Yellowjackets -- the wasp/hornet

^^^way to mess up another thread with your political ravings^^^ i'm sure at least tochatihu will be entertained.
had a small nest in a young maple tree in our front yard back in may i think. zapped it with the icbm wasp spray and it was on the ground in tatters the next morn. last year in the tree next to it, i didn't see them until it was too late.

 

Along this line of thought, I think it may be time to establish a 8-10' death zone for crawlies around the perimeter of the house. Looks like there's some good powders out there like D-fense. Haven't used it previously, but seems to have good reviews. Anyone with hands on experience?

 

if anyone ever invents a barrier for mice, they'll make a fortune

 

That was last fall. The nest was gone, but the ladies seemed to have settled on my shed as a nice place to overwinter and possibly build again in the spring.

I wasn't fully on board with their site selection, so I looked into making it less attractive. I started coming by in late winter and early spring and leaving the doors open, so it seemed less secluded than they thought. They were still kind of lethargic, but eventually flew off.

I had heard that pennyroyal oil doesn't please them, so I swabbed some of that on the parts of the shed door and ceiling where they liked to hang out.

Nonetheless, for a while I was checking every few days and would often see two or three of them scouting out the location again. (I had not been clipping little tags to them or anything, so I don't know if these were the same ones coming back, or others new in the area saying "hey, check out that secluded little shed!".)

If I didn't check often enough, I could sometimes open the doors and see a little 4- or 5-cell nest under construction, with one or two wasps toiling away at it. it wouldn't be big enough yet for any adult to fit in, so after a hard day's labor, they would just curl up on the outside of it and call it a night.

I would then come back around midnight, lift a glass jar around the starter nest, slide a sheet of card stock across the top to drop the nest and its one or two guardians into the jar, and walk around the house and leave the jar in the front yard. And go back to the shed and put more pennyroyal oil there.*

They didn't seem to get very agitated, and maybe don't regard glass or card stock as an obvious rival or predator, so their attitude was roughly ")yawn( huh, how'd our nest get down here?".

I had to do that about four times, several days apart. Again, I don't know if it was the same ones trying again, or different ones. But now my shed is wasp- and nest-free, seemingly for this season, at least.

I noticed that a wasp thinking ")yawn( huh, how'd our nest get down here?" inside of a glass jar tends to instinctively explore upward. That didn't seem ideal, as they'd be pretty near the mouth of the jar when I was ready to set it down and take the card stock away. So I started just holding the jar upside down while I walked around to the front yard. They'd be exploring the far end of the jar then, and I'd just lay it on the ground and walk away. They didn't take any interest in me. I'd go out in the morning and collect the jar.


* I really don't even know whether that stuff displeases them or not. Now that I have some, the internet seems to agree that peppermint oil is the thing they really don't savor.

 

They are benneficial insects and they aren't hurting you or causing any problem... By your own account you're clearly harming their population numbers and you need to reflect on all this senseless and needless killing you're engaged in. Making insects go instinct with too much killing only creates problems. It doesn't solve them.

 

Yellowjackets are beneficial in their proper environment, but they need to be 'controlled' in places where their stings can kill or seriously injure people who are allergic to their stings.
I'm glad that this thread was drug out of the rag bag again this year.
I need to set out some traps to see if I have a large enough nest of them on my beautiful 5 acre country estate to warrant my attention.

 

We go through that with our grandson who has a seseme allergy.
Outrageous!

 

I might contact the manufacturer of the Epi pens or the generic equivalent Adrena click and see if they if they don't have some cost conscious alternatives or programs for individuals who can't afford the product. Many of these pharmaceutical companies are very kind and understanding working with individuals to help obtain the products they need.

 

I wouldn't call handing out some coupons after gouging the price kind.

 

Well I'm not amused by malathion, it's rough stuff. Not amused by hating ladybugs (ladybird beetles, Coccinelidae) ... what to you think they do? They eat aphids that feed on plant phloem.

