View Full Version : Hornets, Wasp, and Bees.
I managed to get out to the A/C unit, I had help, my wife and one of my grandsons. I knew I was going to need something to sit on so I decided I would use one of my wife's 30-gallon planters, it was not close enough and the top was wet, in my effort to move the planter and pour the water off I disturbed the burrowing hornets. I did not count them, but I knew I could not outrun them. I told my grandson and wife to walk slowly beck into the house, she made it and then returned with a large pan of sugar water, hollering at her? in a low voice did not work. All I wanted to know was why the sugar water. She claimed she had seen me do that for years, she claimed I have feed honeybees in hot dry weather when there were no flowers to be found. (Bless her heart) She thought the hornets were honeybees. She placed the container of sugar water on top of another large planter and here they came. That container had one large hole in the upside-down bottom of the planter... I almost got ahead of that one by placing a screwdriver in the hole.
After that I went back to the first planter, it had 8 drain holes, I covered the holes with a bath towel, that took care of the ones that had not been disturbed yet. And then I sat down on the towel. My grandson wanted to know what all of the noise was about, the noise he heard was the sound of the hornets looking for a way out of the planter.
And by accident I got hit in the right lower eye lid, and that resulted in a black eye. Had I taken off in a dead run; forgive, I cannot run but had I swatted the hornets or flailed my arms I would still be counting the stings.
And my neighbors thought they had a problem with coyotes, I live in Lake Highlands.
F. Guffey
Usually, hornets (yellow jackets) and bumble bees will make a singe hole in the ground with their nest underground. The hole is usually about 1 or 2" across. What most folks do that I know is they go out at night when most of the hornets are sleeping/dormant. They take a 20oz disposable soft drink bottle with gasoline in it. With the cap off they cram the bottle upside down in the hole so that the gas will pour out but the hornets can't escape. The next morning the empty bottle is tossed in the trash.
Not what the environmentalist want to hear but it works well.
One of my former neighbors said his father was attacked by a swarm of hornets as such and died from the stings.
Usually, hornets (yellow jackets) and bumble bees will make a singe hole in the ground with their nest underground. The hole is usually about 1 or 2" across. What most folks do that I know is they go out at night when most of the hornets are sleeping/dormant. They take a 20oz disposable soft drink bottle with gasoline in it. With the cap off they cram the bottle upside down in the hole so that the gas will pour out but the hornets can't escape. The next morning the empty bottle is tossed in the trash.
Not what the environmentalist want to hear but it works well.
One of my former neighbors said his father was attacked by a swarm of hornets as such and died from the stings.
I've used gas, and then wait 5 minutes and toss over a match,
worked well
yellowjackets here are just plumb mean, standing still and they just sting you more,
nothing worse than hearing that 'whomp' sound when the mower sucks to top off a nest,
last 2 nests I found left me alone,
one was in the root ball of an oak that was blown over in a storm, the exhaust from the Stihl was blowing right on the nest entrance, so the smoke kept them off me, and I got away unstung,
the other I found one morning, after skunks had found it first, only a few dead yellow jackets left, the nest and comb was gone,
I wife was cutting grass with our riding mower. She ran over a nest and got hit 7 times before she realized what had happened and could get away. The same happened to her with bumble bees years ago.
In case anyone doesn't know, yellow jackets are small and hard to see. When they swarm you are more likely to see them because of their bright color.
When disturbed they always attack. They never just fly around.
I wife was cutting grass with our riding mower. She ran over a nest and got hit 7 times before she realized what had happened and could get away. The same happened to her with bumble bees years ago.
In case anyone doesn't know, yellow jackets are small and hard to see. When they swarm you are more likely to see them because of their bright color.
When disturbed they always attack. They never just fly around.
neighbor up the street was clearing brush a few years ago,
disturbed a nest and got hit,
he was supposedly not allergic,,
sadly, he died in his house in his wifes arms before the ambulance could get to him,
not a good day
Former Cav
05-10-2022, 08:50
I was painting my mothers garage and up around the eves the wasps always come after you.
