By Allen Hamrick
What is one common activity that binds most people together in the summer? It isn’t the great outdoors as we hike our favorite trails; it isn’t the boats we board and head to our favorite fishing spots. It’s not that new bike we just bought to ride all the miles of trails or the side by side trails that cover this state. If you are living in West Virginia, it seems that the yellow jackets have taken over this year. No matter where you go, the ground is covered with them and hornets. They have been playing havoc on those unfortunate beings that have uncovered their hideouts. From high in the mountains to the low lands, there are yellow jackets aplenty. These small yet mighty winged creatures can scare the hair off the head of the toughest individual. I have seen people who have been swarmed with the insect run wildly, flailing their arms and screaming as if they were being torn apart. Their very low sounding hum is enough to be background effects on a horror movie. People are getting surrounded in their homes, fearful to go outside due to the possibility of stumbling upon one of the many nests they build. Nests are in the ground, on porch overhangs, inside kayaks, under porch swings, and remember that tarp you folded and laid up for future use? Make sure you check it first. For the most part, the buzzing yellow jackets are staying close to the ground, on flowers and dog waste.
There is a lot of speculation as to why the swarms of yellow jackets have seemed to double or triple from last year. I have heard people say that they have never seen yellow jackets as bad as they are and attempt to try and justify the reason to today’s political climate. Honestly, the yellow jackets are worse this season; you don’t dare go without shoes or you will get a pedicure yellow jacket style. If and when they get up your pants leg, look out. Saint Vitus dance takes on a new meaning and all reasoning leaves your mind as they sting where you can’t reach. You run and twitch, wildly screaming in a language known only to your ancestors all the while attempting to get your pants off while looking for the nearest hole of water or water hose. It happens every year, but this year it seems different. Some believe it is the heralding of a winter of biblical proportions that we won’t be able to dig out of as the yellow jackets get prepared as they are for the winter of 2024. They have been thick enough in the yard to walk on and can fly circles around your head while dodging your cat like reflexes. People are arming themselves with the latest can of Hot Shot or some other wasp and hornet spray just to get to their vehicles or to keep from being chased back into the house. One poor fellow built a new outhouse complete with fan, lights, mosquito netting and wall to wall carpeting but forgot to check under the lid. By the time he realized raising the lid was a bad idea, the yellow jackets relieved him of his reason for being there. Anytime you see as many yellow jackets covering the yard as they are now, you better be watchful they can turn on you like a starving wolf.
So, here is the scuttlebutt on why there is so many this season. Mild winters allow the yellow jackets to survive and due to the heat this summer, the yellow jackets have flourished with more nests and more bees. The nests have grown in size and the numbers of worker bees have tripled. As the summer wears on, the bees are looking for protein to feed the young – whether it’s meat from food scraps or insects. When that is over, they become aggressive to humans because their habits and tastes change. They are now after anything sweet they can get to feed their own bellies. If they know where they can get easy food, that’s where they stay and continue to build nests. The nest they build will hold the next spring’s queen bee. It is really a necessity to get rid of the nests. Most worker bees will die during the first cold snap, and the males and females spend the winter in their hideout and emerge around your house the next spring. Sometimes, if you’re a brave sort, you can track a yellow jacket to its nest and then destroy the nest. However, most that live in West Virginia have had to kill out a nest, so we know if we don’t do it right, we may become part of the swarm.
Basically, the hotter it is, the more there are and the more aggressive they are. Winters are not like they used to be, so unless we get a few rough winters, the bees will become our nearest neighbor. If you can’t find the nest, there is a good option for controlling the bees and getting them away from the barbecue. Take a 2 liter bottle, cut the top off and turn the top upside down back into the bottle body forming a funnel of sorts. Take either dog food or cat food and place half a can in the bottom of the bottle. Spread a little bit on the entrance of the funnel hole and place the bottle in a nuisance area. They can’t resist it; they fly in, eat and then can’t get out – works like a charm. It will last a couple of days, until either full or too pungent. Like it or not, they are here to stay, and it is the one thing that binds all people together – our summer war for independence against the yellow jacket.
