So, in a quandary about what to do when finding a nest - and wanting to do right by the neighbors, who have legitimate concerns - I came up with an effective solution that also happens to require very little effort on my part. In addition to ruining the environment and killing off your favorite butterflies and poisoning birds… these methods are not reliable, because the queen often escapes-and then goes on to produce a million more even angrier yellowjackets. The other time-honored way is the dubious one of pouring pesticide into the nest or, as bad or worse, the illegal one of pouring gasoline into the nest. Yes, that’s right: yellowjackets are not nocturnal, so if you are bitten while doing whatever clandestine thing made you sneak around your own yard after midnight, it was probably an ambitious baby raccoon in a fit of pique, not a yellowjacket. For example, the best, most thorough way is for someone experienced to don what’s basically a beekeeper’s outfit and vacuum out the ground nest after dark when the yellowjackets are asleep. What I discovered is that most common solutions are either terrible for the environment or, well, complicated. So, what should you do if they become a problem? A queen dying would make anyone surly, but it especially infuriates yellowjackets, who are apparently monarchists (unlike, er, monarch butterflies, which are libertarians or socialists or republicans, depending on who is reading this). Namely, they are most irritable in September or October, when their queen dies. Yet even with yellowjackets, there’s a reason for the treason of their most unruly seasons. Still, yellowjackets can be belligerent - they’re the social wasps that unfortunately give the unsocial, peaceful wasps a bad name. I also try to know my wasps, since the solitary ones often can’t even sting you and are valuable wildflower pollinators, in addition to eating other insects you don’t like. They’re a valuable source of protein for migrating birds, and, also, frankly, at the old house I sometimes walked past yellowjacket ground nests for months with nary an angry glance my way.Īs with most things, it’s in part how you conduct yourself and I try to be calm and slow and steady in the yard. You haven’t lived until you’ve watched a summer tanager in a state of bliss pluck a yellowjacket out of the air and then crunch down like it’s a messed-up Cheeto. I love yellowjackets because summer tanagers and other birds love them. Now, I am of the politically and otherwise unpopular opinion that yellowjackets are cool. Gardens: Create your own secret garden hiding around in plain sight Wildlife: Embrace the summer dance of armadillos and fireflies in the backyard | Wild Tallahassee Insects: Droning is clue to the hidden nests of yellowjackets and wasps | Harrison So difficult to write a column when the whole town smells like dirty socks or maybe that’s just me.īack to the subject of yellowjackets. I meant “yellowjackets,” not “mosquito.” It’s hard to think with so much humidity seeping into my brain. This misunderstood and often majestic creature brings with it so many benefits that… This month, as rain pours down like a gentle bucket of water upturned upon our heads by a truculent neighbor…I ask that you spare a thought for the noble mosquito.
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