Wasps

Southside · July 01, 2024, 07:43:42 AM

We keep honey bees and generally have no issue with bumbles, but these buggars were aggressive, they would hit you 50' away for no reason. I didn't even think they were bumbles as hot as they were until a friend confirmed it.

WhitePineJunky · July 01, 2024, 07:47:55 AM

Quote from: thecfarm on June 30, 2024, 08:38:00 AMI can't remember the how and why. But my father tried, note the tried word, the burning method with some ground hornets. He managed to burn the wings off some, but they still had their legs. Them hornets was crawling up his legs and they was busy protecting their home!!! They was so busy doing that my Father had to drop his pants to get rid of them. Seem like there was another person there too that saw the adventure!!!

Years ago, I had a flame thrower. That worked good on ground hornets. Run that flame wide open and have one person with a shovel to expose the nest and them critters were gone!!!!
That flame thrower would make some noise at wide open. Also burn some fuel too!!!
Worked good on starting brush pile on fire too. Had it hooked to a 20# gas tank.

Those are called tiger torches cfarm and they are great for starting brush fires clean

SwampDonkey · July 01, 2024, 09:25:00 AM

Yup, for sure if their nest is compromized. I was walking a small young sugar maple stand on the woodlot one October, after three quarters of leaves had fallen. So was some depth of leaf litter down. I came across a small hole entrance, perhaps a chipmunk hole. The entrance was crawling with a mass of bumble bees. Perhaps that was going to be home for the wintering queen. I remember seeing a drawing in an old childrens book, where bumble bees took over a mouse hole. The mouse returned to his hole and was overtaken by the bees, that was now their home.

rusticretreater · July 01, 2024, 01:51:03 PM

My fave method is the power washer on high pressure stream. Once the nest is detached, you just leave the area for a bit and the wasps do whatever homeless wasps do.

My dad used to kill whatever wasp came near him. Just clapped his hands. Seemed like a good way to get stung to me.

We had this bush at the front of the house my dad asked me to take out. I'm cutting the trunk and I hear the buzzing, I step back and then just bolted. The neighbor was in his front yard as I blew past him yelling "wasps". He joined me but was no match for my speedy gonzales impression. Three stings on my right arm. It got numb even. Pretty good though. Mom doted on me all night.

WV Sawmiller · July 01, 2024, 06:43:10 PM

I bought and put a new brush cutting blade on my weedeater today and since it was a little cooler than usual and the hillside I wanted to trim is deeply shaded I started weedeating it about 4:30 pm. About 45 minutes later I got lucky and spotted a big yellowjacket nest ahead that was half out of the ground. The part I saw looked like half a volleyball. I trimmed as close as I could in moderate safety then when I got done I came back with some Sevin type dust and powdered them good. They will all be dead in the morning. I have never seen them build with the nest exposed like that before.

Old Greenhorn · July 01, 2024, 07:06:51 PM

You know all this talk about wasps, hornets, and yellerjackets make me think it's time for a little reminder because I got a call and a text from a member that had forgotten my little trick, this might be a good time to reprint it. When stung, you wet the area (water, spit, sweat, whatever) in question ASAP and sprinkle of some Adolf's Meat tenderizer or straight MSG if you have access to it. The stuff works wonders, especially on those hornet stings, but you need to do it fast, if you do, the pain will subside before it really starts. I keep a little shaker of it in the truck in a ziplock bag. The MSG breaks down to poisons in the venom, like magic.

I have found that those white faced hornets are the meanest and have the best targeting systems. Every time they have gotten me, it's been between the eyes over my nose, or right over my spine on the back of my neck, both take quick effect. Except once they got my neck and both of my ears all at once. (Never throw a basketball at an un-used backstop on the edge of a 1 acre garden.)

doc henderson · July 01, 2024, 07:08:50 PM

Yup! thanks Tom.

WV Sawmiller · July 01, 2024, 07:38:58 PM

If I get stung and don't have anything else close by I grab a couple of juicy green leaves and crush them up and put them on the sting. I don't know if it actually helps neutralize the sting but it seems to ease the pain and swelling a little. No scientific evidence but unless it is a poison ivy leaf it probably can't hurt.