I always carried a can of starter fluid (either) with me. You spray that and they drop out of the sky like a rock.
IN AZ, I opened the lid to my bench that contained pool equipment, chemicals, pool noodles etc. And there was the killer bee nest the size of a basket ball just getting started. I slowly closed the lid and walked away without getting zzzapped.
I called a bee keeper and they did not want the killer bees.
So I got ahold of another and he came over, put on his bee suit and duct taped where the gloves meet the sleeves, pants cuffs, where the 3 zippers came together etc. then he reached into a glass jar with a forceps and grabbed something that looked like a slice of chedder cheese and Jammed that into the nest. They all crocked. This was a 2 PM on a Sunday afternoon. I asked, well, they all won't be dead because they all were not home. He told me that without the queen they will all die!! He then sprayed some cherry looking stuff where the hive was so they never returned.
Major Tom
05-11-2022, 05:20
We have had wasps around the house forever, BUT this year seems to be a bumper crop of them! They are looking for a place to nest or already have started a nest. I've gone thru 6 cans of wasp/hornet spray so far!
We have had wasps around the house forever, BUT this year seems to be a bumper crop of them! They are looking for a place to nest or already have started a nest. I've gone thru 6 cans of wasp/hornet spray so far!
The problem with wasp is they build nest everywhere. If you have a car that doesn't get used on a daily basis they enter the seams and build nest (hives) between the doors and fenders, trunk, hood or where ever. We have farm equipment that sits idle. They find all openings and start house keeping including tongues on trailers, bushes and hedges too. You can't touch anything w/o inspecting it first.
jjrothWA
05-11-2022, 06:07
Do it at night, when they critters are inside.
Use the Fogging yard spray insecticide, may have to cover three side and leave the one open and fog the heck, forcing them to fly through the fog.
They find all openings and start housekeeping including tongues on trailers, bushes and hedges too. You can't touch anything w/o inspecting it first.
I purchased 1,400 fired 30/06 military cases with a dirt dobber in each one. No one wanted to clean the cases even though they were cheap. The seller wanted $14.00 for all of them. I placed the cases on a shelf in the garage and almost forgot them. My wife opened the garage door and then claimed a black cloud left. And now I have North Carolina dirt dobbers in the neighborhood. I am told they place a black widow spider in each case before filling the neck with mud.
The day after; A young lady that claimed to be a Pest Control person came to the door wanting to do a pest inspection, I told her she did not want to do any kind of inspection, she insisted she was a trained inspector. I have no ideal why she would trust me, I informed her how difficult I was to deal with and I informed her it was impossible for me to stand at the door while someone was trying to sell me something. It was then she said I could sit on the edge of the edge porch and then she said she would help me up.
I wanted her to leave, I wanted to tell her why I was not interested in an inspection, I told her about the hornets, she reached for the door because she thought she wanted to see the hornets. I am wearing ugly pajama bottoms and a shirt that would not go with anything, I have to consider she was one of those rare types that could see a little good in everyone.
I have not returned to the planters, the hornets did not have a duplex, the swarms came from two different nest about 10 feet apart. There is a chance I have the only back yard that attracts hornets, I was not thinking when the police department called seeking permission to search my back yard. They had a shooting about 2 blocks away involving a shooter and a policeman. They did not find the pistol in the back yard and they did not say anything about my wasp security system.
We donated an auto to a good cause, they sent a wrecker to get the auto, When the wrecker driver moved the auto he found the pistol under the auto. And that began another saga, that would start with calling 911. If they were not interested in the SIG I told them I was.
F. Guffey
If the SIG was used in a crime then it will be documented and destroyed. If so you have no chance of owning it. I would be more concerned about clearing myself of the shooting since the gun was found on your property.
