sassafraspete
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2003
- Messages
- 782
- Tractor
- Branson (kukje) 4020, 40hp turbo
Ok, I am taking a few minutes for a morning break on this hot , August day in Southern Indiana. This is yellowjacket season here. Usually in late July, August, and Sept, these become a real threat to anyone mowing grass. Just walking around is no problem...however run a mower across the entrance to their hole , and you have trouble on your hands.
This is especially an issue with me, since I still use a walk behind mower to cut my grass.
Just last week, my wife who was on a trip at the time, told me over the phone to be careful out mowing because of the time of year. I assured her I would be careful. Well , no sooner than hanging up the phone and starting up the mower.... I managed to find my first nest of the season. Mind you , I can dance the jig pretty good after running over a nest. Anyhow, only managed to get stung once. I had just mowed over this spot a few days before....so it was just starting to get active. I could tell by the number of yellowjackets flying around that there were not many workers hatched yet. After just a few minutes , they had all gone back to the hole and one guard was stationed at the entrance to the dime sized hole. I quickly dispatched a dose of gasoline down the hole.
Well not wanting to suffer the same fate this weekend, I decided a good offense was the best defense...and this morning I went on a yellowjacket hunt. Any of you out there do this? Anyway, with a can of red spray paint in my hand, I walked my yard in a grid like pattern, surveying back and forth, looking for any holes, any area where grass was absent, and the glimpse of a yellowjacket flying. Anyhow, the hunt resulted in 2 more nests found which I marked with red paint. One was just getting active, so I think there were not many hatched in it yet. The other however had quite a lot of activity around it, and the hole was the size of a quarter and seemed well used, so I am guessing that will be doozy. I like to wait until dark and dump gas down the hole...but if the nest is not too active, will do it in the daylight hours.
I live on a wooded hillside, and for some reason these jackets like nesting on hillsides...probably due to water run-off. I used to dig them up with a shovel after gassing, and basically you have something similar to a hornets nest underground. One that I dug up had 7 layers of combs , filled with larvae. I would like to know how big these nests get in terms of jackets at their peak.... I am guessing several hundred.
Anyhow, as if the heat and humidity were not enough.... I have to deal with these things. I am trying to work up the fortitude to begin my weekend mowing work. I just hope I found all the active nests for this week.
For all of you out there bushogging.... keep an eye out just ahead of your tractor looking at your previous swath.... you will normally get stung the second close pass to the nest after you have initially stirred them up. It is not hard to see a couple hundred jackets swarming around the hole...just stay alert and keep yourself out of trouble.
As for me.... off to see how well my hunting trip worked.
sassafraspete
This is especially an issue with me, since I still use a walk behind mower to cut my grass.
Just last week, my wife who was on a trip at the time, told me over the phone to be careful out mowing because of the time of year. I assured her I would be careful. Well , no sooner than hanging up the phone and starting up the mower.... I managed to find my first nest of the season. Mind you , I can dance the jig pretty good after running over a nest. Anyhow, only managed to get stung once. I had just mowed over this spot a few days before....so it was just starting to get active. I could tell by the number of yellowjackets flying around that there were not many workers hatched yet. After just a few minutes , they had all gone back to the hole and one guard was stationed at the entrance to the dime sized hole. I quickly dispatched a dose of gasoline down the hole.
Well not wanting to suffer the same fate this weekend, I decided a good offense was the best defense...and this morning I went on a yellowjacket hunt. Any of you out there do this? Anyway, with a can of red spray paint in my hand, I walked my yard in a grid like pattern, surveying back and forth, looking for any holes, any area where grass was absent, and the glimpse of a yellowjacket flying. Anyhow, the hunt resulted in 2 more nests found which I marked with red paint. One was just getting active, so I think there were not many hatched in it yet. The other however had quite a lot of activity around it, and the hole was the size of a quarter and seemed well used, so I am guessing that will be doozy. I like to wait until dark and dump gas down the hole...but if the nest is not too active, will do it in the daylight hours.
I live on a wooded hillside, and for some reason these jackets like nesting on hillsides...probably due to water run-off. I used to dig them up with a shovel after gassing, and basically you have something similar to a hornets nest underground. One that I dug up had 7 layers of combs , filled with larvae. I would like to know how big these nests get in terms of jackets at their peak.... I am guessing several hundred.
Anyhow, as if the heat and humidity were not enough.... I have to deal with these things. I am trying to work up the fortitude to begin my weekend mowing work. I just hope I found all the active nests for this week.
For all of you out there bushogging.... keep an eye out just ahead of your tractor looking at your previous swath.... you will normally get stung the second close pass to the nest after you have initially stirred them up. It is not hard to see a couple hundred jackets swarming around the hole...just stay alert and keep yourself out of trouble.
As for me.... off to see how well my hunting trip worked.
sassafraspete