SwampDonkey · July 01, 2024, 08:03:46 PM

I know jewel weed, a k a spotted touch me not juice, will take the sting out of stinging nettles. Interestingly, they grow in the same habitat. Unfortunitly for me the last time I got into nettles, I was in a sea of the stuff and no antidote in sight. I stung with numness thrown in for good measure for 3 days.

Southside · July 01, 2024, 10:42:14 PM

Plantain is an excellent natural relief for insect bites and stings. Just mash the leaves up in your mouth really well then smash it onto the wound, in seconds it will feel better.

wuddy777 · July 02, 2024, 04:44:29 AM

^

That method can introduce bacteria into the mix and posibly cause infection, an alternative would be to grind oatmeal into a fine powder and add it to a lukewarm bath, then soak in the oatmeal which can soothe itchy skin

WV Sawmiller · July 08, 2024, 12:00:25 PM

I was cutting brush on a steep hillside near my house with a weedeater and brush cutting blade yesterday afternoon and riled up a nest of big black ground/bumble bees. One few around my face several times but I had a wide screen face mask on and he could not figure out how to get to my eyes or such so he finally gave up and tagged me on the right arm. It was obvious he wanted to wanted to sting me in the face. I don't know how they know that is a better target.

I went out this morning and could not find a clear entrance with bees coming and going. I did see one bee. I finally just dusted about a 6' circle around where I thought they were yesterday with garden insect dust and hopefully they will land on it and carry it into the nest and kill the queen and young.

The stings hurt but the dang itching the next few days are the worst part IMHO.

Old Greenhorn · July 08, 2024, 12:18:08 PM

there is a solution to that. just a few posts back.

JJ · July 10, 2024, 01:45:48 PM

My next door neighbor had honey bees. Normally don't bother me, but one summer they swarm my pool for water and keep us from swimming as they clustered by the steps:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CNHXRxlIXvE

I put some water out between the hives and my pool, but didn't help

I ask him to call his bees home, but they wouldn't go so I gas few of them with spray

.
The bees left for a while but came back the next day and were a problem for few weeks, nobody got stung but we also didn't use the pool much when they were there.

JJ

Magicman · July 10, 2024, 01:50:32 PM

Just guessing but maybe there was a "new queen" nearby??

Magicman · July 10, 2024, 01:58:41 PM

Not wasps but I inadvertently stepped in a Fire Ant nest on the 4th. Got about a dozen stings just above my sock. The next day the bites will each have a pus pocket so my treatment is to remove the top skin and apply hydrogen peroxide to boil everything out. Dry it off and apply alcohol which will sting a bit but it helps to dry the bites out. Next I apply an antibiotic cream. The tops will sorta scab over and viola, in a year's time you can hardly tell that you were stung. I hates Fire Ants!!

Old Greenhorn · July 10, 2024, 02:14:48 PM

I hate fire ants too, nasty creatures! I got nailed down in TX in July back in the 80's. 95° and 96% humidity was miserable enough. They nailed me around the ankle and itched pretty bad. Covered it up with socks, hen when they started oozing and getting raw I used clean gauze. Nothing I put on helped, just got worse. On return home I was beginning to have trouble walking and the whole ankle was messed up. I went to the family Doc and when he took the bandage off he reeked back and just said "EEWWWW! That's ugly! I'll bet that hurts!" Yeah Doc, thanks.

He put some stuff on it, dressed it again, and gave me a scrip for a heavy antibiotic. It took a while but it did clear up. I never tried the MSG on those, hope I never get the chance, but it seems that it has a good chance of working. MSG breaks down proteins in just about anything.
I HATE fire ants. Another benefit of nature we do not enjoy up here in the glaciated north.

SwampDonkey · July 10, 2024, 02:24:52 PM

We have the red kind, but not the fire breathing kind. They are smaller than the black ones that make the ginormous hills in the open patches of spruce woods. Bears will tear those hills all apart. They will make some small hills on the lawn sometimes.

