Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Beekeeping 101 => Topic started by: jb63 on August 13, 2017, 05:38:31 pm
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:bee: :bee: I started seeing yellow jackets the other day so I put out traps and added robber screens to my hives. In years past I was too slow adding robber screens and lost hives.
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jb, good to hear from ya!
yellow jackets........this season i am not seeing or experiencing the problems with them as last year. i have not lost hives to them. actually this year was a great year for not having to worry about hornets, wasps and yellow jackets! don't have or haven't seen the population/pestering hives/building nests that we normally do?
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even though you have not seen them this year yet, they still could show up. they will leave the hives alone until they get desperate and there is no other food source and then gang up and attach hives with a vengeance. I have seen it go from good hives and a few predator wasps around to decimating a hive in a couple of days.
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Some input.
In New Zealand, wasps are a major problem for beekeepers and the public. Wasps are an invasive species with no natural enemies. Recently a new product is being used with success. It is called Vespex. It is a protein bait containing Fipronil. Bait stations are set in the Spring/ Early Summer. The wasps take the bait back to the nest where the Fipronil works.
Fipronil is a wide range insecticide that can cause problems. In South America hives have been killed when locals have used a bait to kill cockroaches.
In France, there is a big problem with the invasive Asian Hornet. This pest multiplies and can destroy bee colonies. One technique is to catch hornets hawking in front of a bee hive. The hornets are given a dusting of Fipronil then released. The dose goes back to the nest. The method is effective to kill off the nests.
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I also have had little trouble with all the insects that plague our yard. Earwigs of course, but I can capture a ton of those with oil and soy sauce. But the yellow jacket nests are few, the rooster roaches were bad over the heat wave over by the beehives up to mid summer but don't see them anymore. Not one black widow. Back yard has been very enjoyable this summer.
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In past years I was too slow getting ready for yellow jackets and they killed two or three hives.Now I start looking for them this time of year.
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apis, this year was a pretty slow year for all the other stinging insects for us.....but like jb said, this time of year now and going into late summer/fall months, i will be looking out for them! been raining here so much, we may get a reprieve. for the hives and hanging out on the deck. jb, hope you don't lose anymore hives to them!