Mindless hate can be interesting to observe from a safe distance. Many things can be. The audacity of accusing Mother Nature of audacity can be instructive.

It does not really all boil down to amusement.

 

Not sure about other insects but I use Dawn dishwashing liquid for wasps/hornets.
Seems to work like napalm and is probably less harmful over time than the otha stuff.
A hose delivery system or super soaker can get you all the stand-off range you need.


The Afternoon the Wasps Went Down.

@ epi pens.
I really should be carrying them myself but even though I make union wages - I ain't paying $300 for the things.
This is why I wage a pitiless and constant war against all vespa.

 

Epinephrine injection by other than medical professionals in response to some adverse event 'in the field'. I can imagine a world populated by rational people where they just bought the drug itself for about $USD10 (from whatever pharmacy in Philippines which popped up first in web search). Carry also a 1 ml hypo&needle (purchase of which might also require creativity). Then if you or someone nearby is in anaphylactic shock, bang it in and see if round 2 is required.

Meanwhile, here in reality, law enforcement authorities might view your Good Samaritan 'kit' with suspicion. Litigious lawyers might make some money off a Good Samaritan, especially if outcome is anything other than perfect. So, consult table 1 here:

EpiPen Costs and Alternatives: What Are Your Best Options?

Many animals and plants can trigger anaphylaxis, and medical community etc. are appropriately criticized for the current situation.

Do your best.

 

Usta work with a fellow here who studied honeybees, was allergic, and did not carry any defense. Predictably he got stung and swole up pretty good. He survived though. If I had a kit I would have used it on him.

 

As long as it is stored in reasonably controlled conditions, an epipen can still be good after expiration.

Expired Epinephrine Maintains Chemical Concentration and Sterility - PubMed

 

Expiration dates for medical products is an interesting topic. As I understand it, they are set according to testing paid for by manufacturers.

So if I 'were Mylan' I could test my product ten years out or whatever. But perversely, shorter exp. dates increase my profit. Plus I get to tell the market that I err on the side of caution because I have their best interests at heart.

 

Dawn dishwashing liquid contains several anionic surfactants and removes oil from insect exoskeletons in general. Insects that can die from dehydration (meaning most of them) will suffer from such treatments. The chemicals including sodium laurel sulfate are quite safe to humans. Commonly in shampoos and dish washery. Not carcinogens. You're safer drinking the stuff than eating a Tide Pod (TM) because those contain other things. I'd expect some barfing followed by full recovery. But c'mon, don't ...

But kill bugs? fine. I like to up it a notch with boric acid. When social insects are feeling bad and go home, their families eat them and the boric acid gets shared. With negative effects. Going 'boric' with dogs in the house may not be good because dogs eat anything. You know how they are... House cats are unlikely consumers. House rats? Unsure, and also whether it's strong enough to do them in.

If you ever find an entire dead cockroach in your house, it means you got there before cockroach #2 did. He or she would have eaten and all you'd find is an exoskeleton. I wanted to get back to exoskeletons for closure.

 

Back to Epipenmanship. We chatted recently about Nalaxone (Narcan TM) in school nurses' offices. I'm not strongly opposed, but misdiagnosis of a diabetic child is a risk. They will 'present' like fentanyl, and you just made the problem worse.

Epinephrine injected to a child presenting anaphylaxis would not be beneficial if they are strongly hypertensive, but that is not common in children. Diabetes is.

 

Tetracycline is the only drug known to be dangerous after it has expired. Others just lose potency over time, with liquids generally going faster than solids. Depending on what the drug is for, a lower dosage can be a big deal, though most have fair period of full potency after the date.

Drug expiry debate: the myth and the reality - PMC
Is It Safe to Take Expired Medication? - GoodRx
The comments on epi-pens in those links are likely referencing older research. A big military study was done in the 1980's. From the much more recent study I posted before, it seems they formulas are more stable now.