# Yellow Jackets



## RogerRabbit (Feb 11, 2009)

I used the search, so please forgive me for not finding the answer. Our yellow jacket season is starting here, and the queens are out and about. My yellow jacket traps haven't caught anything yet, but we've probably killed 50 queens with our flyswatters that we keep stationed around the property and especially near the hives.

Yesterday, my wife saw a queen yellow jacket crawl into one of the new hives before she could swat it. My question is I assume she's looking for a spot to build a nest. Are the bees going to defend the hive or let the yellow jacket have some space? All my hives are new, large supers started from package bees about three weeks ago. The bees are happily building comb and have about half of the 9 frames filled up so far. I'm just worried about the yellow jackets and wonder if we should go on a hunting expedition to root any out that are trying to make a home inside the hives. :scratch:


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## lstlouis (Dec 9, 2008)

We have lots of Yellow jackets here. They can start nests in even the smallest places. My bees have always tossed them out. Enterance reducers will help your bees a lot when they are starting out. Squishing yellow jackets also helps and will make you feel better.


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## walking bird (Mar 2, 2008)

I can't see where one queen yellow jacket could cause any problem in a hive with 10,000 adversaries. They'll get rid of her.

Put out all your yj traps now, so you can make a dent in the numbers before the hives build. I use a bunch, with baits varying from cat food to meat to the commercial pheromone attractant to soda pop, and I keep varying the locations until I find flight paths. I'm especially careful to hang some traps around water sources. 

You won't get 'em all, but you'll keep the numbers down to a dull roar, and your hives can swiftly and violently deal with the occasional interloper.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I've inspected hives before and found yellow jackets crawling amongst the bees. Healthy hives do keep them under control but I've seen a few seasons where the yellow jackets are particularly nasty. All I've ever been able to do is put traps out and reduce the population as best I have time for. Seems like some years are worse than others. Last season wasn't so bad. The year before was miserable.


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## pilothawk (Apr 16, 2009)

Yellow jackets should die! They are miserable creatures that attack "en masse" and make cutting grass a real pain. 

What are these traps you are speaking of. I've never heard of such a thing, but would definitely use them if they kill yellow jackets!


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## megank (Mar 28, 2006)

pilothawk said:


> Yellow jackets should die! They are miserable creatures that attack "en masse" and make cutting grass a real pain.


They should only "die" if they are a threat to attack you...othersize...leave them alone



> What are these traps you are speaking of. I've never heard of such a thing, but would definitely use them if they kill yellow jackets!


Sure they kill YJ...but only AFTER the colony is firmly established


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

Killing a few yellowjacket queens is unlikely to have much effect. Pretty good estimates suggest that less than one percent of queens successfully establish new colonies.

Yellowjackets are native, and are part of the natural order of things.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I just use those liquid filled traps that you can buy at the hardware store. I put one near each hive and have caught hundreds of yellow jackets. I may not be making much of a dent but it's sure nice to see them in the trap and dead!


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## RogerRabbit (Feb 11, 2009)

Kieck said:


> Killing a few yellowjacket queens is unlikely to have much effect. Pretty good estimates suggest that less than one percent of queens successfully establish new colonies.
> 
> Yellowjackets are native, and are part of the natural order of things.


I'm not so sure about that 1% figure. I relentlessly go after queens in the fall and spring, and I've reduced their numbers significantly. The first year I lived here, I tried to go by the 'natural order of things' philosophy, hoping the yellow jackets would help control the mosquitoes. However, within weeks, we were completely overran with tens of thousands of yellow jackets, constantly getting stung for no greater sin than walking outside on a warm afternoon.

I now know if I can control the queens in the early spring, which at my high elevation mountain location is right now, the numbers later will be much lower.
RR


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## Robert Brenchley (Apr 23, 2000)

I do nothing to discourage wasps' nests as they destroy so many pests. I have my hives on permanently reduced entrances, and they don't become a nuisance. I think part of the problem with wasps is down to the very wide hive entrances which are traditionally used, as unless the hive is really strong, they're too big to guard adequately at all times.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*Vespa and bees*

A robber screen made out of 1/8" hardware cloth/screen helps to discourage the Vespa and robbing honey bees.
Ernie


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## RogerRabbit (Feb 11, 2009)

Robert Brenchley said:


> I do nothing to discourage wasps' nests as they destroy so many pests.