Dirt dobbers: They do pack mummified spiders with the larvae before sealing with mud. Don't know if they're black widow or not. I've seen many shapes and colors.
I've heard that some can sting though I've never had any occurrences. The biggest problem, as you well may know, is they pack every hole they can find with mud. Your air tools, hose ends, etc, can end up needing a cleaning every time you use them. I have to put tape or a plastic bag on small openings.
Dirt dobbers, like all wasps, can sting. They just aren't aggressive when it comes to anything except the little critters they use to lay eggs on and then seal in those little clay cylinders. Periodically we knock them down with garden hoses. Paper wasps down here have to be controlled every spring. For years I had an in ground gas grill. Wasps loved it. Every Spring I'd light it up with the hood down to clean out the wasps, problem solved, that part anyway.
barretcreek
05-12-2022, 08:07
Appreciate the tip about starting fluid. Hate wasting it but hate getting stung.
Appreciate the tip about starting fluid. Hate wasting it but hate getting stung.
Any type of hydrocarbon will kill them instantly. I don't see why WD-40 wouldn't kill them too.
I remember as a child seeing my Dad taking a tin can half full of gasoline and slinging it straight up to kill wasp in their nest under the eaves of sheds, barns and houses. Down they came and being up so high it was easy to get away from any loose flyers.
There was no such thing back then as wasp and hornet insecticide spray that shoots a long stream.
I called a beekeeper, and they did not want the killer bees.
We had a swarm, it was huge, when I got home, I had to get the neighborhood children out of harm's way. They were aggravating the bees by throwing anything at the bees they could pick-up. I had an aquatint with API that was a beekeeper, so I called him. He said it was not a honeybee swarm because it was the wrong time of the year. I told him if he did not want it, I wanted it, but I needed help. The swarm was hanging from a limp on one side of a fence while attached to a tree on the other side of the fence, and then he wanted to know how big the hive was. I told him at 2PM in the afternoon I could hardly see the sky. I then told him about the hive. The hive was about 3 feet long and 2 feet in diameter. It was then he said he wanted the hive because someone disturbed the hive by pushing over a tree or like that. He said if the hive managed to stay together long enough to start building a comb the hive was one hard working bunch of bees.
He arrived in an old station wagon, he came with a smoker and a pruning saw, no bee protection. He asked me how I felt about having a face full of bees, I assured him I had no interest in showing off. that is when he handed me the saw. There was not a lot of room to stand, beyond the fence was a concrete lined ditch, I managed. He held the limb like curling bar bells, I was hoping he was going to be able to handle the weight. Sure-enough he lowered the hive covered limb then shook the hive off into a large box and then closed the box. I was thinking we were finished, he assured me he was not finished for the day, he said he would be finished when the sun has set, he said he was not leaving one bee. He lightly tapped on the top of the box to calm the bees, he claimed.
My wife did not understand why I did not insist he bring help, I told her I trusted him.
F. Guffey
If there's a next time you could just build a small fire as close to the swam as possible, maybe more than one fire. Bee's don't like smoke and would leave. Usually when you see honeybee's on a limb like that they are moving from one place to another. Obviously they aren't going to make a hive there in the open.
Conditions may have been different for you though. None of us were there and the size of the swam may have made for unusual circumstances as well.
At least they are gone.
If the SIG was used in a crime, then it will be documented and destroyed. I agree, they knew he had the gun when he shot the officer, they knew he did not have the gun when the found him, so they went on a gun hunt. I do not believe they have any interest in telling the suspect they have possession of the firearm. No one put me in charge of the pistol when it was found, no one put me in charge of security at a shopping center next to my house when I heard a sound that should not have been there. 4:AM, I had gone out front to get my newspaper, that is when I heard noise in the shopping center that should not have been there. I came back into the house, thought about it and wondered if I should take a gun of not. I decided against it, I drove about 100 yeads and found 2 thieve stealing wire. I called 911, I felt silly afterwards, but I started giving the 911 operator a description and then she asked me who put me in charge of security at the shopping center, and if I was not asked drive around looking for burglars, I had no business there. It got better, she asked me what the name of the shopping center, that is when I realized I was getting nowhere. I told her I would drive around to the front of the building to get the name and then I told her I would drove around until I found a policeman in a police car. I hung up, I started to exit the shopping center when 2 squads drove in.
