BEES!! - Page 3 - Orchid Board

annierj · #21 08-23-2014, 04:19 PM

Going to try the dry ice tonight....keep fingers crossed...will let you know how well it works...and whether I manage to get the apparatus put together without being stung! Once it gets dark, going into stealth mode and sneak up on the little meanies....hope they are sound sleepers.

Next step will be Epsom salts if this doesn't work... my pot is too large to fit in a handy buckets for the adding of dishwashing liquid.....

Thanks, again, for all the suggestions....

lepetitmartien · #22 08-23-2014, 09:56 PM

Epsom salt will be slow, it works by abrasion.

annierj · #23 08-23-2014, 10:36 PM

okay...understood...right now it's pouring buckets of rain....so my plastic bag is filling with water....so will have to drain the liquid (maybe), lay the dry ice and close up the sides of the bag all in about 3 seconds....in between rain showers. Maybe the rain will soothe the bees and they won't notice...... nothing like a challenge!

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------

all quiet on the Kentucky front....with a break in the weather, went outside, dropped the dry ice into the bottom of the bag and pulled up the sides...left a small opening in the top for the gas to dissipate, and tied the top. Now, to wait for morning...don't know what I will find when to go to updo the bag...it's kind of like a Christmas present....hope I wasn't naughty and get stick of coal or stinging insects!!

JamesL · #24 08-23-2014, 11:20 PM

Hi Annie and everybody..

Found this post interesting today. What to do with the Bee problem. As it turns out my moms called me late this afternoon and said she was bitten by a bunch of bees hiding under her Air Conditioner unit. Told her no problem moms got you covered. Will be over when it get dark . Got the hose out and soaked them down really good, took a shovel and dug the nest up. The nest was about 4 inches down, and about 8 inches around. I'll go back in the morning to hose the area down again and dig in the mud some more... Don't you just love gardening ! JamesL

judith_arquette · #25 08-23-2014, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annierj

okay...understood...right now it's pouring buckets of rain....so my plastic bag is filling with water....so will have to drain the liquid (maybe), lay the dry ice and close up the sides of the bag all in about 3 seconds....in between rain showers. Maybe the rain will soothe the bees and they won't notice...... nothing like a challenge!

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------

all quiet on the Kentucky front....with a break in the weather, went outside, dropped the dry ice into the bottom of the bag and pulled up the sides...left a small opening in the top for the gas to dissipate, and tied the top. Now, to wait for morning...don't know what I will find when to go to updo the bag...it's kind of like a Christmas present....hope I wasn't naughty and get stick of coal or stinging insects!!

Good luck!!!

annierj · #26 08-24-2014, 10:24 AM

It is now 12 hours later....I have opened the bag and all the dry ice is gone. The surface bark has numerous curled bodies of yellowjackets....but there are still some survivors, as one just crawled from within the pot to the surface. As the storms have passed, perhaps I will sprinkle some Epsom salts along the surface and see if that takes care of the leftovers....but it appears to have mostly worked!! And, I am proud to announce, no additional stings to me!!

If I sprinkle Epsom Salt on the surface, how long can I leave it there? Will it endanger the cymbidium? Or, in some unknown amount of time, should I repot?

I thought I would leave the bodies, as a sign to ward off future residents...I realize that insects don't rationalize but they are clever...perhaps they will take the hint that this is not a welcoming environment and they will decamp and move elsewhere.

Thank you for providing me with alternatives to the chemical industry -- the plant appears unscathed from its night in a trash bag....

annierj · #27 08-24-2014, 01:19 PM

Further updates....and it is definitely not as rosy as I thought. I went out to remove the trash bag and pick up the debris....moved the pot and...low and behold...more bees!! They came forth from the bark and were not a happy group... I bid a hasty retreat, back behind the safety of glass...gonna have to rethink this...

I did sprinkle some Epsom Salt on one portion of the bark, but I believe I will have to get some more dry ice and try again tomorrow night (not leaving the house today).... it was very effective in doing away with some of the bees... their curled bodies lay scattered about the bark and in the bottom of the trash bag. But, it has not solved the problem completely. The other half of the army is waiting...some of the bees that were in the bottom of the trash bag were still moving when I poured out the water....crawling slowly about on the deck. There must be quite a hive in the bark....

Not quite back to square one, as I have found a deterrent, but not moving forward safely yet....No further stings to report but safety is still paramount. Thank goodness for the rain last night so I don't have to worry about watering....

Leafmite · #28 08-24-2014, 03:35 PM

Are these bees or yellow jackets? If they are bees, a local beekeeper is usually very happy to come and collect them (for free!). If they are yellow jackets, buy one of those yellow jacket traps (they have the disposable ones) and set it up with some apple juice and a piece of lunch meat near the nest. I am very allergic to yellow jackets and usually use that method to get rid of them.

annierj · #29 08-24-2014, 04:51 PM

They are most definitely yellowjackets....had not heard of the trap...but will check out my favourite neighbourhood hardware store and see if they have any in store...lunchmeat and apple juice...hmmm.... sounds like the beginning of school......

I don't want them to decamp and take up residence in one of my neighbouring pots (I have about a dozen in close proximity). Between the traps, dry ice and Epsom salts, if I hit it hard this week, then perhaps, if the gods are kind, that will be it.... All of these orchids have to come in later this fall for the winter and I would prefer there be no "freeloaders" in the bark....

Thanks!

---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:48 PM ----------

Mayve I need to change the title of this thread to read "Yellowjackets!", for that is most certainly what they are.

lepetitmartien · #30 08-24-2014, 05:49 PM

The most important thing would be to know if the queen is still alive or not.

If the wasps have a clear entrance to the pot, put some epsom salt in it, all the wasps crawling to the way out will walk into it. You'll see anyway if the number of them dwindles from now (fast or not). Important: beware of the watchdog, better to pour lots fast than too little slowly, and move away (I'm sure you're rather keen on that part).

As soon as there's next to no activity, you'll be able to drench the pot, and remove the salts, as too much of a good thing is not so good.

If they survived the dry ice, I think it's because the bag was closed, there was still O2 in the bag, so the time to kill the colony was way longer than expected (and couldn't be guessed). An open bag would have filed up of CO2 and the killing would have been effective in less than an hour. Too bad it rained.