Bumble bees? In the ground? Never knew ...

[beppington]

Wow, beppington. Bees, yellow jackets, snakes... Mother Nature doesn't seem to want to share your place. I'm expecting plagues of locusts soon :laughing:

Yes, I'm getting that feeling, too! Don't forget the hornets! Got a 2nd hornets' nest about the size of your head hangin' on a skinny little branch about 10' above my new well right now. To remove, or not to remove...? Haven't decided yet. They decided not to bother me the whole time I installed my electrical panel/ disconnect, so maybe they can stay.

If you have a water supply, maybe you can "encourage" them to find different real estate.

As of yesterday ... I do! Unfortunately the bumble bees in the ground are about 400' away from the well. I think we're pretty much done in their area anyway, though.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Don't forget the hornets! Got a 2nd hornets' nest about the size of your head hangin' on a skinny little branch about 10' above my new well right now. To remove, or not to remove...? Haven't decided yet.

If it were here in KY, you'd just wait 'till winter. The nest would disintegrate over the winter. How that works where your at, I don't know.

If they are near an area where people or animals congregate, or where you'll be mowing/working...I'd say they probably ought to go. They're known to be nasty when disturbed. I've seen these recommended before, but I've never used one:

Amazon.com: Rescue YJTR-SF4 Reuseable Yellowjacket Trap with Attractant: Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[Financegal]

When I was selling my last home (in the burbs) there was an underground nest just outside the front door. With the home up for sale and bees swarming it was dangerous with all the people coming and going. I went to the local hardware store and was told to buy some steel wool, take home and at dusk, soak the steel wool with bee/wasp killer. If you stuff it down the hole they can't escape thru the steel wool, die off and you'll never have a problem at that site again.

I am now very rural and have about 4 acres. When I cut the grass this past summer, I saw another such place but because it was far from the home entrances where a lot of people congregate I left it alone.

 

[jonyyuma]

We have the yellow jackets in the ground. I will feel pain while walking behind mower, and they will be climbing and stinging. I usually go back at night with small light, pour wasp killer in hole and cover with plastic bucket. Sometimes they have two exits,and can be several feet down in ground.Jy.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I've posted about the hornets & yellowjackets on my land here in N central FL. Both got me.

I learned during all that that yellowjackets live in the ground.

Well, doing some fencing this weekend, turns out the flyin' things in the pics also live in the ground. What are they? They look to me like what I've always thought of as a classic "bumble bee". I guess that's right based on the Wikipedia article.

Notice the first pic looks like just your typical rural piece of ground, with the beginnings of some fence work. Trust me, though, even though they don't all show in the pics (especially the zoom-out), this area was swarming with about 100 of these guys (camera doesn't catch the flying ones). They were flying low to the ground, make a pretty loud low-note buzzing; Kinda ominous. They neve attacked, & never actually seemed like they would; So we got the fencing done. They first came alive when the post hole digger pounded into the ground a few times. Apparently their home was being jostled.

Strange...I've never seen them in the ground. We did have ground wasps once; two nailed me when weed whacking. The next week (on the fourth of July) we thought they were gone...so all the kids were around the area and there was a massive attack...:confused2: