North Dakota’s Peaking Wasp Population Is Literally A Pain!
Over the last few weeks, the odds of encountering yellow jackets in any and all outdoor situations have moved to about 100%. Those little buggers are everywhere and they all seem kinda pissed off. Could it be because I'm attempting to kill them and all their friends and family?
Yellow jackets are beautiful animals that really just need to die!
I could be more patient with them if they just kept to themselves. But nothing seems to like a barbecue, picnic or street fair more than yellow jackets. It's something we don't keep in mind when planning late summer/early fall outdoor events. Maybe we should. Sure it was a hundred degrees all summer long, but now these intruders are taking over my outside space and much worse- they're stinging my Daisy dog!
Daisy is still yet a puppy, so she's got a bunch to learn.
She's currently studying at "Wasp University" in my backyard. She's learned that leaving a "number two" in the grass is the perfect bait for flies and yellow jackets. (We could talk about all them darn flies too). So the silly girl bites at the wasps and get stung on the face or inside her mouth. Puffy faced puppies will make you sad.
I have a long storied history of destroying entire wasp communities including all their next of kin.
My favorite method of choice? I love the household "bug bombs". You know, the home foggers where you click back the top and noxious bug-killing fog comes shooting out. In a hole in the ground, under a porch, under an eave...I just fashion a duct tape delivery system that basically looks like one of the cones you put on a dogs head. Slap and seal that over the hole- gas goes in and dead wasps don't come out. Unfortunately, the position of this current mega-hive is hidden in a crevice of sorts next to a garage and under a partially buried rotting landscape timber, so no way to use my gas attack.
I got some really good wasp spray that actually foams up to fill the cracks and sure does kill the wasps it comes in contact with...but when the rest of swarm came to get me- it was a painful sting on the ear and a hasty retreat inside to make more devious plans for their demise
So, I'm open to suggestions...like maybe wearing a helmet on my next excursion.
North Dakota Treasures Well Worth The Drive.