Yellow Jackets by the Beehive. 8.22.2020

 This is very worrisome for me.  I saw that some yellow jackets had taken to a fig, and wondered if there might be a problem by the beehive.  So I set out a yellow jacket trap.  Within an hour, there were three dozen yellow jackets in the trap.  So I set out three more traps.  Time will tell.

I don't know where their nest is.  I wondered in the past if yellow jackets had killed off a beehive or more than one.  I read that they can kill them off in a few hours, for food. 

I have ordered some insecticide that can be mixed with cat food and placed in an animal-proof cage.  The yellow jackets carry it to their nest.  That will take a week to arrive.  Meanwhile, the traps will have to do.

So far, no bees enter the traps.  Just yellow jackets.

Yellow Jackets. 5.7.19

Yellow Jacket Trap.  5.7.19

There are more yellow jackets in the traps, every day.  It's almost scary.  Such ominous life forms.

I'm no expert, but some are huge.  I hope that means Im catching queens.  I also hope we don't get a repeat of last year, when they destroyed the entire breba fig crop.

Yellow Jacket Traps in Fig Trees. 5.1.19

Yellow Jacket Trap.  5.1.19

 Up until now, there was only one, male, yellow jacket in the traps that I set up a month or more ago in the fig trees.  Today I noticed several, and at least two of those are queens.

Last year I lost the entire fig crop to yellow jackets.  That was the first time that ever happened.  It was disappointing, so this year I'm being as pro-active as I can be.  Plus, yellow jackets are aggressive and vicious, and I worry about someone with an allergy being stung.

So far, so good.  I refreshed the traps with new bait.  It's cheaper to just buy the bait, when you already have the traps.

Since each queen is a potential colony with hundreds, maybe thousands, of yellow jackets, by catching them now, the numbers should be greatly reduced later.  I'm not looking to eliminate every yellow jacket, just to have a decent fig crop and avoid stings for myself, other people, and my dog.

Interestingly, there were queens appearing from time to time in the house through out the winter.  I don't know where they were living, or how they entered the house.  In the firewood?  Around electrical fixtures or plumbing?  I never discovered the source.  They seem to be gone now.  I also dispatched the ones that I found in the house, using a fly swatter, at the time that I found them.  I had a trap in the sunroom, but none ever got into the trap.

Yellow Jacket Trap.  51.19

Figs. 4.2.19

My Main Row Of Fig Trees.  4.2.19

Carini Fig Breaking Dormancy.  4.2.19

 Today I finished removing the last of the terracing that I put in a few years ago for the fig trees.  I think the idea had potential, but in the end it did not work so well.

These fig trees are on a hill, so I thought the terracing would help the ground hold water.  However, with the grass and fig trees, that isn't needed.  Meanwhile, mowing was difficult because the grass hid the the stones and blocks I used to terrace the soil, and I could not just walk up the row of trees with the lawn mower.

So I have been removing the terrace stones and bricks over the past year  I had some fill soil removed from decommissioned raised beds, so I spread that on the uneven areas, and broadcast grass seed there.  Now, the last of the re-contouring is done.  It will be easier to mow in the future, easier maintenance, less likely to trip on the terrace stones and uneven grade.

Meanwhile, the fig trees are coming out of dormancy.  Celeste seems to be earliest.  That tree is still young, and I have not yet tasted a Celeste fig.  The others are not far behind.

I have yellow jacket traps out now, too, to catch the queens before they build nests and start colonies.  So far, none are in the traps.

 

 

 

Petite negri Fig Breaking Dormancy.  4.2.19

Celeste Fig Breaking Dormancy.  4.2.19

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Figs with Yellow Jackets. 9.17.18

 This year, almost all of my breba crop was lost to yellow jackets.  I've grown figs for 18 years, and never lost a crop to any insect, including yellow jacket.  This year was kind of a biblical plague of the creatures.

One nest was inside the garage wall.  After trying traps, and catching what looked like thousands, I gave in and hired an exterminator.  That took care of those.  However, there are still yellow jackets now eating the main crop.  I've hung traps in the trees, which are catching many yellow jackets.  There seem to be less, but there is still some damage.  We'll see!