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Author Topic: Yellow Jackets  (Read 5219 times)

Offline Peppy

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Yellow Jackets
« on: November 24, 2005, 01:55:58 pm »
Checking on my Italians yesterday I found them to be pretty agitated. There were small yellow Jackets at the hive entrance and several dead bees on the ground below. My bees were buzzing around in an obvious fratic. I killed all the Yellow Jackets I could find (9 ten or so) by pinching them. I went back to the hive after dark and closed it up and returned this morning. There were no bees outside but there were a few more Yellow Jackets. I killed the agitators and opened my hive to allow my bees to fly. Is there anything more that I can do or should I be concerned?
Bobby

Offline Michael Bush

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2005, 04:41:09 pm »
Make a yellow jacket trap.  Search on "yellow jackets" and you'll find MANY discussions.
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Offline gottabee

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #2 on: November 25, 2005, 08:04:34 am »
I live in NC and also find many of those agitating frequent flyers. I have seen several bee carcus halves in and around the entrance. I was afraid of a hornet problem until I found the yellow jackets chewing on some bees. Yellow jackets are desperate for sugar during the fall period. I am going to hang a sugar trap away from the hives which will attract numbers of the pests and hope it helps.
Good luck.

Offline Peppy

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2005, 07:25:14 pm »
Thanks for the advice. I have constructed a Yellow Jacket trap as per the info found in articles elsewhere on this site. I am hopeing it helps. Seems the Yellow Jackets are flying when my girls are tucked away in the hive due to the temperature. I witnessed one landing at the entrance today. When the Yellow Jacket entered the hive it was attacked by at least fifty bees. Don't know the outcome but I doubt the Jacket survived. Thanks again to all.
Bobby
Bobby

Offline qa33010

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2005, 06:56:36 am »
I've noticed the small yellow jackets also.  They are a lot smaller than what we normally have and I've never seen them this small before.  Something new all the time.    But they go into the trap just great!
Everyone said it couldn't be done. But he with a chuckle replied, "I won't be one to say it is so, until I give it a try."  So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin.  If he had a worry he hid it and he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.  (unknown)

Offline Stan

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yellow jackets - video - traps etc
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2006, 06:19:51 pm »
I looked at a video on  http://www.swoba.org/  web site about a yellow hornet attack on a bee hive and it wiped out 30,000 bees in about three hours with only 30 yellow jackets.

I found several yellow jacket traps construction sites on the web, when you have your bee yard at a remote location should be have a few traps around?      Are bee as dumb as yellow jackets and will they get trapped also?    

I have been attacked by wasps a couple of times and it was no fun,  you get multi-stings while you are fighting them off, they can hit you about three times before you get a chance to swing back.

Offline Jerrymac

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2006, 06:25:05 pm »
Stan,
That video is about some hornets in Japan.
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Offline Mici

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2006, 05:49:09 pm »
Hi!

I was just wondering, what do you use to allure the yellow jackets/wasps (it is the same???). from what i've seen, wine works the best. 1dcl of wine, a table spoon of sugar, and some water-so the container is filled with enough liquids so they drown. usually flies are first to get caught, they die, rot and it allures wasps even more.

anyway, what i wanted to ask is. does "spoiled" honey attract bees?
i am making the real mead-Carniolan mead, it's actually honey wine, so, after a month i had to decant the mead. the fermentation had settled a bit, of course i had to try some :D , taste is fantastic BTW. anyhow i left some in a glass in the kitchen, and after...let's say 4 hours, i got back and found 3 dead wasps in it. usually they don't just come flying into the kitchen (although we have it opened 24/7 now in the summer). i think it just might be the best lure, as long as it doesn't allure bees. well, anyone has any exp.???

i tried really hard to keep the story short 8)

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #8 on: September 01, 2006, 11:58:08 pm »
I don't have a wasp or yellow jacket problem.  My bee yard is on one side of my orchard and the wasps and yellow jackets are too busy with the wind fall to bother the bees.
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Offline chickenhorsefarm

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more questions about yellow jackets
« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2006, 03:22:52 pm »
I also have a hive under attack from some yellow jackets that were recently evicted from my attic.  They are running rampant through the hive.  I reduced the entrance size and removed the sugar water I was feeding.  I guess now that the yellow jackets know there is honey there they don't want to leave.  I have bought a commercial trap that is not working any more.  I also tried a home made trap that has caught only a fly.  Reading a little about yellow jacket habits and know they will die over winter except the queen but I am worried they are stealing a weak hives honey and creating stress in the hive community.  I have also resorted to standing to the side of the entrance and selectively crushing yellow jackets as they come and go but I can't do that forever. Any other ideas is greatly appreciated.  Thank you, Greg and Robyn

Offline Mici

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #10 on: September 13, 2006, 03:44:10 pm »
radar+some patriot missiles :lol:
no seriusly, none of the traps won't work???
i use commercial traps, but they are easy to make, just cut a plastic bottle somewhere in half, and turn the upper side (must have a narrow) upside down into the lower part, inside you put let's say.-..a dCl of wine, a spoone of sugar and some water-so the water level is high enough so they drown faster. this works 100%, i put it 2 days ago and it's already full, first come in the flies, they rot, and that attracts the wasps. i think that in 15 mins there were more than 20 flies in each.

Offline chickenhorsefarm

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Yellow Jackets
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2006, 09:45:09 pm »
I'll try again with the traps. I didn't use the wine or sugar.  I tried another design that has a rectangle cut in the side with jam or jelly put on the side.  I'll make your design tomorrow and see how it goes. I tried plain old Pepsi with soap as my attractant but that hasn't work yet.  I'll let you know more later.
Greg