"Beecrofter" wrote in message
m...
"Rob" wrote in message
...
one hole is one nest?!?! oh my god........ the area is larger than I
first
thought, they've spread onto the other side of the driveway into the
front
yard (i noticed this as i was standing on top of the holes while staking
the
sprinklers into the ground ). ok well it looks like i have some
options,
thanks for the education.

How many times were you stung?
I bet a whopping big zero.

Nah, I didn't see any bees in this area, I just noticed the holes around me.

Subject: giant ground wasp colony
From: "Rob"
Date: 4/18/2004 12:11 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

one hole is one nest?!?! oh my god........ the area is larger than I first
thought, they've spread onto the other side of the driveway into the front
yard (i noticed this as i was standing on top of the holes while staking the
sprinklers into the ground ). ok well it looks like i have some options,
thanks for the education.

I've got them too. I got stung by one yesterday, already... Not as bad as honey
bees, but defintely annoying little *******s.

They do seem to like barren dirt patches a lot.

Thanks a lot for the info. We didn't want to be using insecticide, as our dog
goes out in the area (it's right by our front steps), so we'll see how well
keeping it wet works.
(ughh,, that means wiping mud off doggy paws though...)

-

-




"Lar" wrote in message
et...
In article ,
says...
Thanks Lar, it looks like the first picture you posted. The yellow
and
black coloring in the second picture wasn't evident to me. Maybe I'll
try
setting up a couple of lawn sprinklers in the area and see if that
helps.
In the event it doesn't, can the insecticide be purchased at a chain
store,
or perhaps garden stores generally carry it?

Any garden center will the insecticide dust. Sevin will work well, but
even
if you happen to have or know someone with a flea powder that contains
pyrethrin will work well too. You don't want to "clog" up the hole with
the
dust. Use gloves and scatter a small pinch at the opening. You can also
but
a dust applicator or use a small "baister" used in cooking, to puff the
dust
into the openings. With digger bees, one hole is one nest, they aren't
connected. They do sting, so be wary.

--
It is said that the early bird gets the worm,
but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!












theoneflasehaddock

Subject: giant ground wasp colony
From: (Beecrofter)
Date: 4/18/2004 2:03 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

"Rob" wrote in message
.. .
We have an absolutely huge colony of wasps on a strip of lawn. There is
about a one foot tall mound of dirt that appears to be their main entrance,
but they have literally hundreds of other entrances over a 30' x 8' area.
At any given time during the day, there are dozens of bees all over that
stretch of yard. When we have guests over, this is the area they usually
park in. How can I possibly kill a colony this large, there must be
thousands of wasps.

From your description a few messages down you have small solitary bees
that found an undisturbed place to set up housekeeping. Each female is
a queen, each has their own nest. These are very gentle bees, what is
the rush to kill them?
Good pollinators too. Odds are you could mow right over the spot and
never get stung.
By the way bee and wasp is not interchangeable .



I've got the same thing, less area than him. We noticed them yesterday, I have
already been stung.

They don't sting as bad as other bees, but they do sting. Stop trying to spread
misinformation.

-

theoneflasehaddock

"Rob" wrote in message
...
Well, I tried to take some pics of the bees themselves, but they refused
to
sit still. They are constantly in motion, and appear to be about 1/2" in
length, and from what I could see when I tried to get close to them, they
appeared to be greyish in color and perhaps even kind of fuzzy. Very
strange looking for a bee, but I could be wrong since they move really
quickly. I'm in the process of putting some high resolution, non
bandwidth
friendly pics of their home at http://www.nema.com/rob/bees


The pictures are a big help. You have, as beecrofter said, a type of
solitary bee which nests in the ground at this type of year. There are a
handful of species, which most folks refer to generically as "digger bees"
or "miner bees". They are generally harmless, and usually completely ignore
humans. Usually you can walk right through the mass of bees hoving around
and they pay no attetion to you at all. They are, however, true bees, so
the females can sting. Usually the nesting season for them only lasts 2-3
weeks, then all the manic activity stops. My vote would be to live with
them if you can, and if not, any of the insectcide solutions mentioned will
work. You may need to treat several times over the course of the nesting
season.

Keith

From your description a few messages down you have small solitary bees
that found an undisturbed place to set up housekeeping. Each female is
a queen, each has their own nest. These are very gentle bees, what is
the rush to kill them?
Good pollinators too. Odds are you could mow right over the spot and
never get stung.
By the way bee and wasp is not interchangeable .



I've got the same thing, less area than him. We noticed them yesterday, I have
already been stung.

They don't sting as bad as other bees, but they do sting. Stop trying to spread
misinformation.

-

theoneflasehaddock
First of all I never said they couldn't sting- but you do have to go
out of your way to be stung.
How did you manage to get stung ?
I have stood in the middle of their holes drinking a coffee and
watched them fly and land on me and a neighbor and rest a minute
before flying off. Solitary bees are not inclined to sting, being the
queen if they get into a beef and lose there is no next generation.
Now honeybees will sting to defend the colony and that is to their
advantage.