On Jul 10, 6:00 pm, Frank wrote:
On Jul 10, 5:39 pm, beecrofter wrote:

"Yellowjackets also live in the
ground, nasty buggers, but they aren't pollinators. "

Guess again.

Yellowjackets and other wasps are pollinators just not as efficient as
the fuzzy bees at the job.

Ground nesting solitary bees are generally docile, stopping to mess
with you means their young do not survive.
You could get stung if you pinched one or put it in your pocket or
otherwise trapped it in your clothing, but that's the kind of effort
it would take.

I've been stung by yellowjackets in ground nests while cutting grass.
Last time ankle swelled considerably. Year before, one bit me on the
finger and hand swelled so badly I needed cortisone treatment. Been
bitten several times in the past but now it seems I've developed
allergy.

Wiped out a nest or yellowjackets in a bush last week with two shots
of wasp spray directly in the opening. For ground nests, I give them
a good spraying and then make up a gallon of malithion spray and dump
it in the ground. OP would need to get someone to do this for her but
I've never been stung in doing this myself.

Frank

Might as well be stung by airplanes, yellow jackets are NOT BEES

beecrofter expounded:

Might as well be stung by airplanes, yellow jackets are NOT BEES

No kidding, I think we all know that. Point is many confuse all of
them.

--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

there is some theory that some people release pheromones that disturb
bees and wasps. my DH (who carries an epi-pen) went to visit another
teacher to play chess and instead was given a tour of his bee hives.
he was suited up in a white coverall made of cotton and told they dont
like synthetic and white is least disturbing color. a complete cover
up along with a shower with unscented soap may be the least likely to
attract or disturb.

as a smoker I am rarely approached by bees or wasps. they have those
little canisters that produce smoke bee keepers use. perhaps one of
those? if you do find a nest, run a hose from the car exhaust to near
the entrance and maybe you can drive them off.

Ingrid

On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:15:40 -0400, Ann wrote:

janet expounded:

Because of the desensitization shots, I can probably tolerate one bee
sting, but not the several that are likely to result if I accidentally
step on a nest.

Well, keep in mind that most of the pollinators don't live in the
ground in gardens, bumblebees do live in ground nests but not where
people are cultivating gardens. Yellowjackets also live in the
ground, nasty buggers, but they aren't pollinators.

I'm a two year beekeeper and a 35 year gardener and in all those years
I have yet to be stung by anything. Don't move fast, don't flail
around them if they're working your flowers, and I can practically
guarantee you won't be stung.

Of course keep that epi-pen nearby! )

park the mower right over their nest and leave it running ...

Ingrid

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 06:42:15 -0400, "Paul E. Lehmann"
wrote:
they are
Aggressive and will attack if you get near their
nest. I have been stung many times when mowing
the yard and not even knowing they were there.
Do whatever you can to get rid of the *******s.
I am seldom stung by any other bee or wasp.

just a bit of interesting info..if you put wet cigarette tobacco on a bee
sting right away it will draw the poison out. im sure it wont work for those
of you who are allergic but for the rest of us folks who get stung it really
works. hurts like hell when you first put it on but it really does work.

Paul E. Lehmann wrote:
I noticed some small bees hovering around a spot
at the edge of one of
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
Thanks for any suggestions on how to get rid of
them.

Regardless of what others may have said about
being "harmless" "pollinators" and all that other
stuff - I know what you are talking about and
from my experience in Central Maryland they are
Aggressive and will attack if you get near their
nest. I have been stung many times when mowing
the yard and not even knowing they were there.
Do whatever you can to get rid of the *******s.
I am seldom stung by any other bee or wasp.

--
Message posted via HomeKB.com
http://www.homekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/gardens/200707/1

If they are ground bees they are aggressive. Go out of a nite with a
light and put some Seven Dust around the hole. It will get them and nor
harm harmless honey bees. The ground bees don't come out at nite. I
tried everything that didn't work, then I tried the Seven Dust and
whamoo.


