Yellowjacket Adventure

July 8, 2012 · Filed under insects · Tagged aerial yellowjacket control, dolichovespula arenaria, Great Valley Gumweed, Grindelia robusta, yellowjacket

Aerial Yellowjacket Nest After Being Burned

My husband had been clearing a few stubby maples away from a wild Nannyberry bush I wanted to encourage when he disturbed a wasp’s nest and was stung, only once, thank goodness.  He located the melon-sized nest in a low fir tree only a couple of feet off the ground. The sting made his hand swell immediately but an application of cortisone ointment and Tecnu (which contains the Native American herbal remedy of Great Valley Gumweed, Grindelia robusta) ameliorated the pain and swelling.   I identified the wasp as an Aerial Yellowjacket  (Dolichovespula arenaria) which can be beneficial as it feeds on aphids and similar garden pests but this nest is in a location where we walk by and the Yellowjackets are aggressive and can sting multiple times.  Some people are allergic to the venom.  [As a result of the comment from Larry Flynn below, I want to make it clear that Yellowjackets are wasps, entirely different from bees.  Bees are in deep trouble due to colony collapse disorder and are crucial to our planet as pollinators.]

I thought little more about it until my husband woke me at 4:30 a.m. to declare he was going out to burn out the nest.  He had obviously been brooding about this and had a plan of action.  The nest was too low to use a wasp spray and the job needed to be done in the dark.  I wanted him to first alert the fire department and put the hospital emergency room on call but he ignored this advice.  He went down to the nest, fully covered and gloved, armed with a gasoline soaked torch, fire extinguisher in hand.  He returned with the burned out nest.  He had put the lit torch directly under the hole and the nest lit up inside, killing the adults.  Some of the larvae were still wriggling in the morning and he killed them by crushing the remainder of the nest.  I question whether this was necessary but at least the area is safe for grandchildren and potential guests to walk by.