I guess fall is around the corner because the yellow jackets seem to be coming in droves to my hummingbird/oriole feeders. I watched them actually drive a hummingbird away this am. I found this older thread where is was suggested to spray Pam cooking spray on the feeders because the bees don't like it but it doesn't seem to bother the birds. Someone also suggested putting out a "decoy" dish of sugar water at the edge of the garden and that the bees would flock there, instead. I will give that a try ( http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/891541/ ) . I also read in one of my books that you can put Vaseline or Vick's around the feeding ports, but this seems like it would bother the birds-has anyone given this a try?
Thanks!
Deb
Yellow Jackets on my Feeders . . .
Thanks for asking this question as I have the same problem. I tried the Pam. I had to spray the feeder mouths again after hanging it, caught a couple wasps in the spray that time and after that it seemed to be wasp free. Maybe it's something you have to repeat daily. I'll watch and see.
I've been working all weekend but when I go home this morning I'm going to put a dish of sweet stuff out at the edge of my garden, hopefully that will help. I would much rather have the hummers than the yellow jackets.
In case anyone is interested, I put out my yellow jacket "bait" and the raccoons got it (dummy me, what was I thinking??) Anyway, I put more out hanging it this time instead of putting it on the ground. I used a mixture of maple syrup and grape jelly. Then, I put fresh sugar water in my feeders and sprayed them with Pam. The bees definitely do not like the Pam, they hover around but don't land. We'll see how long that lasts . . . .I was rewarded by having a little female oriole come to the feeder while I was looking out the window watching the bees-she landed literally less than a foot away from me. Why don't I ever have my camera in my hand when those opportunities come around?? Anyway, she was a beauty-I hate to see them go . . .