VASCM: yellow jackets

[Thomas Legan]

To all,  I've had big yellow jacket problems in the past .  This year
they're almost non-existent at my property in the SC Mtns. If you find the
ground nest.go out at night with a red filter over your flashlight, with a
can of kill,and a ball of steel wool. Squirt the entire can in the hole and
stuff the steel wool in the hole.  I wear a mosquito headress and gloves
and cover up all body parts.  I've had the ground shake beneath me as they
get extremely pissed off as they're dying!
We dug up one nest that was the size of a basketball the next day and there
were thousands of dead bees inside.  I have had Californians and Germans as
identified by their body markings.

Tom Legan
Legan Family Vineyards
Corralitos


On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 11:14 AM, John Benedetti <jb at santewinery.com> wrote:

> My wife works for SC County Vector control and has to treat nests
> constantly.  She uses a bee suit and a spray we bought at OSH.  But, when a
> bee suit isn't available, she went to
> http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/alpine-yellow-jacket-bait-station-kit-with-onslaught-p-1268.html and we got some Onslaught and some bait stations.
>
> It takes awhile to figure out what they want to eat at your site.
>  Generally speaking, they like meat in the spring and sugar in the
> summer/fall.  I set stations around the vineyard with cat food in them all
> spring.  Chicken seems to work best at our vineyard.  They're still going
> for meat at our site right now, but soon it'll have to be oranges or grapes
> in the bait station.  The problem with fruit is that bees go for it too,
> which is not good 'cause no one wants to kill bees.
>
> Onslaught is an encapsulated insecticide that they take back to the nest
> and it wipes out the nest.
>
> If you're opposed to the above, you can also just go out at the coldest
> part of the night, nuke the nest with spray, and run like hell.
> ----
> John Benedetti
> Sante Arcangeli Family Wines
> 831.406.1262
> www.santewinery.com
> It's a hobby gone haywire
>
>
>
>
> On Jul 30, 2013, at 10:33 AM, GREGORY F PISZCZATOWSKI <soqueltax at msn.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Yikes, I got my *** kicked by yellow jackets last week. I have a nest in
> the middle of my vineyard that looks like SF International. I found a spray
> can from "W-H-Y" that contains organic oils from herbs and flowers. How do
> I get close enough to spray a hole in the ground?  thanks, greg
> piszczatowski, Sunset Lane Vineyard.
> > _______________________________________________
> > VASCM mailing list (http://www.kkn.net/mailman/listinfo/vascm)
> > Post to: vascm at kkn.net
> > Manage your subscription at: http://www.kkn.net/mailman/options/vascm
> > Archives at: http://www.kkn.net/mailman/private/vascm/
>
> _______________________________________________
> VASCM mailing list (http://www.kkn.net/mailman/listinfo/vascm)
> Post to: vascm at kkn.net
> Manage your subscription at: http://www.kkn.net/mailman/options/vascm
> Archives at: http://www.kkn.net/mailman/private/vascm/
>



-- 
Best always,

Tom