I have an update about my (yellow jacket?) nest.
After failing to source Sevin poison dust/powder (I found one web vendor that said it couldn't be shipped to my address
) I settled for a different liquid sevin sprayer that attaches to a garden hose and is listed to kill yellow jackets.
I followed the WWW advice to attack the yellow jacket nest friday night, apparently they can't see good enough after dark to tag you and mount a group attack. So armed with a flashlight I sprayed where the nest holes were, but the backscatter of light from the flashlight beam in the water spray made it hard to see the nest entrances well enough to aim accurately.
When I checked saturday morning the yellow jackets were still active flying into and out of the nest holes.
I decided to leave them bee until later.
I'm not sure if this is Karma or mother nature keeping score but the young puke who reads my water meter left the heavy cast iron meter housing cover off again. I complained to the town about this already a couple months ago. When I saw it, I stopped my lawn mower and went to replace the cover. What I didn't realize until too late was that the cover was sitting upside down on top of an active fire ant mound and they were swarming, actively moving eggs, and really pissed off. Before I could see what was happening and drop the cover I was bit/stung several times on both hands.
I dislike yellow jackets, but in 3 decades living in the deep south i have a special hatred for fire ants. I have probably killed millions (billions?) of them and can generally avoid them when we each stay in our own lanes.
I don't think the kids were smart enough to prank me with this as payback for reporting them before, but if they did they got me..
I scrubbed my hands immediately with rubbing alcohol and thought I got the poison off, but later that night i felt the telltale swelling, and by the next morning I had pustules on fingers of both hands. Fingers don't have much spare skin so when your finger swells the skin can get pretty tight affecting joint flexibility. I put some calamine in band aids and covered the bites to prevent picking at the pustules (they itch). Now a couple days later the swelling is finally going down.
Back to the yellow jackets, I returned saturday night around dusk, before it got too dark so I could still see well enough to aim the insecticide spray better. Zero yellow jacket sightings for two days since then so at least success with that mission.
I will never resolve the apparent bee stinger stuck in my arm for days after the sting (yellow jackets reportedly don't lose their stingers), but this nest definitely looked and acted like yellow jackets, confirmed by my next door neighbor too. Since yellow jackets kill honey bees and steal their honey, I am OK with a few hundred less yellow jackets in my yard.
When I go to pay my water bill in a few days, I will report the lazy meter reader(s) again (two boys were reading the meter saturday)... If i lived in a wealthier community i would expect the water meters to get replaced soon with digital self reporting meters, but our town can't afford that, so the meters need to be protected from the elements as they will probably be in service for decades to come. I've seen plastic meter housings on some local properties that are easier to deal with lighter covers, maybe the town can afford that? (I might even do that myself if the housing can be swapped without disconnecting the water main.)
JR
[edit I can buy a plasticr water meter box for $13 on amazon and replace it myself from above.... I may ask the town for permission just to be a good citizen. [/edit]
[edit2] OK plastic water meter box on order... I cleared it with the town clerk, while I don't usually ask for permission, this was no problem. Maybe the young pukes reading the meters can lift the plastic box lid? [/edit]
October 11, 2009, 08:28:38 AM