I use the Amazon brand stuff and it seems fine
Yellowjacket equinox
- Thread starter troutpocket
- Start date
I'm baffled as to why I haven't seen any yellowjackets feeding on the fipronil treated albacore/walleye; it's not like there's any shortage of yellowjackets:
(Ten days worth of captured yellowjackets from two Rescue traps).
A few years ago, prior to the invention and patenting of Shad Chunks™, I hung a chunk of pork belly above a pan of water and watched yellowjackets feast on pig meat with a decent number eating so much they fell into the pan and drowned. The obvious (to the casual observer) outcome was many yellowjackets were returning to their nest with dead pig. I'm not going to do that again. So.......... maybe I'll go harvest a Basin lake trout this time of year and utilize it as bait (treated with fipronil).
Epilogue to my yellowjacket problem:
After one SevinDust application the colony bounced back strong, filling my sentinel traps again. I think some light drizzle crusted up the SevinDust powder at the entrances, so not enough made it deep into the hive to kill the damn queen.
A few nights later I approached the hive and could hear them buzzing below ground, stronger than ever. I dusted the 3 entry holes with SevinDust again. A few dozen swarmed out with a nice white coating of SevinDust on them. The next morning the colony was totally silent and has been ever since. So basically it took 4 sessions of Dawn suds, shop vac, and finally SevinDust for the win. Now I can do yard work in that area again. What a PITA!
After one SevinDust application the colony bounced back strong, filling my sentinel traps again. I think some light drizzle crusted up the SevinDust powder at the entrances, so not enough made it deep into the hive to kill the damn queen.
A few nights later I approached the hive and could hear them buzzing below ground, stronger than ever. I dusted the 3 entry holes with SevinDust again. A few dozen swarmed out with a nice white coating of SevinDust on them. The next morning the colony was totally silent and has been ever since. So basically it took 4 sessions of Dawn suds, shop vac, and finally SevinDust for the win. Now I can do yard work in that area again. What a PITA!
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I guess knowing where the nest is helps in a couple ways: No. 1 - avoiding it and No. 2 - destroying it. Well done! (I'm clueless where the nests are that I'm dealing with.)
The mother ship may not even be in your neighborhood, Pat. Although yellowjackets typically forage out some 400 yards from their nest, they will travel up to 3/4 mile if food is scarce (or maybe your catkins are are a highly desirable and an irresistible food source to them?).
Maybe try less fipronil. I typically only do a couple drops on maybe a half cup of fish meat.
I bet I overdid it. Thanks Evan./Patrick
Oops; I put 6 drops (big drops from the tube it came in) on about 1/4 cup of tuna. Well mixed, but maybe enough to keep them away. I set the container about 4' from the nest entrance. I may have over did it as well.
What has worked real well for me in the older style (now Rescue) tall trap is a cotton ball soaked with apple cider and a small piece of raw bacon.
Still, I feel like these traps, this time of year, barely scratch the surface of the issue. You just get a few drones from a hive of thousands. You could fill the trap up to capacity and not even put a dent into the larger issue.
Agree, but having several around your property let's you know if a problem is developing. 3-4 workers in a week, no big deal. >12 workers trapped in a day, you have a threat hive nearby.
Agreed. But I think these traps can be helpful early in the season, to try to capture a queen that's out looking for a place to establish her colony. At least that's how I use them.
I had mine out EARLY this year and did capture close to 40 queens - apparently I should have captured >40 queens. ;-)
Old406Kid
Legend
I threw together a couple of bait stations today and baited them with ocean whitefish cat food which came highly recommended from a couple of beekeeper forums. I set them and while I was moist with anticipation...nothing observed after 5-6 hours of checking periodically so I put an empty Rescue scent packet in one of the containers and now have some activity. Not sure if they are eating anything but at least they are flying in and out so fingers crossed. All of that said, they haven't been too bad yet this year but they become much more aggressive in the fall which is just around the corner.
Yeah I keep seeing catfood recommended as well, but I just plain get refusals with it. My neighborhood yellerjackets must know that fresh fish is on the menu, because unless that's what I offer, they don't play.
I find the thing that really brings them in is to put fish in my dehydrator. Especially when I make dog treats with the tuna scraps from dinner. They'll swarm around the dehydrator on the porch, so I always set a bowl of something fishy on top for them.
I find the thing that really brings them in is to put fish in my dehydrator. Especially when I make dog treats with the tuna scraps from dinner. They'll swarm around the dehydrator on the porch, so I always set a bowl of something fishy on top for them.
Dean -
Where did you get the idea of covered bait traps? I've just been using yogurt containers without any lid.
I might have to harvest some fresh bait one of these days - and I will take Evan's suggestion about only treating with only a couple drops of treatment product.
Old406Kid
Legend
I drilled several 1/2" holes around the perimeter and hung them high enough to be safe from other critters. I had some Taurus SC which is actually a termiticide but has 9.1% Fipronil. I used 1/10th of a teaspoon, approximately .50 ml, to the 3 oz. can of cat food.
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Now that would be satisfying!
I wonder how myneighbors would react to me blasting away at the nest in the ground.