Those Vicious Ones

  The other evening, Mark and I toppled a bottle filled with gasoline into the hole that led to a yellow jackets' nest.  This was to kill the entire hive while we remained in a relative safe zone.  The method is a tried and true one that has been passed down from generation to generation.  Waiting until after dark assures that most of the wasps will be inside the hive and the danger is almost nil.  The idea is to shove a bottle filled with gasoline into the mouth of the hole in one clean, swift move.  The yellow jackets are trapped inside and the fumes can do their thing.  We felt confidant that the entire colony had perished.

  This morning, Mark checked the nest and nary a yellow jacket was to be found.  Curiosity got the best of us so he grabbed a shovel and started to dig.  Years ago, he did the same thing and dug up a rather large nest.  It was interesting to see and taught the kids a lesson about being careful when playing outdoors.  They were amazed at the number of wasps that were inside the hive.  This morning's dig proved to be even more impressive as this nest was far larger.  The nest had five tiers with many of the cells filled with eggs or larvae.  Over 500 adult yellow jackets had also perished.  

  While I am all for the mantra of "Live and let live" when it comes to something potentially dangerous, I have no qualms about eradicating the problem.  The wasps in this hive alone could cause great injury or even death to a person or animal.  Right after we had placed the bottle in the nest, we got word that a local lady died of a single wasp sting.  It was heartbreaking to hear the news and made us even more thankful that we found this nest before anyone got stung.  Yellow jackets are not something to mess with.  Their nests are underground and are often unseen until it is too late.  It is best to be wary of where you step!