Yellow Jacket traps....wish me luck!

[BungeeII]

Make a little slurry out of baking soda and water when you're first stung. This relieves the burning & pain on contact.

The itching that occurs days after the sting is something I've always just dealt with, but it's never been more than a mosquito-bite type itch.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

hi all

I wanted to revive the thread a bit and ask one good question, seems in the last 2 weeks I got stung about 5 times. all from different nests that Ive stumbled upon at the farm, I usually wipe out 1 to 3 nests a ear but was down with back surgery last year and they got ahead of me, this year they seem to be coming back with a vengeance.

I had not been stung/bit by a yellow jacket in 20+ years & seems now I'm a bit allergic to em enough that the stung area is burning itching for several days & wanted to know if anyone had something good to put on it that might work to make it go away. Mud worked good but it is hard to walk around with big globs of mud on you're face and elbows
WHY do they always go for the elbow and eyes?

My normal method of dealing with them in past was a pop bottle full of gas dumped into the hole, works great & does the job best if left UN-BURNT. over last 4 or 5 years though I been using the weed burner and go after them & cook the nest never been stung using this method and is instant gratification. approach hole in ground with flame on medium high and cook away, wait a few seconds with flame low near hole watching for movement and fire it up again. this usually kills the nest and every thing in it 1st try except the stragglers that are foraging. they may need a 2nd dose. this year however they are right back daily after the high heat treatments. so I went back to a gas/oil mix weed burner to clear the area and stuff the old plastic oil can/jug about 1/3 full of 2 cycle mix (dumped out old gas mix from chain saw/weed eaters which was old anyhow.) then left the jug set in the hole, after about 15 min there was 100's of bees around the jugs so I went back to the weed burner method just to flash fry all of them. this left the plastic jug burning in the hole and was quite satisfying to watch the stragglers fly in and fall into the burning plastic goo
anyhow one of the nests was found by a skunk which seems to be best use for skunks so that one I didnt need to go after much but there was still a lot in/out of that area and was where I first got bit while walking the dog. for I did some more cooking of them there too

not once have I been stung & bit while clearing them out every time has been while going about my regular business. Mowing Working around the farm and picking fruit ect...


so anything that gets rid of the burning & itching?

Mark

I use these... When my dad worked on the railroad this is what they had, and they work real good. Medicaine Sting Ease Swabs - Tot Snob

You break the tube before you use it, and it comes out on a cotton swab on the end of the tube..... If you can put this on when you first get stung it will keep the swelling down.

I don't know why they go for the elbows & eyes...OR your lips, But those things get mad and sting then bite you.... I had snake-chaps on once and scooped over a nest with my FEL, and they got behind my chaps and stung & bit me before I could get the chaps off.

But the sting ease works good... Hope that helps.

 

[tallyho8]

I always use AfterBite Buy After Bite The Itch Eraser for Insect Bites Online at drugstore.com

I buy several tubes and keep one on my tractor, one in my golf cart and one nearby anytime I am doing yard work. I have been stung about 10 times so far this year and used a dozen cans of wasp spray on the nests and if untreated the stings make me itch for several days.

The trick is to use it IMMEDIATELY after getting stung. Using it 5 minutes later is no good. When I use it immediately, I have no symptoms an hour later.

If you are frugal, as I am, you can buy bottles of aromatic ammonia (smelling salts) at the drug store and refill the tube.

If you are not able to use it immediately, then a preparation that contains benzocaine will help but will not work as well.

 

[DennisArrow]

This year is really bad for the little varmits being around. We just acquired, thank you God, 11 acres next to us and are clearing for the fence line. It's only a couple of acres but is totally loaded with them. Then on another area the wife and I were spitting wood the other day and the little buggers were just about coating the ground and she got bit 3 times. We have yet to find any kind of a nest but what tells me that they are around is when I look at the ground and see a lot of them hovering.
Anyway, TSC had a gallon of good ol fashioned malathion concentrate. Got a gallon and mix it up pretty hot in the sprayer...........I nuke the area when I notice them.....10 minutes later and they are gone for good.......By area I may do 100 or 200 square feet of the forest floor. Along the fence line I sprayed for 50 feet on either side of it and NO MORE critters. Works for me.......Good Luck......Dennis

 

[Richard]

seems now I'm a bit allergic to em enough that the stung area is burning itching for several days & wanted to know if anyone had something good to put on it that might work to make it go away.


so anything that gets rid of the burning & itching?

Hi Mark,

My 2 cents would be:

1. Get some liquid benedryl and keep it handy. I think your burning/itching are part of a histimine reaction?? You might also take a normal benedryl.

