw a nest dug up.

 

[cerlawson]

You must have a state university up there with an entomology department. If none, call he Entomology dept at Cornell U in Ithaca, NY

 

[WFM]

I have seen plenty of hornet nests over the years dug up by skunks. But the wasp infestation here in southern Maine seems to be over several counties. You'd need more skunks then illegal aliens to battle all the nests.....30*F weather has hit here. A early fall and winter it looks like.