What is uo with the tellow jackets? The bee ones, not the CFL leauge!

Question

I am just curios as to why the yellow jackets are so bad - I live in the Northeast Georgia Mountains! They are all over the place you can't even open your door without meeting one on the way in or out! I was getting into my car and a few followed me in. You can stand outside for about 10 seconds and then they are about a dozen flying around you from head to toe! Just walking to the car I am afraid I am going to get stung...not that I am allergic but they are annoying and really who want to be stung by them? Not me. Anyway for all the Scientist what can I do with out spending money to try and make them stay under-control and few aggravating me and my children when we wont to enjoy a few minutes outdoors?

Answer 1

Set traps for them, partially fill mason jars with vinegar water, and set them our or hang them from trees or the eaves of the house.

Answer 2

They are hungry and thirsty.  There are traps available at stores, but you can make your own if you don't want to spend the money.  The easiest way is to leave a little bit of beer at the bottom of a can, cover all but a small opening with tape or foil, and set it out at least 100 feet away from where you are.  They will fly in and most won't find their way out.

Answer 3

You can set traps for them, and kill them.  Right now however you are just killing the drones.

The best time of year to set traps is in the early spring.  In the early spring, the queen yellow jackets are out searching for new places to make nests.  Kill the queens, and you have a lot fewer problems the rest of the year.

The closer we get toward Autumn, the more agressive the yellow jackets become.  In the Autumn the queens kick all the drones out of the hive, and seal it up.  Yellow jackets do not make that much honey, and need to preserve all they have for the queeen, and the few bees she keep to attend her over the winter.

Once the drones are kicked out they are very hungry, and confused.  That's the time of year you cannot put a piece of raw meat outside without it being swarmed by yellow jackets.  

You either have to set bee traps, wait for the drones to starve to death, or wait for first frost to kill them.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years