Subject: Yellow-Jackets 1/2

From: [email-masked] (Jim Dixon)
Date: 21 Sep 94 09:36:12 -0500

Reference Detail
Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
Integrated Pest Management Information System
Year Published: 1992 
Reference Type:PAMP     61
Author:Gilkeson, Linda A
Title:Yellowjackets / Safe and Sensible Pest Control Series
Publication:Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
Copyright Information:Public Domain
Reference Number:
Abstract
Reference Locations:
Name:Pesticide Management Branch Library
Note:Open to the public; reference only. 8:30-4:30, Mon.-Fri

Reference Authors:

Name:Gilkeson, Linda A
Title:Integrated Pest Management Coordinator
Company: Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
Reference Text:YELLOWJACKETS

Most people know and fear the yellow-and-black striped yellowjacket wasps that
are common, uninvited guests to late summer picnics. Their stings are painful
and for those people allergic to insect venom, they are dangerous. Many people
confuse bees, which are fuzzy and only feed on flower nectar,with wasps, which
have shiny bodies and are predators. What most people don't realize is that
yellowjackets capture enormous numbers of flies,caterpillars and other insects
to feed their young. They have been seen bringing in more than 225 flies an
hour to a single nest; one study found that over a three day period, just two
wasps collected 20 grams of imported cabbageworms. It is usually only in late
summer, when their populations are at their peak and wasps are attracted to
plants with ripening fruit or aphid honeydew deposits on the leaves that most
conflicts arise between humans and yellowjackets.  Although they are touchy
defenders of their nests, most stings are a result of accidentally trapping or
pinching a wasp.

> You can avoid being stung by following a few rules:

1. Remove all outdoor food sources attractive to wasps. Feed pets indoors and
keep garbage cans tightly covered and wash cans regularly to remove spilled
food. Bury fallen fruit and table scraps deep in compost piles and don't
compost meat scraps or bones.

2. Watch where you sit or step (don't go barefoot!). Be especially careful to 
 look before reaching into berry bushes or picking fruit. Thirsty wasps are
attracted to moisture so be cautious when sitting on or handling wet beach
towels.

3. Never swat at a yellowjacket hovering around you--it is a good way to ge t
stung. Instead, quietly move away or let the wasp leave of her own accord. The
only exception to this is if you have accidentally disturbed a nest and hear
wild buzzing. In this case protect your face with your hands and RUN!

4. Pick fruit in the early morning or evening while it is cool and most wasps
are still in their nests.

>To reduce yellowjacket problems at picnics and barbeques:

1. Minimize the length of time food is available by keeping it tightly covered
until just before it is to be eaten. Clear away scraps and dirty plates as soon
as the meal is over.

2. Serve sweet or alcoholic drinks in covered cups with drinking straws through
the lids so wasps can't get inside and then sting you in the mouth as you
drink. When drinking out of a can, keep the opening covered with your thumb
between sips. 

3. Set up baited yellowjacket traps around the ed
ge of the picnic area or on the end of the table to attract wasps away from the
food to capture them.  Small disposable cardboard traps or reusable ones made
of wood and metal screen are sold at garden centers. They work by attracting
wasps to bait placed under an inverted funnel. When the wasps have had their
fill and instinctively fly upwards toward the light at the end of the funnel,
they are trapped in an enclosed chamber above. In early and mid-summer, 1-2
traps should be enough for most picnics. In August and early September,
however, six or more traps might be necessary. For much of the season, the best
baits are Spam, ham, fish, cat food or meat scraps. La ter in the summer, when
wasps need less protein because they aren't rearing their young, sweet baits
such as jam, honey or rotting fruit are often more attractive.  When the picnic
is over, sink the traps in a bucket of soapy water to kill the wasps. Make very
sure they are dead before cleaning out reusable traps.

>  Removing wasp nests:

Although the number of yellowjackets in late summer invariably prompts many
concerned inquiries on how to control them, usually there is little that can be
done. The wasps will all die in a matter of weeks as fall approaches. Even if a
nearby nest is discovered late in the summer, eliminating it may not have the
desired effect because wasps can fly in from up to a mile away. It is never
advisable to put out poison baits because children and pets may get into them
and because other, beneficial, insects may take the bait and be killed. It is
also a terrible idea to pour gas or kerosene into an underground wasp nest
where it poisons the soil.
If yellowjackets do build a nest in a location likely to cause problems with
people or livestock, the best time to remove it is early in the season, while
it is still small. This is a job for a very careful person or a professional
pest control service. Chemical wasp sprays are available,but if you use them,
consider very carefully where the stream of pesticide that misses the nest will
land. Always use such products according to direction on the label. Remove an
exposed nest that has been sprayed as soon as the wasps are dead. Wear rubber
gloves and dispose of the nest to prevent birds from eating the poisoned larvae
left inside.

continued in Yellow-Jackets 2/2