The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
I've Had it With These Motherfucking Bees in my Motherfucking Basement
AbsoluteZero
The new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered User regular
The new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered User regular
I'm used to finding the odd dead yellowjacket in my basement once a year or so. I always figure some dumb hapless fuck bee found its way in there and died of starvation or residual pesticides. This spring, however, I've found not one, two, three, four, five or six of these hell bees down there, but seven! Pictured below are numbers six and seven that I just found today. They look a little wet because I gave them a squirt of poison to make sure they were dead before I picked them up.
From what I can gather with my google-fu, these are Eastern Yellowjackets, and they are both queens. In fact, all seven of these that I have found have had the exact same pattern on their accursed carapaces, so I assume they are all queens. What I can't figure out is what in the hell all these queen yellowjackets are doing in my basement? I surveyed the house and I don't see anything that indicates the presence of a nest, in fact I'm actually seeing less of these fuckers outside my house than usual this year. Even if I did have a nest somewhere on the property, why the hell would there be that many queens and why are they going into my basement?
Hoping someone here has some experience with this and can give me some advice insofar as what the heck is going on and what I can do about it. Trying to avoid calling an exterminator out to inspect the property because I'm fairly certain they won't find anything, and I just can't afford it.
P.S. I know they aren't really bees.
From what I can gather with my google-fu, these are Eastern Yellowjackets, and they are both queens. In fact, all seven of these that I have found have had the exact same pattern on their accursed carapaces, so I assume they are all queens. What I can't figure out is what in the hell all these queen yellowjackets are doing in my basement? I surveyed the house and I don't see anything that indicates the presence of a nest, in fact I'm actually seeing less of these fuckers outside my house than usual this year. Even if I did have a nest somewhere on the property, why the hell would there be that many queens and why are they going into my basement?
Hoping someone here has some experience with this and can give me some advice insofar as what the heck is going on and what I can do about it. Trying to avoid calling an exterminator out to inspect the property because I'm fairly certain they won't find anything, and I just can't afford it.
P.S. I know they aren't really bees.
0
Posts
I can has cheezburger, yes?
@Arch @BugBoy
Would a single nest have that many queens migrating out all at once?
According to Wikipedia, this is actually how the species survives: about 30% of the cells in an eastern yellowjacket hive are devoted to raising new queens to wait out the winter- there are so many because they figure not all of them are going to survive. Unfortunately for you, your basement turned out to be a hell of a lot less harsh than the outside during the winter.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
Yes, possibly more than that depending on the size of the nest. I've read a paper that described (if this is indeed the eastern yellowjacket- wasps aren't my specialty really) how sometimes up to 17% of the nest can be devoted to the production of new "queens".....which for a larger colony can be over a hundred queens per month!
As for control....that's more difficult, especially if the nest is indoors. Either way, I'd hang one or two wasp traps inside and outside the house (they are pretty cheap at the store, but you can make your own).
Otherwise, try and find the nest and poison it. Wasps are assholes, good luck
I'm a little tempted to just bug bomb the basement but I'm not sure whether that would get any that are still hiding or not.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
And good luck getting rid of the waps, they are a true pest.
If you kill a hive instead of physically removing it, all the wasps die in place and then you have a roach infestation of a rotting hive in your wall
Food for thought for future reference
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
It is, after all, the only way to be sure.
But - if you've already talked to an exterminator, and if you found them to be sensible, consider running your thoughts by them, unless that would involve a crazy consulting fee. Just to make sure you do what is best for you, whenever you do decide to nuke from orbit.
Don't worry, the subsequent population explosion of house centipedes will make short work of the roaches.
Thanks, AbsoluteZero's basement wasps!
Also a reminder to wear eye protection when spaying pesticides. I got a drop in my eye and it did not feel great.
Unless that's why you aren't seeing wasps anymore
With multiple living queens you could have watched the dynamics of who ended up ascending the paper throne of wasperos
Oof, I've had Off sprayed in my face by jackasses before. I know that pain.
Dont the drones decide which queen smells the healthiest and ween the others off until they kill them?
Edit: apparently only a few species do that
well you know what they say—in the Game of Drones you win or you die
That's one of those games that's fundamentally broken unless you pony up for the playable-Queen DLC. The Drone suuuuuucks.