This from "You Bet Your Garden" "Bees" Nesting in the Ground? Wasp OutÂÂthey might be Yellowjackets! Q. Mike: We have vegetables growing in an above ground garden made of logs. About six inches from one of the plants is the entrance to an underground bee's nest. Is there something I could just pour in there, like vinegar, that would get the bees without poisoning the soil? Thanks,          ---Gary Herrmann; Bala Cynwyd, PA I have a yellowjacket nest under a decorative boulder in my front garden. One nailed me above the kneecap last Saturday. It felt like a 4-penny nail was stuck in there. I am against killing any bugs just for convenience sake, but I need to get rid of these pests. They are too darn dangerous. Any suggestions for an organic way to drive them away? Keeping it green...          ---Rich Beaumont; Haycock Twp, Bucks County, PA Mike: We have wasp-like insects (about 2" long with striped abdomens) living in perfectly round holes in the ground in our front flowerbeds. They make these piles of dirt that look like sawdust when they dig out their holes. They havenÂt tried to sting us, but they are right around the front door, and I'd love to get rid of them. They have been visiting us every summer for 3-4 years now. I try to fill in the holes in the fall, but no luck so far. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you,          ---Cindy Lefkowitz; Havertown, PA  A. We get a lot of calls this time of year from anxious homeowners about "ground nesting bees". There are two insects with stingers you might notice emerging from holes in your lawn or flowerbed right now, but neither are bees. (The only bees that nest in the ground are gentle pollinators that are only active in the Spring.) If, like Cindy, the black and yellow insects you see are around two inches long, relax; those are the famous cicada-killing wasps and they have no interest in stinging you. The males donÂt have stingers, and the rarely-seen females often wonÂt even sting when provoked! And besides, their season of dragging giant cicadas into those holes for their young to feed upon is almost done. To prevent their harmless presence NEXT year, keep your ground covered with plants or mulch; they only make their solitary nests in bare soil. If those insects are under an inch long, however, do NOT relax. Those are yellowjackets, a type of highly aggressive wasp, not a bee. Although technically beneficial because they eat pest insects, yellowjackets are responsible for almost all of the so-called Âbee sting deaths in the United States. They like to sting people, each insect can sting repeatedly, they generally attack in large numbers, and they can bite ya too. They are especially dangerous this time of year. Their nests have gotten HUGE, and the workers are on a constant prowl for food.  To keep individual wasps out of your outdoor areas, donÂt leave pet food or human food outside, and keep trash sealed tight. Oh and take it from meÂalways give opened cans of soda a little shake before drinking. Talk about ouch! And if youÂve got a nest in a frequently-used area, it must be destroyed. InsecticidesÂnatural or organicÂarenÂt recommended this late in the season; the nests are so big and intricate that the sprays canÂt reach the inner layers. The best way IÂve found to destroy a nest is to smother it. Fill a wheelbarrow with a big load of ice (like from a motel ice machineÂits just the right size) and quickly dump it over the hole on a cool evening after the scouts have gone inside for the night. The cold will prevent their attacking you. Then cover the hole and the area around it with a heavy tarp weighted down with bricks, a piece of sheet metal, a big wooden board or other heavy object. Then cover that with soil or wood chips. Or cover the hole with a thick piece of clear plastic, seal the edges tight to the ground, and the nest will cook in the sun once the ice melts. Be sure and pick a cool night when these dangerous wasps will be unable to respond quicklyÂand Âbee carefulÂ! Traps are the most effective way to capture yellowjackets trying to muscle in on a picnic or other outdoor eventÂand they can also be used to cut the numbers in an underground nest. You can buy ready-made traps at any hardware store or make you own: Just remove the cap from a glass or plastic container, drive a single hole into it with a Phillips-head screwdriver, put a bit of bait in the container, and put the cap back on. To keep the pests away from your picnic, place the traps on the outskirts of your outdoor area. To reduce the numbers in a nest, place lots of traps near the nest in the cool of the eveningÂwhen the wasps wonÂt be active. Try two different kinds of baitÂput some spoiled ham or smelly pet food in half the traps and some apple juice or a piece of rotting peach in the rest. Some times the pests want sugar, sometimes meat. Either way, theyÂll fly in for the food, but they wonÂt be able to fly out. Last year, an inventive YBYG listener told us that they had used one of those backyard bug zappers to destroy a nest. The listener simply set the zapper right near the entrance to the nestÂagain, always do this on a cool eveningÂand then turned it on. The aggressive wasps kept flying out trying to sting the zapper and were eventually all electrocuted. FinallyÂa good use for those otherwise useless zappers! And just this year, weÂve heard from two different YBYG listeners-- Phil Getty from New Hope, PA and Jim Lauther of Pine Hill, New JerseyÂwho used shop vacs to capture the pests as they flew out of their underground nests. Both attached their longest extension poles to the end of their vacuum hoses, positioned the poles close to the openings, turned the machines on and let them run. Both reported great success. (This is much the same solution the pros use when the pests build a nest in the wall of a house.) If youÂd like to try it, position the hose of your shop vac right near the opening of the nest on a cool evening and then turn it on the next day. Be sure to leave the vac on for a LONG time; there could be five thousand yellowjackets in a nest this time of year. Be sure to plug the hose right away when youÂre done so they donÂt fly back out and take revenge. Then leave the vac sit in the sun for a few days to kill the occupants. [Note: I sent an advance copy of this answer to our three Âquestioners and JUST got this response back from one: "Read the article you sent about using a shop vac, and decided to give it a try. I stuck it on the opening, turned it on and ran away. Let it run for about an hour, then hit some wood near the nest with a hammer to make sure no more bees were in there, and none came out. Two days later, I opened up the shop vac and it was full of former bees. Very coolÂand no poisons near the garden. Thanks very much for the advice; Gary Herrmann." Thank YOU for the report, Gar!] Sensational First Aid for ANY Sting! Get a jar of AdolphÂs meat tenderizer and keep it nearby whenever youÂre outdoors. That way, if you DO get stung by one of these aggressive wasps, you can cure it instantly! Just wet the area, shake some of the AdolphÂs (or any papain/papaya-based meat tenderizer) onto the sting, cover it with a damp napkin or cloth and the same enzymes that break down tough cuts of meat will denature the protein-based venom. ItÂll be like you were never stung! Of course, if youÂre allergic to Âbee stingsÂ, donÂt go anywhere without your emergency injector this time of year. You Bet Your Garden  ©2004 Mike McGrath

