# Mowed over yellow jacket nest



## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

What a painful experience. My hive check went well today. No stings. Girls a bit testy but not awful. Found capped brood and larva in the hive I thought went Queenless. One hive I saw varroa crawling. When I removed a box a few worker cells were disturbed. I poked at a few larva and sure enough young varroa in them. Today was maqs day. Got it done.

An interesting thing this season. White clover is still going and the short goldenrod is clearly blooming. Not wide open yet but it's going. Don't recall seeing this overlap since I been paying attention. 

Then.. Mowing the lawn I ran over a large stick that shut the engine down. I'm getting it restarted when I see a number of yellow jackets flying around and I say oh no.. I have seen this behavior before. They landed on me before I could get up and run and I took maybe half dozen stings before I ran away. Luckily they did not give chase, but stayed interested in the tractor. Yellow jacket sting is more,painful in my opinion. I'm sitting here and the sting sites are " burning". It's tolerable but not at all fun. I gotta find that nest tonight and have a yellow jacket bonfire.


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## soarwitheagles (May 23, 2015)

Dan,

You are very fortunate! Last fall, I was plowing and scraping with my newly purchased monster Belarus Tractor. Little did I know, under the ground was lurking a large yellow-jacket subterranean wasp nest. I had never heard of them before, but had seen them [our neighbors call them "meat bees."]

It was dusk when I was plowing, could not see a whole lot.

Plowed the nest unknowingly. At first I thought it was the motor blowing tiny particles of metal out the exhaust. After about 10-20 seconds, I realized I was under a massive attack by a massive number of yellow-jacket subterranean wasps.

By the time I was able to shut down the tractor and run, I already had accumulated 25-30 yellow-jacket subterranean wasp stings and bites [they can both sting and bite]. Most of the stings were on my face, neck, back of head, and top of head.

The pain level was substantial. So I called the ER room, they told me to come in immediately. After monitoring myself for symptoms of a severe reaction and seeing none, I chose a different approach. Rather than make the 40 minute drive, wait to see the doctor, then probably get doped up on Vicodin, I chose an easier method.

I asked my wife to run to the local Walmart, pick up a box of Benedryl and a quart of vodka. I normally do not drink alcohol. The last thing I remember that evening is telling her, "Honey, I don't feel any pain at all now!"

The next morning I did wake up with a bit of a hangover but most of the pain was gone. My right eye was nearly swollen shut. The bites on my head continued to break open and ooze venom and fluid for the next 2 weeks, and then, finally, I was back to normal.

The subterranean wasps won round one. Finally, I was ready for round two. In round two, I won by knockout. I called the local Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District, and they sent a team out that literally destroyed every subterranean wasp nest on our property. Best of all, they did not charge a cent. So I am the ruling and reigning champion now.

BTW, for me, the stings from normal yellow jackets as well as the subterranean wasps are about 2-3 times more painful than a simple bee sting. The symptoms of a bee sting are gone in 24-36 hours most of the time for me. On the other hand, for subterranean wasp stings, it required weeks.

Hope this helps!


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## Doug and Marie (Jun 2, 2016)

Ya, there more painful! Half dozen stings and you know your were in a fight and the other guy won.

Didn't know you had them in NY.

I've been wondering which is worse them or AHBees. They got to be close.


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## emrude (Mar 23, 2015)

We have them in Illinois. I had a great niece get stung about 6 times. She was playing on the swing set I have in my front yard and wasn't old enough to talk. We treated her with benedryl and watched her closely in case we had to take her to the hospital. It was after Halloween in November. I went out with can of spray and killed the nest.
Another time I was attacked cutting grass on a riding mower. I went running into the porch unzipping as I went. By time I got my jeans off they had got me 18 times. They are mean. At least I get honey from my bees.


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## AvatarDad (Mar 31, 2016)

My wife was mowing about 3 years ago and mowed right over a nest. There were 15 or so tangled up in her hair. She was in the garden hosing herself down, sobbing and screaming. We went to the emergency room out of caution but she was ok; just sore for a week.

