North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[<dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>]

Donna,

We use gallon plastic cider jugs (same as milk jugs) filled with cider (any 
pure juice with sugar will work).  I generally cut 4 upside down "V's", one 
on each side and push the top of the V into the jug about 3/4 of an inch. 
Be sure to leave the top on the jug and you will trap yellowjackets for 
sure.  We put one on top of each of our trash receptacles (they have flat 
tops), all around the top posts of our patio fence, all around our snack 
shop deck and scattered throughout our play area.  We empty them each night 
and refill them each morning.  They have worked for us for years.  Once the 
first scout finds the jug, they don't fly in, but instead goes and gets the 
rest of the hive....then they all fly in like fools!!   It's kinda of fun to 
watch how the scout flies around the jug, lands on it, never goes in, flies 
away and then comes back a few minutes later with he whole gang.

Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard, Zone 5
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
http://www.theorchardkeeper.blogspot.com
http://www.revivalhymn.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Betty Mayfield" <bmayfield@opusnet.com>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 1:18 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] yellow jackets, help!


> Donna,
>
> Several years ago during a bad yellowjacket summer the Washington State 
> Parks Department placed milk jugs partially filled with sugar water at 
> intervals in their freeway rest stop areas. The theory was that the pests 
> would drown themselves. I have never heard statistics on how well it 
> worked, but it might be worth trying.
>
> Betty
>
> At 06:35 AM 7/18/2008, Donna wrote:
> > We have never seen the like of yellow jackets.  I take that back, once we
> > did in the 1980's when we set the kids to killing queen wasps in the 
> > spring.
> > They kept count and killed 600.  That year Mother Nature filled the vacuam
> > with yellow jackets.  It is an experiment we will never repeat!  Anyway, 
> > the
> > yellow jackets are so thick that I have been stung twice already, in July
> > when they are not normally a problem.  The first time was on my right 
> > index
> > finger, as I stood on a ladder cutting a branch from a hickory to try some
> > summer budding.  The second time was dusk, one flew inside my shirt as I 
> > was
> > walking along.  Picking blackberries has required examining each fruit 
> > from
> > all sides before touching it.  We have discovered that MOST of them go to
> > bed fairly early so we can pick blueberries.  I have seen two holes where
> > skunks have dug out nests in the woods, but the remaining nests are surely
> > growing by the day.
> >     We have never managed to make a yellow jacket trap that worked.  We
> > bought one at Tractor Supply that has collected a total of 2 in a week. 
> > Do
> > you all have any suggestions?     Donna
> >
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