Wasps

[Shadow11]

I didn't see a single nest around the house this past spring/summer. Every year for the past 15 years, I've had dozens under the deck, on the ceiling of front porch, around the gutters, etc. This year, not a single one.

I bought a few cans of wasp spray in the spring, but never even used one. Did anyone else see this?

I'm in nega. I also didn't see many yellow jackets here either. I saw just a few flying around, but never saw any ground nests, like usual.

 

[The Original Rooster]

I had one good sized nest out by the pool but I agree that the number of wasps and bees are significantly lower. My vegetable output reflected that as well.

 

[Shadow11]

I had one good sized nest out by the pool but I agree that the number of wasps and bees are significantly lower. My vegetable output reflected that as well.

Yeah the honey bees are down tremendously from when I was a kid. I remember as a kid, when my dad or grandparents had gardens, there would be a swarm of honey bees around the top of every corn stalk. I haven't seen that in 20 years or so. This is the first time I've seen a lack of wasps around here, though.

 

[ryanh487]

Before harsh winters wasps and hornets make their nests on the ground/very close to the ground in dead logs and bushes. My dad moved into a new house and had a bunch of stuff stacked on his covered porch for a while, and guinea wasps kept building their nests behind it against the house about knee high as fast as he could kill them. no activity in the eves of his house though. yellowjackets avoid building their burrows in areas with fireants nearby, so if you have fireant mounds on the property that probably explains that one.

 

[antharper]

Still plenty of both in my area, West ga

 

[Shadow11]

Before harsh winters wasps and hornets make their nests on the ground/very close to the ground in dead logs and bushes. My dad moved into a new house and had a bunch of stuff stacked on his covered porch for a while, and guinea wasps kept building their nests behind it against the house about knee high as fast as he could kill them. no activity in the eves of his house though. yellowjackets avoid building their burrows in areas with fireants nearby, so if you have fireant mounds on the property that probably explains that one.

Well it's funny you say that. That's another thing I didn't see much of here, this time around, which is fire ant mounds. There's usually plenty of em. We had a mild winter last year as well. I did spray the house and deck with some of that 30 second outdoor cleaner last spring, which might have something to do with the wasp nests. No idea.

3 or 4 years ago, the yellow jackets and hornets took out over half of my scuppernongs. There were hundreds of them swarming around the vines. They would bore holes in the grapes. I could pick one off and 3 or 4 yellow jackets would crawl out. That's the only year I saw that.

 

[ryanh487]

Well it's funny you say that. That's another thing I didn't see much of here, this time around, which is fire ant mounds. There's usually plenty of em. We had a mild winter last year as well. I did spray the house and deck with some of that 30 second outdoor cleaner last spring, which might have something to do with the wasp nests. No idea.

3 or 4 years ago, the yellow jackets and hornets took out over half of my scuppernongs. There were hundreds of them swarming around the vines. They would bore holes in the grapes. I could pick one off and 3 or 4 yellow jackets would crawl out. That's the only year I saw that.

Have you had an increase in skunks, armadillos or certain birds? Maybe wren nests?

 

[fireman32]

Still plenty around here, they love cotton pickers and the barns they’re under. I found a yellow jacket nest while clearing a woods. I live in ag country so they’re literally thousands of honey bee hives around.

 

[specialk]

i killed nests on all my deer stands.....at home too.....carpenter bees were god awful this year too....

 

[Dbender]

Before harsh winters wasps and hornets make their nests on the ground/very close to the ground in dead logs and bushes. My dad moved into a new house and had a bunch of stuff stacked on his covered porch for a while, and guinea wasps kept building their nests behind it against the house about knee high as fast as he could kill them. no activity in the eves of his house though. yellowjackets avoid building their burrows in areas with fireants nearby, so if you have fireant mounds on the property that probably explains that one.

Wasps don't overwinter in their nest, so why would they build closer to the ground?

 

[Qazaq15]

I was cutting up a deer on Friday and I didn't see a single yellowjacket. Normally I'm fending them off with an electric fly swatter when its warm. Maybe the cold snap killed them off, or do they hibernate?

 

[GeorgeShu]

I had fewer around my house this year in Bulloch Co.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Good and plenty of them here still. I probably killed 20 yellowjacket nests this summer.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

I wonder if fire ants work on yellow jacket nests ? When I lived in the Mountains we didn’t have fire ants, and it seemed like every time you mowed you stirred them devils up. Around here we have fire ants and few yellow jackets.

 

[Bigga Trust]

They must all be here. more fire ants,wasp and yellow jackets in Putnam Co….than I’ve ever seen

 

[trad bow]

They must all be here. more fire ants,wasp and yellow jackets in Putnam Co….than I’ve ever seen

You have that right. It’s a constant thought with all three

 

[Shadow11]

i killed nests on all my deer stands.....at home too.....carpenter bees were god awful this year too....

I did have a few carpenter bees, but not any more than usual I don't think.

As far as birds or any other critters like skunks, possems, armadillos... No I'd say about the same as previous yrs.

I didn't think about this as being a possibility, but there were a couple of house cats that showed up last spring, and one of them had kittens, twice. There are 3 or 4 of those still running around.

 

[bfriendly]

Have you had an increase in skunks, armadillos or certain birds? Maybe wren nests?

I’ve noticed a lot less yellow jackets and wasps around the house last 2 years. Are my house wrens eating them? No red ant mounds either, but I have medium sized blackish ants that continually monitor my driveway in Front of the garage doors….they will bite! I also have giant black ants that don’t seem to bother us. I have house wren nests in both corners of my front porch. Are they eating the yj and wasps?

 

[Lilly001]

I had a week or so this month where the carpenter bees swarmed a new, bright red, roll cart I assembled in my open barn.
8-10 at a time. But just as quickly they were gone.