They stopped next to my pickup, first thing I said was "I did not bring a gun" and then they smiled, anyhow, the two that I found in the back of the store did not go inside to warn their help. The two Patrolmen went into the busted back door and found 11 assistants to the 2 I found.
As for me and any consideration I will assure everyone as soon as the pistol was found it was going to the Police Department even if we had to take it to them.
Back to 911: I reminded the 911 operator they had searched the neighborhood for a pistol, I informed her we found it, I explained to her we donated an auto, I explained to her the driver of the wrecker found the pistol, he picked it up and handed it to me. I told her how proud I was of the wrecker driver; he had many chances to take the pistol and we would have never known. She went off on me about fingerprints, same 911 operator. I tried to tell her that pistol was never designed to yield fingerprints. The auto was parked on a hill, ever time it rained water came from the roof and blasted the pistol with dirt, grit and leaves. And then I told her the gun was not loaded and no one has touched the clip.
My wife and I waited for someone to contact us about picking it up, we had to leave, we were so proud when we returned, in front of the house was a squad car with two patrolmen. They walked around the house, they bagged the pistol and then made a report. It was about that time it turned into the good old times. They knew policemen in the neighborhood that we knew and then there are those she has made cookies for during Christmas.
My neighbor, at the time was a lawyer, the next day after the shopping center theft, I went next door to inform him. I told him I decided not to take a gun. He said that was a very wise decision, he claimed he could not defend me had thing gone wrong, because I left the house looking for a gun fight and found one.
F. Guffey
If there's a next time you could just build a small fire as close to the swam as possible, maybe more than one fire
I have a bee smoker, never used it for anything but for calming bees.
I noticed your
"Let's go Brandon", we have two grandsons attending Alabama and a granddaughter attending Ole Miss, this is the last year for the grandsons. Our son thinks the world of Gene Stallings.
F. Guffey
The biggest problem, as you well may know, is they pack every hole they can find with mud. Your air tools, hose ends, etc., can end up needing a cleaning every time you use them. I have to put tape or a plastic bag on small openings.
I was involved in a conversation with a Japanese gunsmith about 'the Japanese strongest rifles in the world' years ago. I thought he was most helpful. And then he said I should be happy about the 30 Cal. bees we have in the states, he said he was surrounded with 20 Cal. bees, that is when he basically said the same thing you said only, he added the part about the guarantee, the 20 Cal. bees do not miss anything.
F. Guffey
Stallings was a great coach but you got to admit Sabin is pretty good too.
I use to work in Miss. I probably saw more Alabama bumper stickers there than in Alabama.
And yes, like the liberal NBC reporter announced at the Talladega Speedway "Let's Go Brandon".
Stallings was a great coach, but you got to admit Sabin is pretty good too.
I could say "You should have been there" but if I did, I would be lying. My son was a Texas fan until his oldest son received an offer from Alabama Baseball as a pitcher. And now we are all Alabama fans, it is easy for us to root for all things Alabama. Gene Stallings was a neighbor and attended the same church. The first thing we think of when we think of Gene Stallings is his son John Mark.
And that is the reason "you should have been there", Alabama lost, I was in a restaurant in Mobile, Alabama minding my own business when a man started in on Gene Stallings, he went on and on and then I interrupted him. I ask him if he knew Gene Stallings, he said yes so, I asked him to tell me about Gene Stallings (He had an audience). He started with the Junction Boys and coaching at A&M and the Cowboys and then stopped as though that was all there was to know. When finished I reminded him, he assured me he knew Gene Stallings. I assured him that anyone that know Gene Stallings is going to know about his son John Mark, he is also going to know about God and family, and he is going to know about
Ben Hogan. Gene Stallings finished up at A&M as a therapist. That was when Ben Hogan had his wreck, all had given up hope, Byron Nelson and Bens friends surrounded Ben's bed, all wishing him well and then they left leaving Gene Stallings alone with Ben. Stallings walked up to Ben and started to introduce himself. He hardly had a chance to finish before Ben told him how it was going to be. He told Stallings "You are the student; I am the teacher". After that all Stallings could do was hang on, he has never said it was easy. I was finished with my meal and thought it was a good time to leave because the place was very quiet.
If someone wants to add football, they can start somewhere around #5 or #6, we have known players that played for him like Josh Niblett, the former coach at Hoover Alabama.
My longest day: I was in Selma when the march began, I was in Motgomery when it came to an end, at the beginning of that day I had no friends. By the end of that day, I had 6 hard earned friends, those are the best kind. They never took me to Talladega but there was nothing they did not teach me about being a good spectator at the dirt track/flat track oval.
F. Guffey
Any type of hydrocarbon will kill them instantly. I don't see why WD-40 wouldn't kill them too.
I have a friend who uses WD-40 on wasps of all kinds. It does work.
I had two older brothers, and three younger ones. The older brothers found a bumblebee hive in a large old barn. The bees were located underneath a pile of lumber, for some reason that was enough information to arouse their curiosity, they could not leave the bees alone. They made a set of paddles that were very similar to ping-pong paddles. With nothing more that the paddles and an ideal they started on the bees. The ideal was to swat the bees with the paddles as soon as they got air born. It did not take long before they became overwhelmed. They headed for the house. They made a few inquiries about their paddle failure. They were told the bees were escaping the paddles by flying around them. They were told to drill holes in the paddles, the holes would allow the air to flow through the paddles and increase the chances to hit the bees.
The next morning, they got a new fresh start. My two brothers had more sucess, but the bees still overwhelmed them and then that caused another retreat to the house: problem, dear old dad was headed to the barn to check on his oldest children. He never looked up, one son passed dad on the right and the other passed him on the left with the bees in the middle. The bees hit dad from head to toe, the surprise laid him on his back. He recovered and then joined his sons to the house.
I thought they should have applied the 'leaver policy' the bees had never bothered anyone, or anything so just leave them alone. Dad knew those two boys were not going to give up, so he got involved. That night he took a quart of gasoline to the hive and poured it down the hole. Another morning, bright and early they started over, they started moving the stack of planks/wood and then here comes the bees. They could not fly so they walked out of the hole and up every leg they could find. Olde dad and his oldest 2 sons started ripping off cloths.
The bees finally lost.
They almost orphaned us on another occasion. Dad was working on his 38 Chevrolet knee-action suspension 4 door auto while his two oldest had nothing to do. I do not know why they were curious, but they found some loaded ammo somewhere. With only shotguns and 22 rifles they started to devise a method to busts the ammo off. The tools were with dad, so they found a brick and then headed for the toolbox. They selected a shop hammer then placed a loaded round on the brick and then shattered the brick. Dear old dad almost tore the auto up getting out from under it. He had no clue what caused the noise. Serious? I had 5 brothers and 4 sisters. The only thing I could imagine dad was thinking. I got to get these kids off this farm and take them to town.
16 Years later Bruce Hodgdon came to our house, He exonerated all involved and then put the blame on a bullet maker named Sisk.
F. Guffey
Wasps are yellow long and skinny, Yellow jackets are nasty
Hornets are small, Bees mind their own business and Bumble Bees are cute.
They can all sting if provoked (Yellow Jackets don't need provoking)
Bees die after stinging as it tears their abdomen out because sting is shaped like a corkscrew.
That seems pretty accurate. You know your bees.