I've had a mission ever since. I'm a bit of a hippie tree-hugger, but for yellow jackets I will make an exception and use the best poisons available if I cannot trap them with a baited trap. My bee suit has come in handy more than once when I was digging a nest out of the ground. I don't care how they die as long as it is quickly.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

Pour gasoline down the hole at night. Light quickly. Yellow jacket bonfire.. We have had them here ever since I can remember. They are not huge ones. I got stung another time while duck hunting. I sat on a log and few minutes later one was flying around my head. I waved it away kind of gently and it disappeared. I felt a tickle on the back of my neck and a millisecond later Yeowwww. It got me. I stood up and immediately a gaggle of them flew up out of a hole in the log. I had sat on their hive... Very lucky I only took one sting. I may have taken more in the backside but had long johns, jeans, and thick camo pants on. If they stung me, it didn't get to my skin. I find they Usually leave me alone unless I mess with the nest. The sting areas all burn still 3+ hours later. Haven't quite had stings this intense before.


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## ridgerunner (Feb 14, 2016)

They seem to be well suited to the colder climates as I have know them all my life in Ontario. I am not sure what constitutes a 'good year' weather wise for them but this summer there have been few if any around us. Very hot and dry this year. Last year I killed at least 5 hives. We usually have a football size nest hanging in the peak of the house, not this year.
My wife was pulling weeds away from the base of some flowers last year and _discovered_ a ground nest - she was lucky to only get a couple of stings. I mowed over one nest and escaped without a sting - funny how fast those riding lawnmowers can go if you want them to :{)

I can not imagine how painful your experience was _soarwitheagles_ clearly you are tougher than they bargained for !

I always return at night and hit them with a can of foam insecticide - works well for me.


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## jadebees (May 9, 2013)

Yes, yellow jackets have a sting worse than bees. And they are all over the continent. They make such a lump on me, the sting site grows a small scab. 

The yellow jacket/ wasp traps work well. If you put them out in spring, very early, you will kill only queens. You won't get many, but... A whole nest, removed, just by trapping one. 👍!

The queens are the only ones wintering over. She must forage, and work to set up a colony alone. Get her, and there is no nest.


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

jadebees said:


> Yes, yellow jackets have a sting worse than bees. And they are all over the continent. They make such a lump on me, the sting site grows a small scab.
> 
> The yellow jacket/ wasp traps work well. If you put them out in spring, very early, you will kill only queens. You won't get many, but... A whole nest, removed, just by trapping one. 👍!
> 
> The queens are the only ones wintering over. She must forage, and work to set up a colony alone. Get her, and there is no nest.


Interesting information..good to know. I've learned over the years that when I mow in July and August to keep my eyes on the ground when I've just mowed when I turn around at the end of the yard. Normally, yellow jackets don't bite on the mower pass that went over the nest, it's the next pass that they are ready to attack.


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## SteveStevenson (Feb 14, 2014)

I've run over a nest or two while mowing. I keep an old 6 oz coke bottle and when a nest is found I fill the bottle with gas, pour the gas in the hole and leave the bottle in the hole like a stopper. The fumes kill the yellow jackets and the bottle keeps them from flying off. A little safer than a bonfire


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

The coke bottle sounds a bit safer, but not as much fun. Really bonfire is highly exaggerated word. Small quick fire while the gas burns itself out. I hit them last night in full gear. If you pour a small amount down the hole and light it it's pretty safe, fire wise. They can escape I guess though. Second time I've done this trick and nothing flew up either time.

I think one spot they bit me. Didn't know they bit. This spot is quite large and red and bumpy. Looks and feels different from the other sites.

Be safe out there everyone..


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## Victor (Apr 11, 2015)

Wow, a lot of yellow jacket horror stories here. I just stung four times yesterday when doing a hive inspection, not too painful and today the stings just feel like big mosquito bites. I couldn't imagine being stung the number of times some of the folks here have mentioned. 

