Who's fighting Yellow Jacks! ?

It seems like they are EVERYWHERE this year! We have been trying the bags & sprays! I think we are on can #7!!

The hummers sometimes managed to get a turn at the feeders!

I keep moving the feeders & we are fighting them as they are trying to get under the shingles on the roof! DH thinks the hummer feeders & the datura have to GO!??

quote:

Originally posted by muddyshoes:
The hummers sometimes managed to get a turn at the feeders!

what a shot. priceless!

Muddy, I am also fighting them and I think that they are winning! I have trouble keeping the bee guards on my hummer feeders, like yours. I just bought some more and that seemed to cut down on the bees but I had to stop putting out jelly for the orioles because I had hundreds of bees on that feeder! What's that bag that you have? Just ripped out several large planters of impatiens that lost their flowers and leaves and I actually bought 2 small mums to replace the plants in a container. I never buy mums in August but I had no choice.

A solution to your yellow jackets on the hummingbird and oriole feeders. When you put out fresh food, spray the openings with cooking spray. Don't know why, but it works. I've actually sprayed the jelly cup, too. The birds don't mind & the YJ stay away. Don't bother using cooking oil as a rub as that doesn't work, but the spray does. I've tried both.

I've also put out a shallow dish of M ountain Dew away from the feeders to keep the YJ away from them.

I remember you told me that but have also gone thru quite a bit of cooking spray! My yellow jackets are real thugs! I moved the feeder & it dripped a bit in the grass. I look over there a few minutes later & dozens of Yellow Jackets! At first I thought they had a nest in the ground but were swarming to the dripping sugar water! When I move the hummer feeders around they seem to be watching me! LOL I don't even get it hung on a new branch & they are dive bombing me!

Mgt, does the spray hurt the hummers? Would it bother them if they somehow got it on their bodies?

Muddy, try a flat dish full of the hummer food. I had to do that a couple of years ago. They all go to the flat dish cause it is easier for them to get to the good stuff...but keep an eye on it cause they can empty if fast.

No Paws, it doesn't hurt the hummers. The spray is on the outside & the hummers dip their long tongues into the liquid. They don't get it on their bodies, either.

I like karen's idea of putting a shallow dish of the hummer food away from the feeders.

We've had a lot this yr. too. I've sprayed 5 nests so far and DH found another one on the front porch. DA____ things!!!

Its like a bad movie & I thought beetles were bad!?

OMG, unreal!!! Last year you were inundated with Japanese Beetles and now this?? Aren't you lucky! I guess you have such gorgeous, lush plantings that it attracts everyone and everybody......(even unwanted bodies... )
You do have my sympathies and your pics are terrific. It doesn't even look like a real photo. I've never seen yellow jackets that clearly before!!! LOL! Good luck in getting rid of them!

UUUGGGH! I hate Yellow Jackets! They are some mean little sheets.

Yellow Jackets on Mountain Dew...oh Lordy that sounds worse! LOL!

Yup, got em. Lot's of them. They somehow managed to find a way between my porch roof and siding and built a nest and got into our three season room. DH sprayed them, bodies all over the place and plugged up the hole. Hopefully that's the end of them. Ugh!

They seem to like the really HOT sunny weather & worse this year than ever before!

Bless your heart......I've never heard the like. Great photo's too.

Here, the problem this year is ground bees. More and more people are getting stung by them as they are weed eating or just working and happen to step on a nest.

UGH.

ve

Not fighting the yellow jackets at present...but did see black cap at hummer feeder the other day. Just refilled it with a 3 to 1 ratio for the last month before they head off.

Will hate to see them go!

jmchab, there is no need to increase the suger in the mix. It just makes them feed less often. Their little systems can only digest so much at a time.

Aren't ground bees the same as yellow jackets? They nest in the ground, too.

quote:

Originally posted by mgt:
Aren't ground bees the same as yellow jackets? They nest in the ground, too.

I wondered the same thing so I looked it up. Some bumblebees nest in the ground and so do mining bees.

I also wondered about yellow jackets nesting above ground and I discovered that these are not our native yellow jackets but imports from Europe.

Just saw online that there's a big hummer migration celebration in Texas in mid-September. Well I guess our loss is their gain. Sure hate to see them go!

I hate to see the hummers go, too. We are enjoying the hummingbird wars right now before they head out.

I checked on the yellow jackets & ground bees too. The ground bees that are agressive are related to the yellow jackets. YJ also nest in places above ground.

gakaren, Was told by a nursery man that it was the thing to do when they first show, then when they get ready to leave. Supposedly helps to fatten them up on their journeys. I don't do it all summer, just a few weeks at the beginning and at the end.