Be careful..I got into Yellowjackets when I was at Cheaha. They hurt so bad and I had several spots that took days to stop itching and hurting even after I thought they should have healed.

I am so wanting to see pictures of the kitchen...please post here as I never go to kitchens these days. Take care Steven. Caroline

Oh the dreaded wasps. Scary and down-right mean buggers! If you can find the nest your local Mosquito and Vector Control District may be able to remove the nest for free. There must be a queen somewhere close by if you have lots yellow jackets. Sorry to hear of your dilemma.

As for your garden, well it was the most beautiful garden I ever seen and it will be once again. Just think, next year all those gorgeous flowers will have reseeded in abundance. The perennials will be larger and spectacular once more.

It's been so freaken hot and I wouldn't even attempt to weed in this heat.

I say you need a getaway from it all. The Scottish festival is this weekend at the Alameda Fairgrounds. It's a blast! Put on that Uni-Kilt and orange wig you'll fit right in :-)

Edna

Ooooooh those darn yellow jackets!!! I hate it when they take over the hummer feeders.

Steven, have you tried sitting nearby and watching where they go? I pick a spot about 10 or 15 feet away because if you watch them any closer, they just seem to be buzzing around aimlessly. From a little distance away you can see them make a "bee line" back to their nest. I mostly find them less than 6 ft from the ground or IN the ground around here. From the way you describe their behavior, I wonder if the nest isn't actually IN your garden (like inside a garden statue or other object?).

Be careful out there and good luck!
Patti

Blech...yellow jackets. We get them inside the house. They aren't as bad this year as they have been in the past. I'm constantly finding leaks in this old house that I plug up to keep the field mice out and I must be blocking some of the entrances that the yellow jackets use at the same time. We rarely get stung by them but they are annoying to have zipping around overhead. I see them outside but I just ignore them, of course I don't have swarms of them either. Be careful out there, Steven.

My garden is in good shape even if nothing is blooming now but the roses, BES, and Gailardia. I guess I have enough mulch on too keep the weeds out finally. I need to go deadhead what remains but overall I'm done gardening this season except for the vegies which are really coming ripe fast and furious right now. How did your pottager garden do overall this year, Steven?

MeMo

Steven, the neighbors might think you're crazy but this has worked for me. Because I have to stay out of the sun I have a Halogen light pole lamp and a long extension cord. I can go out after dark, no sun, much cooler, no yellow jackets, they've gone to bed :o). But then you know me, I'm a crazy lady LOL. Yellow jackets haven't been a problem this year for me but one year it was horrendous, the only good thing was the veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and such didn't have a single worm or bug on any of them.

Annette

Annette

My GGD got stung by a yellowjacket on thursday.It was on the hose and she just reached down and picked it up.Thankfully she is ok.A little shocked,but she didn't even cry.I got the stinger out,then had her mom make a paste of meat tenderizer and water.Then we washed that off and put deodorant on it.That's what a dr on google said to do.It worked.Thank Goodness.
Kathi

You might want to try a trap; They are easy to make and quite effective.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make a yellow jacket trap

Steven, I'm not sure whether yellow jackets are the same as wasps, but I feel your pain. I have been stung twice already since I started my garden. Not fun, I can tell you! Look for the nests under the eaves of the house or garage, or in every nook and crannie you can think of. I have had to have nests removed from the house. 3 were under the terracota tiles of our garage roof, one was under the terracota tile of our first floor roof (very close to our bedroom door) and the weirdest of all was under a small metal awning we have in our mailbox. I was stung while opening the box to get the mail, which prompted me to look beneath that awning and lo and behold there was the wasps nest! It was a good thing I was the one that was stung and not the mailman/woman! Can you imagine if he/she was allergic?

You really have to find the nests and dispose of them. I encourage wildlife into the garden and I actually enjoy watching the wasps drinking and bathing in our birdbath, but nests are a different matter.

Eduarda

I usually invest in the commercial yellowjacket traps that look like quart-sized plastic bags. The brand is Sterling's Rescue. It has a plastic insert so the wasps go in but can't get out again. There's a hanging hole; I use 2-lb. twine. They use a commercial packet mix inside. You add apple juice concentrate (a 6-oz can of frozen concentrate is perfect for 2 traps) and tap water. They aren't expensive and seem to work very well for me.

One trick is to try to trap the queens before they can establish a nest. The moment it warms up in January (yes, January!), put one out. They only are effective for 7-10 days so don't leave it longer than that, just throw it away and put up another one. I use one of those good sturdy metal, freestanding, plant hanging stands that you can get at any garden center. That way you can try different spots in the garden and see what works best for you.

In the summer months you'll catch the adults, which helps a bit but won't get rid of all of them.

I use a gallon Ziploc to seal up the trap once full, and put it in the garbage. They have one kind for yellowjackets and one for flies. What I like is that their traps ONLY catch the specified insects; no beneficial insects ever get caught.

Hey everyone,
What is it with the bees this year. Like Pattio I had to take my great and active hummingbird feeder down cause everyday I'd find 10 to 15 dead yellow jackets in them. AND they're buzzing the hummers off!!! One even chased me when I opened the freezer door in the garage to get some bacon out. I'd like to try that bee trap Susan posted...Thanks Susan!!

georgeanne

I finally have an evening to respond. You all wouldn't believe the weekend/week I've had. Bizzy!

My only window of opportunity to get to the garden and take care of things came Monday morning. I'm out there bright and early so as to beat the heat and the YJ's. Things are going along quite well. I get most of the dead things removed and a grip on the weeds. I saw the tomatoes were in need of harvesting again. I'm going along and reach my hand deep down to the bottom of my Brandywine. Something has snagged my finger. I pulled back, and up came a brown twig. Of course I didn't have my glasses on. As I go to shake the twig from my finger, the twig dug in. It was only then that I realized that a three inch brown Praying Mantis was holding on for dear life and just as freaked out as I was. The more I shook, the more it clamped down. I finally had the presence of mind to stop the flailing and lower my hand to the tomato vine. It immediately unclenched itself, crawled to the vine and turned its head and looked at me. Here I was all worried about the yellow jackets and this sucker drew blood!

At any rate, I've taken your advice and bought some traps. I still can't find the nest. It's either underground or on an adjacent property. I've noticed a lot less activity these past couple of days since cutting back the garden. But this is certainly going to go down as the most prolific year for wasps I've ever seen.

Thanks for all the responses folks!

Steven

Hey, speaking of yellow jackets........I was minding my own business working on a house (I'm a tile contractor) that has a lovely creek, a beautiful new garden and lots of yj's hanging around. As I walked down the driveway, all of a sudden my eye was stinging and I immediately brushed it with my hand and a yj fell off my face. That little bugger stung me on my eyelid!

I immediately got some ice from a neighbor and kept it on my eye for an hour, but my eye sure started swelling.Pretty scary and I'm not allergic to stings. All is well now, but I swear the yj's aren't as nice as bees....