Today I was trying to weed a little bit and noticed this hole. Out of it came a flying bug, looked like a regular fly but slightly bigger and yellow in color. I had the bright idea to spray some wasp spray and out come 50-100 of them. Thank goodness I sprayed from a distance, they went crazy, swarming all over the place.
Somebody walking by told me these were killer bees. That's wrong, they don't look like bees at all. They don't look like wasps, either. They look like big yellow flies but burrow in the ground.
Can you give me some names? I think I will be able to identify by pic. I'm not brave enough to take a pic! thanks for your help.
Horrors! they looked scary and like they could sting BAD
it could be this one, but I would still appreciate your comments.
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/yellow_fly.htm
If you were up north I'd say yellowjackets...but I don't think they look like flies so much. Haven't ran into any down here so far....and thank goodness as I have a horrible reaction to them!
Kim
Fairly certain you found some yellowjackets (not the paper wasps that are commonly referred to as YJ's) but
true yellowjackets - ground dwellers....(they're only about 1/2" long)...rather common here in Texas...My neighbor was stung 20+ times when he drove over a nest with his mower....ended up in the hospital....he was very lucky that he had no allergic reaction...as it would've easily killed him. He took about a week to recover...best to try to eliminate them at night
after determining the entrance hole....an old trick is to use a small amount of gasoline quickly poured into the entrance and then cover the hole with a mason jar or something similar...all the while with someone holding the flashlight for the "terminator". The fumes are heavier
than air and drift down into the cavity where the nest is.
I don't recommend that....but I've done it before :~)
(Ammonia may do the same thing...haven't tried it)
If you had a wire mesh basket (small mesh!)...you could cover the hole and THEN use the wasp/hornet spray until they're all dead....they will all come out to try to nail you! (This could be done during daylight) Just be careful...and good luck!
Willis is right, they are the true yellowjackets and yes they are nasty customers. The good news is that they are really extremely susceptible to the wasp and hornet killer you used on them. Most of these sprays have two parts - one with quick knockdown and then a residual component that lasts for varying amounts of time. If you got spray in and around their nest entry, you may have done them in. It would depend on a lot of things though. I am not allergic to them (although I *hate* being stung) and have killed small nests by spraying down the entryway with wasp and hornet killer at night. Having said that though, there have been nests in undisturbed riverbanks in Texas that were some 3-4 feet across when excavated. Don't think a can of spray would have been completely effective there. Here is a link to a Texas Cooperative Extension publication that may be useful.
http://www.spcb.state.tx.us/consumer/wasps.html
The recommendation is to get a pest control operator if you don't feel up to dealing with this. Unlike honeybees - the real 'killer bees' - wasps can sting multiple time and even one of them can hurt. Fifty or more attacking is unthinkable.
Several years ago a grizzled rancher stepped into my office holding a large ziplock bag full of kerosine and debris. He was stung to pieces - large welts all across his face and arms. I was surprised he was walking. He handed me the bag which was full of yellowjackets and chunks of their nest floating in the kerosine and informed me that he had found and beaten a nest of killer bees. Seems he had been unstacking square bales of coastal bermudagrass hay in his barn when he uncovered a sizeable nest of these. Naturally they attacked and drove him out of the barn. He had never seen anything like this and since the Africanized bees were just moving into Texas, he concluded that it could only be them. Armed with a can of kerosine, he went back in. I had to break the news to him that these were not killer bees, but native Texans also. Even now I feel a pang thinking about it because it's half funny and half not. There would have been no way I would have gone back in there, but this fellow had found a menace and confronted it head-on. Only in Texas...
-FM
Here is a link for a picture of the Southern Yellow Jacket with some information on it. From your description, it really doesn't sound like a yellow jacket since they're striped. I think you may have been right with the yellow fly idea. Take a look at this pic.
http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg351.html
thanks everyone. I don't think it's a yellow jacket either, body too long, compared to what I saw yesterday. I am a little nervous about this, so I have called a pest control guy to give me an assessment.
I finally got hubby to go out and look with me. He got within 2 ft and sprayed again, not one bug came out. I wonder if my little spraying yesterday did the trick or if they just went elsewhere.
Hubby found a dead one near the nest and just brought it to me. IT IS A YELLOW JACKET. I will take a pic later. Thanks everyone for your comments, you guys know your bugs and I need glasses!
Always keep plain meat tenderiser in your pocket. Immediatly cover stings with a past of tenderiser and water. The papaya will draw out the venom. I swear by it. And Benedryl. My husband is terribly allergic and was stung in the face when spraying pesticide along a fence. they came from the other side. and attacked his face. Very dangerous.
Glad you didn't get stung.
I've also heard vinegar helps it not to hurt so bad.