Yellow Jacket Thrill

I've been reading that because our winters have been milder than usual, insects that typically die in the winter, have not, so summer population is way up.

Well, today I saw this big black wasp-type insect, I've never seen one before. I don't even want to know how that sting would feel!

Okay, dude, whoever said the mud daubers are harmless was wrong! I visited my aunt in West Virginia and had never encountered these giant wasps. My friend and I were actually trapped in the pool by these things. Every time we'd come up for air, they'd sting us on top of the head and MAN did that hurt! Worse than a regular bee sting. They must've stung us 5 times or more each. We had to turn the raft upsidedown and hide under it so we could breathe. When my aunt came by to see where we were, she said they were mud daubers. They're EVIL!

On the other end of the spectrum, the bumblebees are cool. I saw a big freak one that was the size of a jawbreaker gumball, one time, LOL! It was so big that it was flying really slow and that made it look even weirder! LOL. I like the bumblebees. I say hi to them, too. And if they fly around you, if you tell them you aren't a flower, they usually fly away right after that, lol.

~Kristy

Kristy ~ the bumblers aren't too cool when they nail you! You are right, they aren't agressive but I had one get tangled in my hair. When I tried to untangle it, it didn't appreciate the help! Unfortunately, it did leave the stinger so it didn't live thru the encounter. pod

IrisLover... I suspect you were nailed in the pool by hornets, not mud daubers. I doubt there is any way to get daubers to attack you in a swarm, but bald faced hornets are quite a different matter! We get their large paper nests every year in our woods, and they take over the hummingbird feeder, chasing away the hummingbirds. They are one scary bug; very fast, hulky, and mindlessly aggressive. Last fall, after the leaves fell, I spied two nests, each the size of a soccer ball, in a tree, and realized I had been whacking brush right under them without knowing they were there. I'm probably still here only because God protects little children and fools.

zonedenial................When I was about 13 or 14 years old I was walking through a brushy area near my home. It was really thick and at one point I lowered my head and ramed my way through the brush. That was when I head-butted the hornets nest. It was about the size of a vollyball and needless to say it was not a pleasent experience. If you have ever considered head-butting a hornets nest, I would strongly advise against it!


early_bloomer

Yikes! I can't even imagine head butting a hornet nest! Here are what bald faced hornets look like on our hummingbird feeder... they are one nasty looking critter.

This is one of the hornet nests I was no more than four feet from when I was obliviously cutting brush last fall.

I am reading this with one eye the other is swollen shut from a sting. I don't know what it was. I was trimming some bushes and wham a small flying critter flew out and stung me so fast I didn't have time to see what it was. I ran in the house and put ice on it since I couldn't figure out any home remedy that I could put that close to my eye. As long as I kept the ice bag on it the pain wasn't too bad.

It seems the whole country is swarming this year. We have bees and wasps. There is a wasp next at ground level under the stucco on our house. I can't pull weeds there that is for sure. Do they die out in the winter or do I need to have someone come out and get them out of there? It is way to close to where people walk to let them stay there.

I forgot to mention, my husband works in an urgent care unit 4 nights a month and they had 5 people with bee stings come in last night. It is normally rare to get any.

This message was edited Aug 28, 2006 7:22 AM

Zenpotter ~ My way of erradicating these buggers would be politically incorrect up there. But, you have to do what you have to do! Get rid of them. I will gladly cohabitat with them if they will stay out of my area. Even those that come to pollinate are welcome if they are not aggressive but you can't have their abode that close. That will make them defensive! I am afraid they will overwinter even in Mn. I saw a friend yesterday that had the nicest shiner ( black eye ). She never saw it coming, said she got popped by one of these guys.

I am sorry for your discomfort and frustration... Keep the ice pack on. As you know, not full time. I also (hate to) but take something like benadryl. Best wishes.... pod

I will probably have to use a politically incorrect method as well. Last year we had to have a pest control company come out to rid our house of squirrels that had moved into the walls. I will have the same man come out to get rid of the wasps. They are definitely aggressive and are near both a patio door and the area where our picnic table is. Since I think they are under the stucco I don't want them figuring out how to get in the house.

I think they get more active as winter/hibernation nears. Bet you aren't the only one with that headache now that your weather has cooled.

zen, if you can see the nest, have dh get some raid hornet and wasp killer, it works great and on the spot, Have him wait till dusk when they are all in the nest and it kills eggs and all on contact. You don't have to be standing right upon it either. My hubby keeps a well supply of it here.
Really works great.
Connie

We can't see the nest, only where they fly under the lower edge of the stucco. That is the problem.

Zen ~ how are you feeling right about now?

The left side of my face feels like I have a dull toothache and a bit larger than normal. The ice helps a lot.

Hey, when it stays puffy, you will look like you got a botox injection. I am sympathetic, really.

Oh Zen I know that hurt. Ouch! Keep ice on it. I had a red wasp sting me right under my nose one time years ago. He got me good too. I looked like someone had hit me in my face. Just as I happened to look up he dive bombed me.

Zen, I'm sorry to hear about your sting and pain. I save tea bags after brewing and freeze them for occassions such as these! The boy pumpkin got stung a few weeks ago by swarming yellowjackets as we cleared a pine tree destroyed by the storm.Spray would not DO,!!..he heard about putting a clear bowl over the nest in early evening to fool the jackets into thinking as long as they can see the sky they can fly! In less than 2 weeks the whole nest dead, and what appeared to be several hundred yellowjackets DEAD around the inside perimeter of the bowl. How's that for sweet revenge! He showed all of his friend how he destroyed a nest and outsmarted the boogers at the same time!

When the exterminator comes back, I'm going to point out the debris pile in my back yard. I want to clear it for raised beds--it's a nice level area--but I see a LOT of wasps, bees, whatever buzzing around there. I respectfully backed off.