2. I'd find out about having access to an Epi-pen. In case you or someone else has a severe reaction something like that can be life saving. I think mine costs something like $10 when I get them refilled? (refilled is defined as replaced)

I'm no Doctor and never had any reactive issues to stings until several years ago. Ended up in the emergency room with an IV and several viles of vile stuff being pumped into me to make me able to breath.

I had NEVER had an adverse reaction to stings...then all the sudden wham.

My point is... you dont know that you've become sting reactive until after your next episode and for some people that's too late for them.

The epi pens require a prescription, the liquid benedryl doesn't and it might buy you a few more minutes of time.

I'm now getting sting shots from an allergist. They want me to take a Claritin the day PRIOR, day of and the day after my allergy shots. This is supposed to reduce my reaction to the actual shots.

I usually remember, but not always. We can almost always tell when I forget because the reaction around the shot areas (I get 3 shots) are larger, bigger and more vibrant red when I forget to take the Claritin.

The last time I got stung, prior to my hospital episode... I was digging and found a nest. I think I got about 9 yellow jacket stings. I had either 5 on my face and 4 on my legs/arms or 5 on legs/arms and 4 on face. I forget. What I don't forget is my face was puffy for maybe an entire week afterwards. It really lingered.

Little did I know at the time but somewhere between then and later on, I crossed the threshold of allergic reaction.

When the stupid little wasp stung me....it happened on November 30 and was becoming quite cool outside. You might relate with how lethargic they are at that time of year.

I don't know how the allergic scale works but after my episode I went to the allergist. Come to find out that of all the stinging little SOB's, I'm the least allergic to a wasp (which is what landed me in the emergency room). I'm more allergic to bees and then a quantum leap to yellow jackets and hornets where I'm highly allergic.

Seems it was lucky for me that it was a lowely wasp that busted my chops that day. Had it been a yellow jacket or hornet I might have had a more intense reaction. Since I live 15 miles out of town, a more intense reaction might have given me a really bad day.

Now I keep some liquid benedryl handy as well as several epi-pens (home/work)

Good luck with your battle with the little SOB's. Next time you torch them, give them a small extra dose of gasoline from me please? Send them my love.

 

[Richard]

Regarding the beginning of this thread.... my little experiment basically failed.

I caught hundreds of flies...HUNDREDS.

I think I caught maybe a single wasp and perhaps a single yellow jacket. Given the dozens and dozens and dozens of yellow jackets I had seen flying around the blueberries.... it was a letdown on the results.

I'll be trying it again next year... I'm hoping my experiment was simply too late in the season.

I did however, put a real dent into the fly population!!

 

[SPIKER]

What I have been seeing with my local yellow jackets is that they prefer their brethren fried well, prior to consuming them. there are a good amount of well cooked bees laying about the hole area new ones will come in and grab one of their fried friends and carry them off (or lt least TRY TO ) and the more of a pile of cooked critters I get the more that show up to collect the carcases to carry back for food. it seems it is a nasty cycle. when I'm gone they seem to come in to raid the burnt nest as the othe day when I showed up there were a good number flying into the the nest by the barn empty and carrying out fried larva/bees that were down below. Since I dont want to feed or encourage the behavior I have to fire up the weed burner to finish off a bunch of them

Still not sure why they dont think the fire is something to attack but sure is entertaining
Mark

 

[scotty088]

I have had excellent results with a product called RESCUE disposable yellow jacket traps.You just hang them up and fill to the line with water.It contains a water activated pheromone that attracts them like crazy.They cost $4.95 ea at Lowes.Made by a company called Sterling International Inc.3808 N Sullivan Rd.Bldg.16BV,Spokane,Wa 99216.Visit company web.Rescue! for all the details.This product works awesome....

 

[Pilot]

Scotty,

Richard doesn't seemed inclined to try the Rescue traps, which I have recommended twice before on his threads. Seems to want to do his own thing rather than what we know to work. Too bad. I have also had great success with the Rescue traps. Best to use them in the spring just as the weather warms up to catch the queens.

We used to have thousands of the critters around here, but now we get just a few since I started trapping in the spring. No queens, no workers.

 

[Skyco]

Pilot is right-
Spring is the key to eliminating yellow jackets. I set my traps out very early and try to catch the queens. Get one of them and you've stopped a nest that will have thousands of workers later on.
I think this past spring we caught 8 queens...they are larger and the only ones that overwinter and are out early in spring.
Google around there are a number of tips on bait and postioning of traps etc. They prefer carbs vs protein early on then it switches alter in the season. I use a commercial preparation for my traps.