I took a load of bees? down to Port Lavaca, on the way down I was accused to importing very large killer looking bees. I was purchasing gas when I was asked to leave, and they wanted me to take the bees with me. I did not know if the bees followed me or decided to take a break while stretch their wings. I could not deny they were hovering over my p/u and the logs I was hauling. I paid my bill and then left, out of fear of losing one of the bees I drove slow for about two blocks.
The big bees were cicada killers, up until that trip I did not know they existed, I have raised cicadas all of my life. I helped my father-in-law build a sawmill and agreed to help him find logs to saw. The logs were cedar and pecan, friends in east Texas warned me about Copper Head and Coral snakes around the logs, no one said anything about large bees. I warned my father-in-law, I checked on him after unloading for two weeks, he said the bees did not make it to Port Lavaca.
Back to the hornet yellow jackets, I still have them, but I have found another nest in my back yard. And now I wonder if my neighbors are benefiting from my hornets. What would the world be like without them (hornets)?
Strange, I have mentioned the "cicada killer wasp" here on this forum before. I have seen only one but saw it in action stinging a racket making cicada up in a tree, falling to the ground with it, climbing and dragging up top of a watermelon that was parked in the yard, then flying off with the pest. You could see them for quite a distance as they flew off. These are large wasp obviously but are still smaller than the cicada.
https://animalcorner.org/animals/cicada-killer-wasps/
Strange, I have mentioned the "cicada killer wasp" here on this forum before.
Had I known I would not have mentioned the cicada killers, I was hesitant to mention them today because I do not know what the cicada killer eats when it is not eating cicadas. Around here the cicada is seasonal. We have grub worms; I have thought about using grub worm poison many years ago but then I had to wonder about the cicadas attached to the roots of all of our trees.
When raising birds, I had to determine what they ate and then I discovered silkworms. Raising silkworms. that starts with 'all you got to do is etc.'. The first thing I had to do was find mulberry trees, lots of mulberry trees and I had to find owners of the trees that wanted the trees trimmed, lots and lots of work.
F. Guffey
Where there's mulberry trees there's purple bird crap on absolutely everything.
As you know, the cicada lives in the ground for 17 years, comes out, sheds it's skin (often seen on the side of trees), climbs up in the trees, makes a hell of a racket which is their mating call, lays eggs in the small ends of branches, the branches fall off, eggs hatch, they tunnel in the ground and live for 17 years.
No ones going to miss them if you poison them. If birds eat them they don't eat near enough.
As you know, the cicada lives in the ground for 17 years,
There is a chance I will have to start over, I have green cicadas and I have brown cicadas, I have been lead to believe the green ones are 15 years old and the brown ones are 17 years old. 50 years ago my wife and I planted a few trees, we could have made better choices but at the time I knew nothing about a man named Silverstine. The first tree to start failing was the Arizona Ash. That was when neighbors started telling me what I should do about the ugly tree. I explained to my critics I was raising woodpeckers. I took the time to explain to them woodpeckers did not build nest to raise their young, woodpeckers hammer out holes in in wood that is easy to chisel holes in. It took a few years but eventually the tree would not support the holes.
I did not have a sign advertising the woodpeckers, parents and children noticed there was always at least three families of woodpeckers in the old ugly tree. Day after day mothers would stop in front of the house with their children and watch the wood peckers raise their young. We found out wood peckers will not tolerate other woodpeckers of their own species but will live in the same tree with other species.
And then came 'show and tell' at the neighborhood elementary school.
F. Guffey
woodpeckers
I'm not a bird watcher nor am I trying to change the topic of your thread but have you ever seen one of these? I've only seen one and it looked to be about 20-24". We have plenty of the smaller woodpeckers including the flicker but these are rare here or just hard to find/see. Huge birds.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/pileated-woodpecker.htm
Habitat and Range:
NO, I have never seen one, there are claims there are woodpeckers that are very rare in Arkansas that have been found in old growth forest.
F. Guffey
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