CONSPIRACY: Bees went away for years, now they're back & pissed. WTF?

[XXX-er]

The GF had a grad school type come thru from AK to rent her Air BnB, for some reason she brought a very large bumble bee with them the thing was also very slow got more active as the wood stove warmed the room so it would hang out and flew around the open-planned kitchen, it got fed sugar water it was like a tame bee

wasps never seem to sting me but if I wana get rid of them around the yard I put on insulated ski gear and hit em at night with a can of some wasp killer,

[XXX-er]

the retired entomologist down the street sez there are lots of wasps this year cuz it is SO dry

[riser4]

The GF had a grad school type come thru from AK to rent her Air BnB, for some reason she brought a very large bumble bee with them the thing was also very slow got more active as the wood stove warmed the room so it would hang out and flew around the open-planned kitchen, it got fed sugar water it was like a tame bee

wasps never seem to sting me but if I wana get rid of them around the yard I put on insulated ski gear and hit em at night with a can of some wasp killer,

Grad students can be some weird mother fuckers.

[XXX-er]

Yeah I used to do tech work with grad students at the research center running around measuring shit, some of the scientists were even weirder, they all spent so much time going to school that I was the only person who had already retired

[JimmyCarter]

[Tor-tour]

I never really thought of passing on bacteria this time of year but that makes sense. I just upset a yellow jacket nest a few days ago on a hike and the stings are still driving me nuts with one looking possibly infected.

My wife has gotten cellulitis the last two times she was stung mountain biking in the fall. Keep an eye on the sting marks, and if they get hot and firm in the center go get yourself some antibiotics.

[John_B]

Yellowjackets are really bad this year, I can hear the woods behind my house buzzing with them. They say any year with a good Humpy (pink salmon) run will be a bad year for yellowjackets, It's proving to be true.

Man, the yellowjackets were brutal in the San Juans in 2021 and I'd heard that attributed to the deer die off that year. Filleting salmon this year was an exercise in speed and yellowjackets avoidance!

[waveshello]

The YJs are busy this year in Central WA. They built a 6-8" nest in our storage shed earlier this summer. First time I've seen a nest on our property. We get plenty of paper wasps here, but those are not aggressive at all compared to YJs, which seem like they are continually pissed off and looking for a fight.

I hung a trap out under our spruce tree a few weeks ago and it was full of YJs within a week.

[waveshello]

I think the yellow jacket and honey bee stings hurt worse than the paper wasp, YMMV.

[SumJongGuy]

The bugs, all of them, are getting worse and worse because their predators, the REAL birds, were replaced by robotic spy birds.

[paulster2626]

the retired entomologist down the street sez there are lots of wasps this year cuz it is SO dry

Been one of the wettest summers I can ever remember out here, and the wasps are insane. So there goes that theory.

[californiagrown]

Ive said it before and ill say it again, i see no problem with honey bees dying off as long as we can replace them with bumble bees. Infact, the world would be a better place (even considering the exctinction of honey).

[Thaleia]

Timely. A few nights ago I discovered a wasp nest in my garage. They had made tunnels through the brick façade and were living in the wall. It was hectic but I got rid of it successfully. No stings. I've actually never been stung by a wasp or bee in my life.





After shot of me suited up in my impenetrable protective gear in the utility room.

[Core Shot]

I love bees

But wasps? They fuck shit up.

[BmillsSkier]

Yeah, that mission is a hard pass for me.

[Boissal]

Timely. A few nights ago I discovered a wasp nest in my garage. They had made tunnels through the brick façade and were living in the wall. It was hectic but I got rid of it successfully. No stings. I've actually never been stung by a wasp or bee in my life.

Damn that is the bigass nest, once you start seeing layered internal structure you know it's serious. Smart move getting all decked out to deal with it, most people would have gone at it in flip flops and a tank top + a can of raid.

I got hammered by wasps last night, stung 3x in a matter of seconds, one on top of the head, one on the neck, and one on the ear. There's always one fucker that goes for the ear!!!
We have a 6x10 greenhouse that we mostly used for storage during the summer as it gets too hot to grow anything. I keep the bags of chicken feed in there and go in maybe every 3 weeks to transfer 2 new bags in and 2 bags out to the storage bin next to the coop. Guess the wasps colonized the spot through the ceiling vent and made themselves a palace since I last went in there. I stumbled in with a 50 lbs bag in my arms, heard the buzz, dropped the bag, and fled as fast as I could. Still not fast enough. I was really lucky to go in after dark when they're less active, the nest was built partially over the door and I ripped a piece of it off when I opened the door. If it had happened with light out they've have all flown straight into my face the second I opened the door, I'd have collected 50 stings.
I didn't have any spray on hand so I gave them an hour to settle, went back, closed the door, and dislodged the nest through an opening in the ceiling. Gonna see what things look like tonight, hopefully half of the fuckers have departed and I can nuke the rest from orbit.

[XXX-er]

I put on ski gear and waited till they were all in the nest to hit them at 11pm, my Tennant has alwasy thot I was pretty wierd but this was a confirmation

Been one of the wettest summers I can ever remember out here, and the wasps are insane. So there goes that theory.

well buddy is a real entomologist now retired on the gov pension so i tend to believe him, and yer in America where everything is a conspiracy

[AK47bp]

Yea, need to wait until after dusk when they all return to the nest, then nuke from orbit.

[PB]

Solution to problem.

Nope; with 1:1 accuracy maybe, but I'm guessing you run dry after hitting, possibly, ......... 3?

[skaredshtles]

I have a live/let live arrangement with paper wasps and the like.

I like bees. Bumble bees, honey bees, carpenter bees - all good in my book.

Hornets and yellowjackets can fuck right off.

[SumJongGuy]

My shed's been full of carpenter bees for the past 20 years. Never been stung in there. We just go about our business in there avoiding eachother. Every once in awhile I see wasp nest in there or near the front or back porch. Just put on the heavy clothing and hood at night and nuke it with the wasp nest spray. I usually get to them before they get massive though..

[mcphee]

Ive said it before and ill say it again, i see no problem with honey bees dying off as long as we can replace them with bumble bees. Infact, the world would be a better place (even considering the exctinction of honey).

wut?

[BmillsSkier]

My shed's been full of carpenter bees for the past 20 years. Never been stung in there. We just go about our business in there avoiding eachother. Every once in awhile I see wasp nest in there or near the front or back porch. Just put on the heavy clothing and hood at night and nuke it with the wasp nest spray. I usually get to them before they get massive though..

I bet that shed wood looks like swiss cheese, no?

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

If it bleeds we can kill it..... do wasps bleed?

[k2skier112]

Explain wasps.

'splain bumble bees! Those fuckers shouldn't be able to fly