Bjorn, I just got to thinking after reading your post again. What do you do if and when you get mice in your house or roaches or recluse spiders? Do you follow that same thinking and let them live with you to keep from creating a vacuum in nature? :-D
Here is my game plan.....
First prevention. Just like the beekeeper who knows there are mice out there, my house in no different than a beehive when it comes to mice. So I make my home mouse proof by filling any entry points. It would be like using mouse guards on the hive.
Internal control....Cleanliness. Keep food stores from being utilized by the mice. A clean home is essential. Having lived in the south for years, I need not detail the roach infestation for those with less than clean habits. And that equates to the hive also. Strong colonies, not being over extended to protect too much comb, are able to keep mice or yellow jackets out.
Now, do I kill an occasional mouse in the house. Yes. While my wife will collect and place them outside. Same with spiders, wasps, etc. I smashed many yellowjackets in the hive. I think the impact or vacuum is very small compared to the chemical warfare and approach of some, trying to kill every insect coming onto their property line.
But lets equate since you asked, the house compared to the hive. When I find a mouse in the house, do I dawn camo, chant a war song, buy traps and poisons, and build barriers or lines of defense positions every 50 yards around the house declaring death to every mouse in a mile wide area? Ok, perhaps that picture is a bit more than reality. But I want to show how absurd that would be to do for a mouse or yellowjacket in the house, yet some take these measures in regards to a beehive. I certainly think my house ranks just a tad higher on the concern level.
Yellow jackets are the same. I know they are out there. I use screen on my windows. When one gets in the house, it's no big deal. And it is no big deal when one gets in the hive. I kill it, or throw it out if I can. But I don't throw my hands up in the air, while leaving the backdoor wide open and go on a rampage of war on every yellowjacket in the neighborhood.
Have you ever chuckled from the person at a picnic that goes into hysteria over the mere presence of a honey bees or wasp flying in to check out the can of coke sitting on the table? The pure fear, pure hate, and perhaps even ignorance at how some panic and go way over board. Over an insect.
I chuckle when I read how others spend money on traps, use chemicals, spend hours dealing with, and how they handle an every day pest that has been around for eons. How ever did bees survive on their own all those years without beekeepers around to defend them? Poor babies! What we do, is create a sterile environment, then expect bees to live within the confines of our predetermined "box", that we see as proper.
Mouse guards (bees in the wild often propolise entrances down to a small opening), strong hives, and bees able to defend their comb....all the way it is supposed to happen, and often missed in these conversations. Why is the hive weak? That is the lesson to learn. But humans are programmed to think that there is a pill for every disorder, a chemical for every problem, a quicker more easier fix that can be bought. I understand that. Mechanical and practical solutions are oftentimes ignored.
Now if you excuse me, a bird just pooped on my car I failed to put in the garage last night. I need to start killing every one of those dirty birds. I'll teach them. ;) I'll start by removing all the trees, burning the fields that supply food for them, and bait them in with tainted feed. Birds have no use in our society. :roll:
Topic: Yellow jacket problem! (Read 6892 times)