Last year we had a bad yellow jacket infestation. My wife and kids could hardly go into the garden without being bothered by them. Then one day, my wife found the ground hive where they were emerging. That evening, we got some window screen and buckets of soapy water. We placed the screen on the ground to trap the yellow jackets and started dumping bucket after 5-gallon bucket of soapy water into the hive. I don't know how many gallons went down the trap door, but it felt like a swimming pool's worth. One hive down! Hard not to smile too!

This year they haven't been as bad, but we're always on the look out. Good luck, all!


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## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

I cut a tree that fell over a ground nest. As I walked cutting the tree into firewood sized pieces they were looking for me. I couldn't hear them over the saw and before I knew it they were stinging me all over my face, especially around the eyes. After running home screaming, followed by a call to a friend/ER nurse, followed by carefully dosed benedryl/pepsid combo they use in ER... My round two. I suited up, went to their nest and slowly squeezed every one of them as they came and went, then dug open the nest and continued the manual extermination. It was quite therapeutic really.


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## larrythebeek (Dec 29, 2009)

I ran over a yellow jacket nest with a lawnmower a few years ago... Heard a 'ticking ' noise and stopped right over the nest! As long as I didn't move the mower, I could hear the buggers getting chomped, waited until the chomping slowed down and ran like h3ll!

If you use gasoline, it's better to pour a cup in the hole after dark and don't light it (just let the fumes kill them). Although the revenge of a yellow jacket bonfire is understandable.

I read via google that you should daub vinegar on a yellow jacket, hornet or wasp sting... Use baking soda on a honeybee sting. Supposedly the honeybee sting is acid, the others are alkaline.

Larry


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

Dan. NY said:


> The coke bottle sounds a bit safer, but not as much fun. Really bonfire is highly exaggerated word. Small quick fire while the gas burns itself out. I hit them last night in full gear. If you pour a small amount down the hole and light it it's pretty safe, fire wise. They can escape I guess though. Second time I've done this trick and nothing flew up either time.
> 
> I think one spot they bit me. Didn't know they bit. This spot is quite large and red and bumpy. Looks and feels different from the other sites.
> 
> Be safe out there everyone..


I like it when they fly out on fire. hate those things. surprisingly last year I had a nest in an old pot 5 feet from my hives. never bothered my hives. armed with a can of spray I toppled the pot. I was shocked to see 200 of them. I use spectracide pro spray. you don't even have to hit them. just get near them in the air and they drop.


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## soarwitheagles (May 23, 2015)

Dan,

Yellow jacket nests make great outdoor concealed security cameras!


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## ridgerunner (Feb 14, 2016)

soarwitheagles said:


> Dan,
> 
> Yellow jacket nests make great outdoor concealed security cameras!
> 
> ...


:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

I'm in the "yellowjacket stings hurt more than HB stings" club. YJs can sting multiple times (no barb) and they will also bite.

They are sometimes called meat bees because in the late summer they look for animal protein to stock their nest with. They scour the dead bugs from your windshield, pick up dead bees from the ground around our hives, I've even seen them covering a dead mouse. In addition, they still want sugar, so they show up at about every picnic around and try to get into the sodas and fruit salad. And cheeseburgers.

I get them in the pallets around the supply yard at work. This time of year I take a can or 2 of wasp spray with me if I need to get into a pallet of terminals or move things around. I hate 'em. They get no mercy from me. :no:

DEATH TO YELLOWJACKETS!


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## soarwitheagles (May 23, 2015)

Hops Brewster said:


> I'm in the "yellowjacket stings hurt more than HB stings" club. YJs can sting multiple times (no barb) and they will also bite.
> 
> They are sometimes called meat bees because in the late summer they look for animal protein to stock their nest with. They scour the dead bugs from your windshield, pick up dead bees from the ground around our hives, I've even seen them covering a dead mouse. In addition, they still want sugar, so they show up at about every picnic around and try to get into the sodas and fruit salad. And cheeseburgers.
> 
> ...


