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Soil, Compost & Mulch

My compost bin has yellow jackets

Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)

14 years ago

I am chagrined to say my compost bin has been home to yellow jacket wasps this summer. I was hoping the pile would cook them out but I guess they took up residence after the pile started to cool. I hate to dx the critters because they are beneficial, but I sure wish I could use the compost now. I guess it can wait until next year.

Anyone else have this challenge?

Joseph

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Comments (11)

petalpatsy
14 years ago
Yes, somebody does! There's a recent thread with this exact problem. Did you know that hornets ate mosquitoes?
0
kqcrna
14 years ago
Be careful. Unlike bees, yellow jackets are wasps and they're mean boogers.

Karen
0
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jellyman, Only the internet could produce the kind of views on yellowjackets expressed in your post. Don't forget, the internet is full of a lot of total nonsense, and this is some of it. So true, and I only did a perfunctory google search on YJ's because I've been more bothered by Jap beetles and have been reading up (probably more objectivity, but nothing positive for sure) about the safest way environmentally to deal with them. Sorry if I bought into hype. You have somewhat allayed my fears for now. They haven't bothered me, and would love to grow some grapes and raspberries, strawberries, and many more varieties of fruit crops but haven't enough room, only have cherries, apricots which seldom do well and a failing old apple tree. The JB's are a terrible problem on some those plants, too. It appears some have more of a problem than others wrt YJ's. I'll save the info on that homemade trap and only use it if they become a lot worse than they are now. Basically I try to get along with all the creatures I share this planet with and try to give them their space within certain limits. Flies, fleas, mosquitos, cockroaches and JB's are fair game, they have to go. Other things I put up with a lot of people wouldn't. Like itsy bitsy spiders (harmelss ones) and a few others. My kids freak out about bugs, don't know where they get that. The ecology has really changed since I was a kid. We used to have those grasshoppers that spit "tobacco juice", haven't seen any in years. Haven't seen a garter snake for ages. We now have deer, striped chipmunks, Canada geese, eagles, owls, herons, and black squirrels that have interbred with the native ones, to name a few. I lament the loss of our honeybees, hope they come back and whatever causing their disappearance is nailed and remedial measures taken. Sevin kills a lot of insects, so I won't resort to that unless all else fails. It does kill bees and probably beneficial insects as well, and I don't want to needlessly do that, especially bumblebees.
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We once had a waspnest under our front door. We couldn't reach the nest, so to get rid of the wasps, we ran a vacuum-cleaner (canister type) with the suction hose taped down where the wasps walked into their entrance. As they walked from their landing spots toward their entrance, they got sucked up by the vacuum. To make sure they would not establish another nest, the area under the sill was sealed with silicone (or whatever it was). I was sorry to kill them; they had never done me harm, but we were afraid that they might get mad and attack someone some day....>lawsuit I kind'a like wasps (aren't they excellent pollinators?), and so long as they exist peacefully in the yard, I let them be. But if they attack me, I get rid of their nest. Also, some wasps are beneficial predators: their larvae eat the larvae of Mexican Bean Beetle, see Jimster's post on the Legume forum (link below). Diatomaceous Earth (DE) will also kill wasps so long as the DE remains dry and the powder gets on the wasps's bodies. The lady with the wasps in her dog run might get ideas on how to use DE to rid her yard of wasps from this earlier post: RE: Overrun with Houseflies Thu, Jul 19, 07 at 14:24 Food-grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) will kill the adult flies (and all other insects that get the DE powder on their bodies, including bees and other beneficials). DE works by dehydrating the insects. If you get DE on your hands, you'll see your hands get very dry. When working with DE, you should wear a good face mask. In other words, don't breathe the powder. You could put a layer of dry leaves, paper, or other carbon materials on top of your piles, and on top of this dry layer, sprinkle a thin layer of DE. The DE will kill the adult flies. For the DE to work, the DE will have to stay dry. Whenever you add more greens to your piles, top them with a layer of dry materials, and top it all with DE. Your flies will croak if the DE stays dry. So far as I know, food-grade DE is compatible with organic growing methods. Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply, Grass Valley, CA 95945, has 50 lb. bags of food-grade DE for $25 + shipping. (888) 784-1722 Don't use swimming-pool-grade DE; it contains other non-food-grade materials that are incompatible with growing foods.
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In my opinion - because I am allergic! - the only good wasp, is a dead wasp. My weapon of choice is the 27 foot shooting range can of Raid. Plus, all the wasps seem to select home construction in places that don't work for me. Such as, over the front door, garage door, under my chaise, hanging flower pots, under the leaves of my roses (nice treat when you sniff the flowers!), in the bird house (surprise...). They are so aggressive that it doesn't matter 'where' they are located, if you come within a few feet, the Sentry-Guards will chase you away. I just hate them!
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jean001
14 years ago
Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.

Only several months til the colony dies.
0
curtludwig
14 years ago
Yellow jackets are mean, they'll chase you...

We had wasps or hornets making nests in the awnings around my house. I hung yogurt cups with mothballs in them and no more nests. Maybe you could put some cups around your compost? Maybe with caps to keep the rain off.
0
rain2fall
14 years ago
I recently posted about how yellowjackets attacked me. I learned that come cold weather, only the queen will be left, and that often she leaves the nest to make a new one elsewhere. That's the time to encourage them to leave your compost pile.

Rain2Fall
0
Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you, everyone, for helping me. I will just sit and wait until the workers die off, then I will get the compost out of there and start a new pile going.

This is the type of flower I mainly grow in containers, Ipomoea nil (Japanese morning glory / Asagao). I love growing them...so may cultivars, I'll never run out.

Joseph

{{gwi:308782}}
0
kqcrna
14 years ago
Wow, that's beautiful.

Karen
0
compost_pete-grower
14 years ago
Last year while turning my compost i was attacked by yj bees and had my first moderate-severe allergic reaction to 5 stings. Man i was pretty scared, and that makes it worse, like getting bit by a venomous snake- stay calm?- not easy when your hands and feet feel like they are on FIRE as your tongue and throat start to swell. I broke my no pesticde rule and thru sevin in the hole. It killed them in 24 hrs..The nest was where my 4 little kids play and i needed to deal with the problem asap.. In the fall i dug all contaminated compost out and re-composted it in a tumbler. I now have some epinephrine handy. I also steer clear of yj, honey bees are so much nicer.
0
rain2fall
14 years ago
Ha! SEVIN!

I'm gonna go get the little buggers. They attacked me and I got 8 stings.

Rain2Fall
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Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for your comments on my photos of the morning glories I have grown. If you would like to see more, I have listed the link to my photostream on Flickr.com below. If anyone would like to try any of these gems, let me know.

Best regards,

Joseph

{{gwi:308783}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Gerris2's flickr photostream
0
Carleton Hoffman
10 months ago
you insisted that i already have an account so i just "changed" my password and am typing the following all over again: i can't store compost inside the house for months hoping that the yellowjackets might eventually leave!
0

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