Ginny: I have found that people like that are not nice to know. They have no right to treat you like their drudge. Of course they'll abuse you verbally or send you nasty letters, since they're not bright enough to do the work themselves they might as well try to extort info. Over the years, I have lost quite a few "friends" like that. Good riddance. And there is no reason for why you have to tell them who your publisher is. Tell them you're not divulging the information to discourage claim jumpers. Last year, I went to a press party where I thought I was among friends. When asked about my current projects, I incautiously dropped a hint. Two of these "friends" wrote to my publisher and tried to take a project away from me. Fortunately my publisher told them where to go and sent me a note about the incident. Since that episode, my lips have been sealed. (But I've considered making up fake projects to send the nerds on a wild goose chase. Just to keep them occupied and out of my hair.)

He does have rules for them, and he has become very strict. He feels like every time they are in his care he spends the majority of time lecturing them. He is lost I feel, but I am just very amazed on how they act, I have never came across children that act like that in my life and I, myself have 17 nieces and nephews and 6 siblings. I feel bad when my husband and I talk about the girls, because when it comes down to it I feel myself comparing them to my children and I shouldn't because that shows favoritism and he wouldn't dare do that to me or my children. Maybe if my children were the unruley ones and his were the more well behaved ones he would, but he can't really say anything bad about my children. Except for the occasional leaving the light on or acting like a superhero once in awhile. my 5 year old acts like spiderman and runs and jumps and some times make annoying sounds, but hey, he's a boy. My two oldest boys are outside all day playing basketball, that is their passion and they take basketball pretty serious for their ages. And my daughter is on my hip the majority of the time, she is very clingy and can be very fussy. So I guess that could work on his nerves, but I can't really stop a three from being winy. the wining has also gotten much worse since we moved intogether and the girls started staying with us on the weekends. My children are far from saints and i dont want it to make it appear that they are but they wouldn't dare to act the way the girls do. They act up at times like all children do but it is usually just little bickering between the two oldest. I am able to do things with them without being embarrassed of their behavior, they have good manners and pick up after themselves. They are just total opposites. They even get stressed out when they know the girls are coming and they've decided they would rather stay somewhere else then deal with the girls, but I can't not allow that. I do not want my children to resent me because they can't stand their step siblings. It's just terrible. I'm completely lost and so is my husband. I feel bad for even thinking or second guessing him. But I feel that there is no hope as long as their mother is alienating their father. Seems like the things she says to the girls should be considered child abuse...atleast emotional or mental abuse...I do not known though. Just a thought. Danyele

"What do you think might be appropriate for kids under 10?" That would be at the discression of your dad since he is in the best position to decide. You also have to realize the question is similar to asking "what is an appropriate pass time for a 35 yo lady?" Alot depends on desire, ability and willingness to apply themselves to learning. To domonstarte,I have 2 grandsons several years apart in age that were quite different in the shop. #1 liked to pretend he was the narriator of a TV show on some days,others he broke up fist fights amoung audience members, he also injoyed serving refreshments and directing spectators to the snack bar and restrooms. When a proceedure caught his interest,he asked questions and relayed the answers to his tv viewing audience. That was pretty much the routine from 5 years to about 8 when his desire for hands on creation increased. From 8 brushing on stain and paint,sanding and scraping,driving 100s of nails into scrap boards to 9 or 10 sketching and suggesting ideas he cut with the scroll saw,prefecting refinishing techniques,learning to use a spoke shave and bench plane,I feel he gained much skill without so much as turning the table saw on much less cutting with it. #2 hit the ground running about 7 wanting to build things. We spent several of his vists completing a 50 calbire machine gun along with several other items of interest to him. He recently turned 11 and has only average interest in the shop sometimes choosing other activities instead. Any conversation in Tx involving boys will eventualy get around to their use of guns and hunting. I mention this because it is a nail biting subject for so many and to demonstrate how different kids are ready for any act at different ages. A third grandson shot his first deer when he was 8,#1 when he was 12 and #2 isn't even close to center fire rifle hunting. Not for lack of desire on his part but his unwillingness to crawl before running. Above it all we treasure our time spent togeather and have no problem finding things in common to plan or events to recall. What are some approprate activities for a 10 year old? I couldn't tell you but their grandfather likly can. Best wishes to your family,having parents "move back home"can be testing.