Beekeeper and resident Jeff Shwartz has been hearing a lot about wasps. He said, “I got more calls this year about wasps than any other year,” which may be because he has been doing bee and wasp removal for a long time and more people know about him, he said. Or, “it’s been a good year” for the wasps, he guessed, which could be due to weather in the winter and spring.

The insects flying busily to and from a small hole in the ground are usually wasps he said, making use of abandoned animal burrows and taking them over.

There is also no guarantee they will be in the same place next year. They use locations of opportunity, Mr Shwartz said, but residents could see nests in the same place year after year.

Mr Shwartz, a Back Yard Beekeeper Association member, has taken roughly 200 calls about nests this year, but only relocated four of them. Depending on the type of wasp or bee, the nest could be in the ground, shed walls, or in trees. Often, people choose to leave the nests alone, he said.

“Unless you disturb a nest, they are the best to have around, murdering caterpillars and flies,” he said. Wasps and bees of certain species can also be “easy-going unless you disturb them; most people, once they understand the story, leave [nests] alone.”

He has taken calls from residents that see a nest maybe 20 feet up in a tree. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

If the bee or wasp activity is “in a good spot, be thankful you have them.” Natural predators could get them anyway. Regarding ground-dwelling wasps, Mr Shwartz said, “This time of year, a skunk will dig [a nest] up and devour the whole thing…raccoons too, but skunks can’t climb, so it’s very exciting for them to find.” How do they avoid being stung? “They have very thick skin,” he said. And they “really crave” that buzzing and bustling source of protein.

For residents who come across nests out hiking or in the backyard, Mr Shwartz recommends marking its location with a ribbon to avoid disturbing it.

For those out raking and find a ground nest, Mr Shwartz said, “Stay away,” but if you can’t and you need to destroy the wasps, he said “use a hose or use a stone,” to flood or cover the nest. “It’s not nice, but they won’t get out.” Preferring to avoid using poisons, he said there are “lots of ways to kill them.” He does not recommend killing them, “but it’s like the skunk finding them…sometimes life doesn’t work out.”

Living Off Larceny

Brad Green of Sandy Hook, also with the Back Yard Beekeeper Association, has also noticed more yellow jacket and ground wasp activity.

As resources get scarce this time of year, the yellow jackets come around his backyard hives and engage in “robbing behavior.” The yellow jackets especially “may be opportunistic and try to get at honey,” he said. A strong hive “can fend, but if a hive is week, it could be a problem.” In his own yard in Sandy Hook, he said, “I have seen some big battles and, fortunately, my hives are winning.” There is not much he can do to battle against the wasps or yellow jackets. “I have helped them thrive, but with wasps they are on their own.” He also said that the bees are “particular about who they let in.”

He has found spots in the yard this year where wasps have built ground nests, and “there clearly seems to be more.” They are around his vegetable garden too, which is surrounded by cedar. “Yellow jackets and wasps like to strip cedar, and I see more of that as well,” he said.

Residents should take precautions, although “it’s hard.” The hives and paper nests are easy to spot, but it is the underground that are the “tough ones — you don’t notice the hole in the ground.” Mr Green said, “The most important thing is to probably cover up, and anyone with an allergy should keep the EpiPen handy.”

For those against chemicals or pesticides, he offered an alternative. “I use peppermint oil soap, and chase it with boiling water down the hole.”

Regarding Mr Shwartz’s advice about skunks liking to dig out the wasps nests, Mr Green said, “If you could train a skunk to find wasps in the yard, that would be great.”

Landscape Designer Brid Craddock said the ground wasps “are everywhere.” She often notices them in gardens. Animals may burrow under shrubs and kill the roots and “huge nests” are under the shrub, which landscape crews discover when they pull it up.

“Cold weather slows them down,” she said, “And on rainy days it slows them down…but the middle of a dry sunny day, you’re going to get it.” She said that if you see them, “watch the area, it will become obvious where their nest is.” For the sake of the landscapers’ safety, she recommends that homeowner spray the site around sundown, to kill the nest.

Otherwise, crews should “work quickly, quietly, and smoothly and avoid the wasps; they are very aggressive,” she said. “We try to work around them. We move swiftly and smoothly, and they don’t bother us.”

The End Is Near

State Agricultural Experiment Station Entomologist Kirby Stafford, PhD said that yes, there has been a lot more yellow jacket and wasp activity this year, but it is hard to say why. It may be that the ground burrows were not flooded out in early spring.

He said that residents need not worry about them for much longer. This season’s new virgin queens will leave the old nest behind, and find a safe place to last through the cold months. “It’s only the new queen that overwinters,” he said. “At this time of year, a generation of queens will overwinter to start a new colony and all workers in the [old] colony will die off.” This season’s wasps are not going to last much longer, he said.

In spring people may see yellow jackets (or wasps) “wandering around, poking in holes, looking for potential nesting sites,” Dr Stafford said.

He mentioned one species of native wasp that may be good for the landscape. The species, “goes after beetles in the same family as the emerald ash borer. The emerald ash borer kills native ash trees.”

Learn more about bees and wasps at ladybug.uconn.edu/beesandwasps.htm. According to this site, “Most wasps and bees withdraw their stingers from victims after stinging. The stingers of honey bees, however, are barbed and remain in the flesh. If not removed, an embedded stinger will continue to pump venom into the wound for a few minutes. Do not pull the stinger out, as that may inject more venom. Scrape the stinger out with a fingernail.

“When stung, immediately apply table salt moistened to a paste-like consistency directly to the sting site and leave it in place for about 30 minutes. This will draw some of the venom out of the wound. Other methods include immediate application of moistened meat tenderizer (which breaks down the venom), or application of commercial preparations such as Sting Kill, Sting-Eze, etc. If the sting victim has a history of hay fever, asthma or other allergies, call a doctor immediately. Allergic reactions may sometimes be severe or even fatal.