Magicman · July 10, 2024, 07:48:34 PM

Tom, remember my recipe next time. The hydrogen peroxide will foam and boil the poison out. The alcohol will mix with any moisture and dry the sting area to prepare it for an antibiotic.

Southside · July 10, 2024, 10:23:46 PM

I am thinking there may have been a nest under that deck / skirting. The smoke coming off of your burners there was probably making things worse. They smell smoke and they think fire so they will begin to consume the honey in anticipation of moving very fast and all chaos breaks out. It's very easy to over smoke a hive when working in there for that reason.

NewYankeeSawmill · July 11, 2024, 06:05:05 AM

Quote from: Southside on July 01, 2024, 10:42:14 PMPlantain is an excellent natural relief for insect bites and stings. Just mash the leaves up in your mouth really well then smash it onto the wound, in seconds it will feel better.

This. Use them on chiggers, ticks, mosquito's, you name it. They grow everywhere in my lawn, hopefully yours too.

The honey bee issue @JJ mentioned is a problem among hobby beek's. Really not anything you can do (as the beekeeper) other than provide a water resource near the hives. If they decide they like your pool better, however... shrug, they're bugs! Whatchagonnado? Smoke of just about any source should disperse them, but it's the water they're after. This is why you always give your neighbor's free honey!

I learned that bee's and wasps can tell the 'face' of their enemy, and attack that instinctually. Amazing critters (been keeping bee's for about 7-8 years now).

NewYankeeSawmill · July 11, 2024, 06:11:47 AM

Quote from: Southside on July 10, 2024, 10:23:46 PMThey smell smoke and they think fire so they will begin to consume the honey in anticipation of moving very fast and all chaos breaks out. It's very easy to over smoke a hive when working in there for that reason.

I started using powdered sugar on my hives last year, and don't even use that half the time I'm doing inspections this year.
I was talking online w/ folks and the stress-factor from the smoke experience was being discussed. I see the point to one side of the argument - smoke means fire, and is an existential thing for the bee's. Quite stressful, they think their home is on fire and have to flee. 10 minutes later I put the covers back on and all is well? Nah... They're still all stressed out. Would beard on the hive for an hour or so...
Now I use the wife's cake decorating thinggy w/ powdered sugar (some tupperware contraption that shoots a light cloud w/ each trigger pull). Pull off the inner cover, poof poof poof with the sugar, start checking frames. Nobody even flies, they just start cleaning each other. 10 minutes after inspection the hive's back to normal, no bearding. I don't even dust them half the time during inspections now (mostly just checking for eggs and signs of infection, 5 minutes or less).

JJ · July 11, 2024, 09:01:55 AM

NYSM my pool is a salt water pool, maybe they wanted/needed the salt? They were mostly in the pool fence as water gets trapped there from swimmers getting in and out of the pool, and there were bunch of bees drowned in my skimmer.

It was a dry summer that year.

I did not think of a queen MM, the bees were there every day for a week or two. I have a lot of flowering bushes, and is was very common to see swarms in my flowers.

A year later, no more bees. My neighbor said they just all left..

JJ

doc henderson · July 11, 2024, 10:05:50 AM

NYS we use it in infants for invasive stuff like iv starts and even prior to numbing up prior to circumcision (only in biological boys in case anyone was wondering) in the nursery. they do not cry and just suck on the pacifier as we drip sugar water (sweeteze) on it. No wonder we all like sweets. does not work on grown men needing a circ., they require pain meds, anxiety meds, and general anesthesia.

Freedy201 · July 12, 2024, 01:02:51 PM

Hey everyone,

I'm dealing with a frustrating wasp issue where they keep appearing near my garage, but I can't seem to locate their nest. It's become a bit of a safety concern, especially since I've had bad experiences with their stings in the past.

Does anyone have any tips on how to locate a hidden wasp nest, especially when they seem to be frequenting a particular area like the garage? I'd really appreciate any insights or advice you can share