Yellow Jackets grrrrrrr!

[Les]

When will these stinkers go away???  They are still making forays into my hives.  This is my first year where they have been so persistent.  I killed off one ground  hive but there must be another hive in the vicinity.  What was interesting is about a week after I killed off the ground hive, a possum came along and dug out all the
comb. Stuck my hand down in the hole and could not believe how big it was. Good riddance!

[neillsayers]

I've killed about 8-10,000 of them in traps in my beeyard but I was too late putting them out. They killed off 3 hives! I hate em too and will be putting traps out mid summer.

[apisbees]

Early spring, trap the queens before they get the first round of workers to support them and they no longer forage

[Les]

Apis, how do you trap the queens?  I am not sticking my hand into a hive in the ground

[apisbees]

Only the queens survive the winter by burrowing into protection from killing frost and hibernate. when the temp rises in the spring, they come out and start a new colony by starting the first cells and feeding the first round of brood. get these and you stop a colony.
For those that live in mild climates colonies of some insects can survive through the winter. 

[Les]

Apis, I am aware that many types of queen bees overwinter in the bark of trees, etc.  i guess I need to stalk my areas before the start of hives in the Spring.

[Mikey N.C.]

Les,
This past spring when tilling garden ( soft dirt) I walked out. 30 mins. later and found a euro - hornet an YJ's Q crawling on the ground.

[Les]

Nooooo, really?  They are nasty critters, lucky you didn’t get nailed!