Yellow-jackets are social insects that mark threats with a scent-marker.
The marker is a smoke flare for other yellow-jackets to home in on and sting the snot out of.
Same orchard as last time.
Same row, same grapevine. Other leg, down by the ankle where my leg entered my shoe.
The upside is that it was the front of my leg so I could identify the culprit.
Tomorrow morning, shortly after sunrise, I intend to be sitting in a lawn chair some 40 feet west of the scene of the crime. I will be looking for where the yellow-jackets are coming out of the ground.
If my legendary good luck holds, it will be where it is grassy and easy to approach.
If it is beneath the grapevines, then additional planning will be required.
Nasty critters. If you find the hole, wait until dark and pour a cup of gasoline down the hole.
ReplyDeleteJess, I did basically the same thing, only I mowed the area first to find where they were coming from then poured the gas to them (and NO you DO NOT NEED TO LIGHT THE GASOLINE, they were gone the next day. Oh, and you do not need to wait until dark, they will move out and die when they have no more hive.
DeleteWhen I was around 12 or so I got stung on my temple by a yellowjacket sonofathing. My whole body swelled up and I couldn't move my arms or legs for a few hours.Nasty things.
ReplyDeleteThe stinking things break off a little bit of the stinger in or on you and it continues to leak venom. Get your magnifying glass and tweezers out and hunt for it. A pint of fuel down the hole is very satisfying.
ReplyDeleteHaving had a systemic reaction to a yellow jacket sting, I use a ten foot length of three-quarter conduit, placing the far end at the opening to the nest. A quarter cup of gas down the conduit (pick up your end and use a transmission funnel) before daybreak generally solves the problem. Pouring too fast has caused overshooting the hole.
ReplyDeleteI liked one video wherein the host poured liquid aluminum into the hole. Hours later, dug it up.
ReplyDeleteI get a load of dirt in the tractor loader and dump it on the nest and drive back and forth over the nest a few times to pank it down good and that solves the problem. When you are on a tractor and move as little as possible they will attack the engine as that is where all the noise is and I can drive away and haven't been stung doing that in years.---ken
ReplyDeleteThis is the time of year when the little buggers are the most apt to sting for no reason at all, even when you're no where near the nest. The closer to hibernation time, the worse they get.
ReplyDeleteHere in the south, we have these things called Japanese Hornets. Look like Yellow jackets, except they are the size of B-52 bombers.
Mike, What part of the South, I have not encountered any in Central Florida?
DeleteUpstate of SC and western NC. They aren't "Murder Hornets", but they're close. We also have Bald-Faced Hornets, which are just slightly smaller than the Japanese Hornets.
DeleteOhhh, we hates those little bastards. Every member of the family has had encounters with them over the years. Sometimes we're lucky enough to spot them coming and going before getting stung, others we find out the hard way. Once the hole is found, several liberal applications of long range quick kill wasp spray over several days neutralizes the problem.
ReplyDelete