They can come and pollinate my flowers, but then I want them to go home again--somewhere else!

Anybody know a good way of clearing this area? Without a trip to the emergency room? Luckily, I live a mile from a hospital.

Podster, I'm sorry you got stung by a bumblebee. I know that they will sting, but overall they're quite friendly and not aggressive. I've had them walk around on me several times and they haven't stung me. I wonder if they know that they'll die if they sting and that's why they usually don't? But, I have had some get scared before and tried to sting.

Zonedenial, well, I can't say I know 100% for sure that they were mud daubers. They didn't look like the baldface hornet pic you posted, though. There wasn't a swarm of them, just 2 or 3. They were really big... much much bigger than any wasp or bee I've ever seen. I'd guess they were over 2.5 inches long. They had a nearly all black body and the wasp waist was really thin and straight. And they had bright blue on them, as well. My aunt said they were mud daubers and my mom said they would get stung by them a lot when they were kids. So, I think they were mud daubers, but I can't say for sure.

Basically, any type of wasp, hornet, yellow-jacket, etc. is evil! But, the bumblers are okay in my book, lol.

~Kristy

I can see out of my left eye today and it barely hurts, I do have a large bag on that eye today and it is only a little discolored. Guess I will live.

Hooray Zen, glad you are back amongst us. Do let us know how the eradication works out.

Kristy ~ It was truly my fault the big bee stung me. I brushed at him when he was tangled in my hair. It was hard to leave him alone, buzzing so close to my ear. This one we call a boring bee. Not that he is boring but he bores holes in wood to nest. Too much of that can weaken a structure. And by the way, I would have drowned to avoid being popped on the head as many times as you endured. Tough break... : ) pod

Hi pod, yeah, when the bumblers feel threatened is the only time they sting, I think. Poor little guy & poor you. Yeah, whatever stung us hurt REALLY really bad! My friend and I both had big bumps on top of our heads. I felt like I looked like one of those cartoon characters with the giant lump on top of their head! I think I'll stay up north from now on. There are too many mean, big, freaky bugs in the south! Not to mention copperheads and cottonmouths! Eeeek!

Zen, sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I'm sorry you got stung and especially by the eye. I don't know if the bees die in winter or not. However, that foamy wasp spray that was mentioned works like a charm. My dad has used it twice this year and they drop dead on contact. Much better than his previous method of a "Frankenstein torch," LOL! (Yeah, and me with the hose, in case they swarm him!)

~Kristy

Zen I'm glad you're a little better today from the sting. Keep ice on that eye. When the wasp stung me my face turned many different colors.
Lin

Kristy, I can see it now a big bump sitting up there. Did people believe you when you told them how you got it?

My face is back to normal today. YES!!

DH and I haven't talked about how we will get rid of them, but I am going to hold out for someone else doing it. Where it is they will need some kind of protection to get close enough to do any good.

Hi Zen,

I'm glad your face is back to normal now. Hope the pain is gone, too. When we got stung, you couldn't really see it because of our hair. But the bumps felt huge! Oh yeah, definitely have someone else get the bees. Stay far away from them. And inside the house when they do it. Good luck!

~Kristy

Thanks, Kristy. The pain is gone too.

Groovy!

~K

zen- been gone awhile, dismayed to hear of your misfortune! Good to know you're on the mend. What a world, what a world!

PrairieGirl,

I am just fine, but last night a bee stung my husband on the inside of his ear. The bees are awful this year. We were sitting on our patio and wham it flew into his ear and stung him. It is swollen this morning to say the least. He didn't get much sleep, they have a nurse where he works so he can go have it checked out.

By inside I mean, of the ear flap, not way down inside.

This message was edited Sep 5, 2006 2:08 PM

Crazy, I got stung on my foot this year. There was a bee flying around my head today, I tried to ignore it! Sorry to hear your husband wasn't so lucky.

Bee in the ear -- makes the fireants seem not so bad!

My DH was cleaning up the patio for DD birthday party this year, and he's not good at vision at dusk, nor at hearing high pitched frequencies. He didn't realize he'd disturbed a YJ nest until the whole swarm attacked him. He must have had around 50 bites, one on top of another. He took the maximum dose of Benadryl for a few days then gave up and went to the MD, got some Prednisone. 3 weeks later he's still itchy. The first symptom is excruciating pain!

xxxx, Carrie

How awful and how lucky. People die from that many bites.

Oh man ~ Carrie that is grim... I hate Benadryl cause I get too sleepy but I think I hated the itching worst! ((((scratch))(( scratch)))) Tell him we're itching in sympathy! pod

Just doing the lookie loo thing and need to imput that Paul James said that Spiders are at the top of the list for most benefical bugs, wasps 2nd, and lady beetles 3rd. Actually he did not number them best or less best but all of them make my garden beautiful and even as a republican I need no insecticide sprays for over 4 years now. Though my overhangs on my house is full of nests of my favorite bugs. YJs, and bees.
This is a spider getting high on my poppies. Paul did say that the average garden has over 10,000 spiders. Lots of bugs gone there.

For the most part, I agree. The only ones we have relocated are the YJ's. Then only when they are in the wrong place. By a sidewalk, path where pets and people get nailed too often.

I hate to do it, but the wasps have to go if we want to spend any time on our patio. I don't like killing anything, but they are so aggressive if we get within 10' of the nest they are dive bombing us. Our patio is 8' from the next.

aThere were a lot of YJ, hornets and other stinger types here this summer. Had to spray kill quite a few nests. I never got stung but my helper did several times. Now that the fall asters are blooming I see lots of different kinds of bees on them when it is sunny.

Steve that is a really pretty oriental poppy.