Hops,

I totally hear you. The nice thing about here, the local vector control people came out for free, used a very special chemical, and literally killed every yellow-jacket subterranean wasp nest on our property as well as the neighbors. Last year, no joke, we could not even eat a hamburger outside. When we tried, it was like a major battle. The yellow-jacket subterranean wasps would not let up. At any given moment, we could have 50-100 yellow-jacket subterranean wasps attacking for the hamburger. It was outrageous.

These yellow-jacket subterranean wasp would pick a dead mouse clean to the bones within hours. They made piranha look tame. Also, I would watch them hang out at our beehives and literally swoop down and two or three wasps would carry away live bees just like the flying monkeys did to Dorthy on the Wizard of Oz. Brutal!

This year, I have not even seen one yellow-jacket subterranean wasp. Whatever the county did, it was incredibly effective. I cannot remember the chemical they used, but it was a white powdery dust that they poured down the yellow-jacket subterranean wasp nest holes in the ground.

Hope this helps!


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## deerslayer8153 (Mar 17, 2015)

I agree with Steve above. Fire is not necessary (and is extremely dangerous). Just give them a dose of gasoline or diesel and problem solved.
In my 20's I drove a bulldozer and they would tear us up!


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

soarwitheagles said:


> Dan,
> 
> Yellow jacket nests make great outdoor concealed security cameras!
> 
> ...


I admire your ingenuity but that's a paper wasp nest, not a yellow jacket nest.

We have an abundance of yellow jackets down here. A few years ago, while planting food plots on our deer lease, I got into 3 different nest during the day. I got stung 25 times between the 3 nests. It was early September, around 90 degrees and I was ill tempered by the end of the day. 

When I was 12 years old I was running through a small wooded plot next to my grandmothers house. I tripped over a log and landed on the hole of a nest. They covered me up. Luckily I had on jeans. I got over 50 stings that time.

They love me.


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## r hayden (Sep 27, 2012)

I use ammonia, cheaper and safer then gas.
But the best way to keep yellow jackets away is to get a heard of armadillos. Since they've migrated up to us YJ's have not been a problem.
FYI, had a family reunion in Auburn (NY) last month, beautiful part of the country!


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## emrude (Mar 23, 2015)

I did grass mowing at my other house last weekend. My strong great nephew did the weed-wacking. We drove around the front of the house and there were 100's of yellow jackets flying in the grass where just cut. I asked him if he had been stung. He said no. Lucky kid. I am going over there with chair near dark later this week and once I find the hole--they are getting blasted with wasp spray.  
Mary


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## bibbster (Jun 10, 2016)

I've had my fair share of stings over the past few years from yellow jackets. There's nothing like running with arms flailing across a 2 acre front yard with a still running string trimmer strapped around your neck and yellow jackets in pursuit. I was gifted with 13 stings on my arms that day. Yeah, I wish I had a video of that!

Worst part about yellow jackets is that they bite and sting, and sting repeatedly because their stinger is not barbed.

I pour a cup of liquid dish soap into the hole making sure to get the sides of the tunnel and follow that up with a 5 gallon bucket of water poured just fast enough to keep the hole mostly 'sealed' with a stream of water. Once the bucket is empty turn it upside down over the hole and leave it for a couple days. Filling the nest will drown most of the bees and any zombie yellow jackets will die inside the bucket. Much safer than fuels and other chemicals. Just make sure you do it at night.


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## PepperBeeMan (Apr 27, 2016)

Jeez. Been there done that. I ran over them with a speader AND aerator all in the same day


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## Johnnycake (May 13, 2016)

Word of warning - look for a second entrance before taking whatever measure you choose to dispose of them. They often have two ways in and out... and they can go out that other one when you mess with the first one. I learned the hard way.


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