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Bees or wasps in ground in backyard?
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Posted by marilano California (My Page) on Sun, Sep 9, 07 at 18:48
| I recently discovered (in mid-August) a ground nest or hive of either bees or wasps (or possibly yellow jackets). They're in the ground between an impatiens and a daylily; they fly out when I water that area of the yard. They seem to go straight for my hair--which is scary--although I haven't been stung yet (and one went up my blouse sleeve and came into the house before I realized it--but didn't sting). I seem to have more of them every day, although so far only about a dozen fly around when I water. I'm not sure if they're bees--which I definitely wouldn't want to kill given the bee shortage--or wasps, or yellow jackets. They aren't very big--about 1/2 inch long. Any ideas? Most of the postings above say that ground bees go away in early summer--whatever my insects are, they only appeared in mid-August and are increasing in number now that it's early to mid-September. Any ideas about what species they might be and whether it would be safe or risky to dig up the hole? TIA for any replies. marilano |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Bees or wasps in ground in backyard?
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| very likely yellow jackets. check online for pictures. You can usually get rid of them with a garden hose if they are really causing problems. Digging them up would not be a good idea until after they are dead. |
RE: Bees or wasps in ground in backyard?
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| Thanks, tonybeeguy, for the reply. I also posted my question to the California gardening forum, and the two people who replied there also thought these were probably yellowjackets rather than bees. I know I've also had paper wasps building small honeycomb-looking nests in my house's eaves, but these are definitely smaller insects than the paper wasps I've seen flying around. If they are definitely not bees (the good guys), I'll want to get rid of them. Do you know if the colony will die off in a mild climate in the fall or winter? marilano |
RE: Bees or wasps in ground in backyard?
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- Posted by ccrb1 z5 IND (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 15, 07 at 19:03
| a hard freeze kills the colony. That may be no help to you |
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