Another Yellow Jacket Story

[RoyK]

There are hundreds of kinds of wasps, of which yellow jackets are only one kind. Yellow jackets nest in the ground, rotting wood, etc. Nests under your eaves, in your tractor, etc. are some other kind of wasp. This is important only in that the yellow jacket traps won't attract other kinds of wasps, only yellow jackets. some may get caught by accident, but the overwhelming majority of the catch will be yellow jackets, attracted by the YJ pheromone.

Not entirely true. It is true that yellowjackets are only one kind of wasp, but there are two genera and many species of yellowjacket. The genus Vespula species *mostly* nest underground but some nest in trees, attics, between walls, or under eaves of houses. But then there are the genus Dolichovespula species, also known as aerial yellowjackets, that all nest above ground. Among these are bald-faced hornets, which are a yellowjacket species and not a true hornet.

So if the website linked to above is telling the truth, that their pheromone attracts all species of yellowjackets, then you will get more than the common, underground yellowjackets filling the trap.

Now I need a trap for the paper wasps that seem to have a love affair with every nook and cranny of my tractor, FEL and attachments. I spray and spray but they always come right back.

In my situation, the above ground yellowjacket nests are more of a problem than the underground ones. The species living under my pool railings are extremely vicious and hurt really bad. I got stung in the forehead (never saw him coming) and I thought someone shot me with a .22!

Roy

 

[slaveToHorses]

I have killed both an arial and a ground nest recently and saw no visible difference between the two wasps. They both looked like yellow jackets to me. I had a pro come out earlier this year and take out one above my shop door and one inside a box in my carport. He called them both yellow jackets.

Maybe we just bein' sloppy bout our namin'

All the other wasps I let be, since they seem to let me be. But yellow jackets (of all types) get the no living through chemistry treatment from me.

 

[ToddW]

I used to have major problems with paper wasps building nests under the eaves of my house, but this year I've been spraying the eaves with the same pesticide I use for inside pest control - Cynoff WP - and the wasps have not built any nests. It seems to last about 90 days.

/Todd

 

[Pilot]

Ahh, RoyK is right about the genera and species numbers. I was misinformed by a local newspaper article which sounded like the writer had done his homework.

Here is a very good writeup from an authoritative source:
Yellowjackets and Other Social Wasp Management Guidelines--UC IPM