From Mel & Donnie in Bluebird Valley





http://community.webtv.net/MelKelly/TheKids

I tried that and it didn't work. The Seven Dust around the hole of a
nite will get them when they come ot the next morning. IT WORKS


From Mel & Donnie in Bluebird Valley





http://community.webtv.net/MelKelly/TheKids

"tinamarieg via HomeKB.com" u35033@uwe wrote:
just a bit of interesting info..if you put wet cigarette
tobacco on a bee
sting right away it will draw the poison out. im sure it
wont work for those
of you who are allergic but for the rest of us folks who
get stung it really
works. hurts like hell when you first put it on but it
really does work.

Also, rubbing a bit of raw onion on the sting neutralizes
the poison. Still hurts like heck for a while tho.

Seahag

tinamarieg via HomeKB.com wrote:

just a bit of interesting info..if you put wet cigarette tobacco on a bee
sting right away it will draw the poison out. im sure it wont work for those
of you who are allergic but for the rest of us folks who get stung it really
works. hurts like hell when you first put it on but it really does work.


Shhh... someone will now sue and hold you accountable because you
suggested using a known carcinogen for untested medicinal purposes...

Lar

tinamarieg via HomeKB.com wrote:
just a bit of interesting info..if you put wet cigarette tobacco on a bee
sting right away it will draw the poison out. im sure it wont work for those
of you who are allergic but for the rest of us folks who get stung it really
works. hurts like hell when you first put it on but it really does work.


round here we use chewing tobacco for it...........

janet writes:
I noticed some small bees hovering around a spot at the edge of one of
my garden areas.

I can't speak for wasps, but if you go hunting bees you are far more
likely to be bit that if you went about your normal activities and
let them be. Small bees may well be stingless, anyway. Most native
bees here in Oz are quite small and stingless.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

The Mower thing. Just use the 7 dust. Don't take much


From Mel & Donnie in Bluebird Valley





http://community.webtv.net/MelKelly/TheKids

Mel M Kelly wrote:
If they are ground bees they are aggressive. Go out of a nite with a
light and put some Seven Dust around the hole. It will get them and nor
harm harmless honey bees. The ground bees don't come out at nite. I
tried everything that didn't work, then I tried the Seven Dust and
whamoo.


Ground bees = yellow jackets? What other kinds of bees make a nest in
the ground?

The only bees we have problems with here are the yellow jackets, and the
rare bald face hornets. I keep a couple of traps at the edges of my
yard, and we have not seen many this year (except for the BFH nest in my
apple tree, which I had to remove because of it's proximity to the
garden and girls swimming pool). We are, however, moderately infested
with paper wasps, honey bees, and bumble bees, and my daughers favorite,
the little hover bees (don't know what they are really called). All are
welcome in my garden.

zootal wrote:
Mel M Kelly wrote:

If they are ground bees they are aggressive. Go out of a nite with a
light and put some Seven Dust around the hole. It will get them and nor
harm harmless honey bees. The ground bees don't come out at nite. I
tried everything that didn't work, then I tried the Seven Dust and
whamoo.


Ground bees = yellow jackets? What other kinds of bees make a nest in
the ground?

The only bees we have problems with here are the yellow jackets, and the
rare bald face hornets. I keep a couple of traps at the edges of my
yard, and we have not seen many this year (except for the BFH nest in my
apple tree, which I had to remove because of it's proximity to the
garden and girls swimming pool). We are, however, moderately infested
with paper wasps, honey bees, and bumble bees, and my daughers favorite,
the little hover bees (don't know what they are really called). All are
welcome in my garden.


Heh...there are over 900 species of digger bees (true bees, not wasps)
in N America alone. Some specialize in certain plants (blueberry digger
bee for example) can be more efficient in pollinating certain plants
than honey bees. Yellow jackets (wasps) will have one localized opening
and an entire colony inside. The digger bees will be a solitary nest
but along side other digger bees, so 100 female bees would be 100
different nests and holes in the ground. The cicada killer is another
ground digging wasp, but unlike YJs they are a solitary nest, but like
digger bees what attracts one to nest in an area may attract many
others. I would guess what you are calling hover bees are actually Hover
Flies, which mimics the look of wasps and bees.

Lar