Yellow jackets

[Martyd]

I have yellow jackets so bad my wife won't go near the pond or sometimes even in the back yard. I thinking of illiminating the fish and mixing dawn with the water. Will this kill the plants? I have tried the traps etc. they inner he traps for the pond. I live in rural wash lots of old buildings for nest. There are over 100 bees on the water at any one time. You can't walk by with out a bee hitting you while coming to or leaving the pond. Wife wants me to destroy he pond.

 

[IPA]

That's terrible. I hope you can find a solution to still keep your pond.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Oh, I would not like that situation. Have you contacted an exterminator? They may be able to help you get rid of the yellow jackets. That way you can keep the pond.

If not, I'm not sure that Dawn dish soap will kill plants. Maybe you can advertise them for "free" if the person interested will come and get them out of the pond?

What kind of fish do you have? Will you be able to re-home them?

 

[peter hillman]

Try to follow them to their nest then do what needs to be done. Been lucky this year hardly a pair of them.

 

[mrsclem]

I have yellow jackets as well as the giant hornets. Found a recipe that works. Mix sugar water- 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, a small amount of vinegar and a couple of drops of dish soap in a bucket. They love the stuff and it kills them! You want to put the traps away from the pond or areas where people are.

 

[Lisak1]

Are you sure they are yellow jackets? Has it been particularily dry where you are? Perhaps you could put another water source in their path and that would stop them from coming to the pond for water. If they aren't aggressive and chasing you, I would hesitate to kill them... especially if they are bees and not yellow jackets.

 

[bagsmom]

Yellow jackets are awful! On a side note, I have an obnoxious, rude carpenter bee. He can't hurt me, but drives me nuts when I'm by the pond. He must have a nest/egg hole in the wood on my house somewhere, and he simply does NOT want me sitting in my chair by the pond. He will hover right by my face, then make a circuit around the pond -- then does a fast ZOOM right up to my nose. So far, my bad language has not intimidated him at all. LOL

Good luck with the yellow jackets. They are really bad.

 

[IPA]

I have yellow jackets as well as the giant hornets. Found a recipe that works. Mix sugar water- 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, a small amount of vinegar and a couple of drops of dish soap in a bucket. They love the stuff and it kills them! You want to put the traps away from the pond or areas where people are.

The giant hornets are probably eastern cicada killers and non-aggressive towards people even if they appear menacing in behavior. I believe only the females can sting.

 

[addy1]

We have a ton of yellow jackets, right now feeding the bees, the yellow jackets come from everywhere to get the sugar water, the smell of it attracts them. I never see them in the pond or near the pond getting water. Bees yes tons of them, they don't bother me at all.

A beekeeper posted this as a way to attract them and wipe out the queens to be.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

He will hover right by my face, then make a circuit around the pond -- then does a fast ZOOM right up to my nose.

Well, carpenter bees are attracted to holes. Sit still and see if it crawls right in!

 

[Faebinder]

Put lotsa yellow jacket traps from online and that will handle it. Get rid of them after that.

 

[Magzire]

I have yellow jackets as well as the giant hornets. Found a recipe that works. Mix sugar water- 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, a small amount of vinegar and a couple of drops of dish soap in a bucket. They love the stuff and it kills them! You want to put the traps away from the pond or areas where people are.

What actually kills them, the dish soap or vinegar?

 

[Abe]

I have yellow jackets so bad my wife won't go near the pond or sometimes even in the back yard.

An old camping trick - open a can of sardines
as far away from pond as you can , ( No, not at the neighbour's yard...)
The cheaper the can - the better it works.

 

[addy1]

I have yellow jackets as well as the giant hornets. Found a recipe that works. Mix sugar water- 1 part sugar to 4 parts water, a small amount of vinegar and a couple of drops of dish soap in a bucket. They love the stuff and it kills them! You want to put the traps away from the pond or areas where people are.

I can't use something like that we would lose a ton of bees. The sugar water and vinegar would attract them. This time of year even a drop of sugar water has the bees swarming to it.

 

[mrsclem]

Its the dish soap that kills them. I haven't seen a honey bee in months!