I felt the same way until last year when we lost all access to our patio and decks. They will completely take over an area and guard it against all intruders, and that included my wife and I, our dogs and our little 4 year old grand daughter, multiple stings to the latter of which resulted in their destruction. If it were just a few wasps, I'd deal with it. In this area, they come out by the tens of thousands, and there isn't enough mosquitoes for them to eat, so they raid our hummingbird feeders, the hives, my beer and my grand daughter's lemonade.

Sorry, but they had to go. By knocking out the queens this time of year, I make a huge dent in the summer time population. Besides, the dragon flies take care of the skeeters.

They may be a part of nature, but so is E-coli, smallpox and yellow fever.
RR


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

> I'm not so sure about that 1% figure. -RogerRabbit


I'm not either. I suspect it's really lower than one percent.

Figure it this way: each yellowjacket nest typically produces 100 to several hundred new queens at the end of the season. If every nest produces 100 queens, and one percent of the queens are successful, the number of yellowjacket colonies will remain stable. If greater than one percent of the queens are successful, the number of colonies will increase rapidly. For example, if 10 percent are successful, 10 times as many colonies would be present the next year; if 10 percent of those are successful, the next season (two years after our starting point) would have 100 times as many colonies.

That doesn't happen. Populations are pretty stable. That means that if each colony produces 100 queens, one percent success in establishing colonies would create stability.

If the number of queens produced is higher -- as it often is -- then one percent success would still yield increasing populations. If each colony average 200 new queens, 0.5 percent success would generate a stable population for the next season.


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## lori (May 13, 2009)

I am new at beekeeping and this is my first time to the website. Yesterday I noticed a LOT of activity on the front of the hive (upwards of 400 or so and very agitated) coincidently, I found a yellow jacket nearby in the greenhouse which had been injured (deadly injured, after I finished with it) I didn't inspect the inside of the hive - but now after reading this post - I am wondering if perhaps the yellow jackets were trying to get in? I opened the restrictor to the entrance thinking they wanted more room, but now am thinkking I maybe should have left it restricted? Any help will be appreciated...Lori


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

Yellowjackets really become a problem around bee hives late in the season. While raising brood, yellowjackets primarily look for protein sources (and pollen is not a protein source for yellowjackets). After the queen dies, the workers run amok looking for sweets selfishly. The queen dies late in the summer.

This shift in behavior can often be noticed at picnics. Yellowjackets try to scavenge bits of meat early in the season. At some point, their foraging shifts to looking for sugar sources. That shift coincides pretty well with the death of the established queen and the dispersal for overwintering of the new queens.


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## NewbeeNnc (May 21, 2009)

*Yellowjacket trap*

http://tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com/2008/07/make-it-yellowjacket-trap.html


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## Truchaos (Jun 30, 2008)

I had run in's with yellow jackets over the years and it's not pleasant. However two years ago, I discovered two nests about twenty feet apart. It was the first time I had seen yellow jackets create multiple nest so close to one another. 

Since one was on my fathers porch under a tarp and the other was in a hole in the brick foundation of his house, they had to go. So I was prepared for the worse. I pulled the tarp and ran as fast as I could. The nest was broken into pieces yet the bees hardly seemed to notice. They didn't attempt to sting. I was surprised by this docile behavior. Honestly, I think my Carniolans are more aggressive. : ) Then I went after the nest in the foundation. I I tried to spray it but couldn't hit the hole and again the bees didn't get provoked. They were clearly yellow jackets. I got closer and closer until I was literally at the entrance of the nest and the bees were flying past my head and completely ignoring me. 

I wrote to Bee Culture magazine about this odd behavior and I received a surprising response. They said that there is a yellow jacket in the US from Asia. The Asian YJ is far less aggressive and they are much more prolific in creating multiple nests. I'm told the only visual indicator of the Asian vs American YJ is that the Asian YJ is slightly smaller. 

The Asian YJ is almost a pleasure to deal with but I'm told they will sting.


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