Yellowjacket Control?

[AnaMaria]

I love fall, love being outside, but the yellowjackets are about to make me insane. Are the traps effective for short-term use, like at a picnic at a park? What about the electrified tennis rackets? They'd be very satisfying if they work!

[eisely]

Take along some sheets that you put in your clothes dryer and put them around your table. It seems to work.

[OldGreyEagle]

Stay away from Georgia Tech athletic activities?

[RememberSchiff]

Give each helicopter parent an open can of root beer and see if the old adage is true that misery loves company.

[skeptic]

My dad always put a plate with a piece of raw bacon on it a few yards away from us; and they seemed to stay over there.

[SSScout]

Eisely:

I presume you mean the little sheets of crinkly stuff that is supposed to make your clothes wrinkle free? Softner? Not cotton percale or polyester blend?

What would they do? Keep the bugs away or attract them?

Do they really work in your experience?

[eisely]

I am referring to the little paper sheets, not the bed sheets.

 

We have a constant yellow jacket problem when dining al fresco on our deck. All I can say is the sheets seem to work.

[BDPT00]

It's probably polically incorrect, because some insects will be killed or injured during production ...

get a broad pan (pie tin, cake pan, etc). Fill with water and some dishsoap. Put a chunk of raw hamburger in it (partially exposed). The soapy water messes them up instantly, and they drown.

[ScoutNut]

My sister swears by the Bounce dryer sheets. She claims that only the Bounce brand works well. I can not verify, as I have not tried this out.

 

 

[AnaMaria]

They were not Bounce. It may have discouraged them some, but not enough. I'm guessing it also has to be Bounce scented. (We get unscented because the perfumey smell annoys us.) We'll see.

[eisely]

I agree that the scents added to some dryer sheets are annoying, but the yellow jackets are more annoying.

[IM_Kathy]

the bounce dryer sheets also help some with misquitoes... my son takes a box with him every summer camp and puts up a couple fresh ones each day... not only helps with the bugs but keeps his tent from being the smelliest!

[packsaddle]

This isn't a practical solution but my friend had a Jack Russell that developed the skill of literally biting them out of the air. It would knock them down and then meticulously kill them with its canine teeth without getting stung (as far as I could tell). I wish I had a video of that to put on Youtube.

These wasps get very aggressive in the fall. But the cool temperatures will make this a short duration. Just wait it out.