No yellow jackets here this year

[Pilot]

After a long wet spring and my complaining that I only trapped 15 or 16 few queens instead of the usual 50+, it turns out that the population is down this year--I haven't seen a single worker this year. In my 32 years in Oregon I have never seen the YJ population crash before.

Can't see that their absence has let the population of anything else come up, so it's good all the way around. Been a pretty good year, bug-wise.

 

[Freds]

No so here. I've got a large nest behind my siding, possibly in the wall. I dusted it a few times at night and finally called in an exterminator. He's been back once so far to retreat. Persistant buggers. I keep telling him he should come back at night and lift the siding up, but I guess they don't do that anymore, lol. So he keeps shooting the dust into the crack where the siding sits in the J channel.

 

[teg]

Not at my place either... killed one nest but there's more since I still have them flying around...

 

[Highbeam]

I have seen a huge decline in the bees as well. I am allergic to their venom so this is a good thing for me. Our northwest weather was super cold and wet. Unlike the rest of the country. I think our weather killed them this year.

 

[TnWV]

All of you guys's yellow jackets must have migrate east to my farm. I have ran into nine nests in the last three weeks. Five in the yard, took care of those, and four while brushhogging. Haven't been able to get rid of the ones in the fields yet, it is steep and it was extremely tall so the cut grass is making it really hard to pinpoint there nest location, but boy were there plenty there when I hit it. Luckily only one sting out of them so far.

 

[polo1665]

We also have a decline in the Yellow Jacket population this year. Have noticed what seems to be an increase in the Wasp population though.

 

[Pilot]

Freds,

Last couple years I had hornets nests, one under the awning of my barn right where I get out of my pickup and the next year under the eave of the house.

Exterminator came out to spray for carpenter ants and said he would try his ant stuff on the hornets. More guts than I have. Walked up to that that nest by the barn, sprayed the stuff in the hole in the bottom & walked away--they never touched him and they all died pretty quickly. The next year he did the same thing with the nest under the eaves, except he had to go about 15 feet up a ladder. Again they never touched him and they all died. The chemical he uses is called Termidor and is not available to the general public but your exterminator should be able to get it. According to the online info, it is sprayed where bugs enter the structure and kills a lot of different bugs including yellow jackets, ants, black widows, brown recluse, etc. It says it is not a knockdown agent, but it seemed to do the job for my guy.

I wish I could get some!

 

[themichelob]

We had a very mild winter, which I thought would translate to an abundance of yellow jackets this summer. I put out traps early with very meager results, and I've knocked down a few nests about nickel-size and that's been it. Not complaining, but kind of strange. Regards, Mike

 

[chrisdvorak]

No so here. I've got a large nest behind my siding, possibly in the wall. I dusted it a few times at night and finally called in an exterminator. He's been back once so far to retreat. Persistant buggers. I keep telling him he should come back at night and lift the siding up, but I guess they don't do that anymore, lol. So he keeps shooting the dust into the crack where the siding sits in the J channel.

They have been pretty bad here too I recently found an underground nest while I was clearing land and I must of awoken at least 50 or so, I tried everything from spraying with wasp killer to dumping a bucket of dirt over the nest and it still took about a week for them all to abandon the nest!

 

[Freds]

I used drione dust. It's worked for me in the past when I could squirt it directly into their hole. The exterminator said the stuff he had was much better (of course, lol), but I didn't look that closely at the bucket.
In the past, the other guy got on a ladder and could pinpoint his application into the exact crack/hole they were using, but now they use a telescopic pump applicator and it's wobbling as he leans it into my second story window and I'm suspect how much of the dust actually forces it's way into the nest. A heck of a lot sure shoots all over outside. He said they will carry the dust into the nest. So anyway, I paid him once and any return trips are part of the deal.