Giant nests perplex experts

The Associated Press ^ | August 24, 2006 | Garry Mitchell

[gitmo]

mark for reading after work.

[palmer]

I've been known to start with a long blast of anhydrous amonia, followed by cutting torch, followed by gasoline, followed by shovel, followed by tandem disc.

My neighbor taught me this trick: if they don't get food into the nest they starve in a few days. But if you block a hole they'll make another. So just put a glass jar over the hole and seal really well around the base (do this late at night). I just did one, took two jars (they had two holes), but it appears to have worked.

[Mrs. P]

The inside of the shop vac looks like a spare parts pile for wasps. Apparently they don't fare all that well on the high speed trip down 10 feet or so of conduit and then the curved vac hose! The first time he did this, he left the thing sit for a few weeks in case there were any survivors inside.

While the vacuum is running, live ones hover around the exhaust, the smell of the other crushed ones must attract them.

[Comstock1]

Back in '77 or '78 I was tagging along with my Dad who was walking a piece of property he was thinking of buying when one of us stepped on an underground nest of yellow jackets. We didn't realize it unitl they were already stinging. Ouch!
We both turned and ran-- right trough about two dozen banana spider webs!

To this day I swear that those huge spiders crawling over me was much worse than the six or seven yellow jacket stings that I received. As an adult I know they are relatively harmless, but as a kid nothing is creepier looking than a banana spider.

He didn't buy the property.

[panaxanax]

I've seen the battle between Bald-Faced and Yellow Jackets as you described many times. The Bald-Faced always comes out on top.

If you're ever stung by either the best thing to do is make a paste of meat tenderizer and place it directly on the sting site. Having been stung 100's of times while working in the woods, I speak from experience. It sounds goofy I know, but it does work. Meat tenderizer contains Papain (from the Papaya fruit) and Papain breaks down the poison, which is pure protein in the same way it tenderizes meat. Don't laugh, it really works. If you're allergic you'll need to get to the hospital asap.

[Western Phil]

"If they "bite", then what do they do with their "stinger"? "

If they get a chance they will do either or both. Even honeybees will bite on occasion if they get the chance.

Yellow jackets, wasps, bumble bees, etc. can sting a number of times. In general, each time they sting, they inject less venom. A honeybee's sting has barbs and most of the time they leave their stinger and the bee will eventually die. A caring beekeeper, however, can quickly scrape the stinger out before the bee pulls itself free and the bee may survive to do some more useful work.

[Western Phil]

"If they "bite", then what do they do with their "stinger"? "

If they get a chance they will do either or both. Even honeybees will bite on occasion if they get the chance.

Yellow jackets, wasps, bumble bees, etc. can sting a number of times. In general, each time they sting, they inject less venom. A honeybee's sting has barbs and most of the time they leave their stinger and the bee will eventually die. A caring beekeeper, however, can quickly scrape the stinger out before the bee pulls itself free and the bee may survive to do some more useful work.

[6ppc]

This is NOT something I want my state to be famous for!

[Western Phil]

First time I got a two for one.

The posted article seems to indicate that the large nests are something new. Purdue University had a publication on Vespa(? we need some nature types here)social wasps over 20 years ago. The obnoxious Yellow Jackets are imports and as with many other such, become pests where they have few if any natural enemies.

[Mrs. P]

The obnoxious Yellow Jackets are imports and as with many other such, become pests where they have few if any natural enemies.

I didn't know they weren't "natural" - now I don't feel so bad about how many we do away with around here!