Bamboo and Bees

[Thuja]

I think one reason yellow jackets may be around bamboo is that they may find the old rhizome area an ideal place to nest. They appear to like ground that is loose and easy to dig. I think as some rhizomes get old and begin to decay they may provide soft spots for hornets to dig their nests. Also they can benefit from the protection the foliage provides.

In the past, I have been stung many times by yellow jackets without any problem, then one day I dug into a nest in my compost bin (soft ground). I was stung a few times and about 1/2 later I was almost dead. I experienced anaphylactic shock and am lucky to live to tell. Now 1 sting is all it would take to do me in. I've gone thru 3 years of desensitizing shots and now should be able to endure a sting or two but who knows. The fact that a tiny hornet can finish me off at any moment does kind of take the wind out of my sails.

[needmore]

I have found no signs of them nesting near the Sasa, nor have they attacked me if they are. It is just that something is very clearly attracting them to this particular bamboo and I have never seen them behave in this manner.


The most recent attack I've suffered was in an area where some of my hardest, crappiest soil is and I am in the process of dumping manure several inches deep in this area for future bamboo groves of southern Indiana. I am fortunate in that my only reaction to bee stings is a flush of extremely foul language but my world would look very different if I was more allergic to them - very sorry to hear of folks trials in this regard.

Phil, are you around - I've missed you with calls all last week?

[Roy]

....snip...


The most recent attack I've suffered was in an area where some of my hardest, crappiest soil is and I am in the process of dumping manure several inches deep in this area for future bamboo groves of southern Indiana. I am fortunate in that my only reaction to bee stings is a flush of extremely foul language but my world would look very different if I was more allergic to them - very sorry to hear of folks trials in this regard.

Phil, are you around - I've missed you with calls all last week?

Needmore,

Read Thuja's 2nd paragraph a little closer. It's that one time that your body reacts differently than before. You probably won't notice anything the first time, but then your body build a defense system, so that the next time you are stung, then you body overreacts and your body is what kills you. Not the bee venom. A little simplified explanation.

[needmore]

I see...I'd best be a bit more clearheaded about this. I had previously thought that it is a personal sensitivity thing and I didn't have one. So what, is there something that one keeps on hand just in case?


I have been stung by Yellow Jackets & Wasps a minimum of 2x per year for the past several years. The wasps get me inside our house when I do not notice that I just put my body parts on one of them and the YJ's get me every year with the mass attack when I unwittingly invade their nest area.

[Roy]

I see...I'd best be a bit more clearheaded about this. I had previously thought that it is a personal sensitivity thing and I didn't have one. So what, is there something that one keeps on hand just in case?


I have been stung by Yellow Jackets & Wasps a minimum of 2x per year for the past several years. The wasps get me inside our house when I do not notice that I just put my body parts on one of them and the YJ's get me every year with the mass attack when I unwittingly invade their nest area.

Brad,

You can be stung by bees or ants a thousand times, but it's that one time that starts your body down the path of overreaction. When is that one time, or will it ever happen? No one knows why or when or for sure, but by far the great majority of people never develop any problems with bee or ant stings. But if you ever have any symptoms, after a bee or ant sting, such as difficulty breathing, your tongue seems to be swelling, or you get light headed, which may indicate a blood pressure drop, then you need to seek medical attention immediately.

[Bamboomoon]

Bee Sting Emergency Kits are available ordered off the web and it sounds like everyone should order one up. For me this thread does establish that Wasps, Yellow Jackets (and Paper Hornets like we see in Phil's photographs), are drawn to bamboo, for whatever reason.

I never knew or heard before that Yellow Jackets were insect hunters in the early summer, but they sure are interested in chicken come August.

The weather will soon kill them, but now I'm asking myself whether that means a new generation will hatch (out of the same hive) next spring? I guess I'm going to have to go back to the bookshelf. Or does somebody know the answer to that one? I think a lot of confusion surrounds the topic because of the various species. I read that the Wasps and Yellow Jackets are the most dangerous.

I was intrigued to read that one shouldn't shine a flashlight directly into the nest after dark, but approach with full protection gear and spray. Don't the little buggers ever sleep? I want to finish my root pruning and definitely don't want them to be there again next year ...

[foxd]

I've had various dealings with stinging insects. The scariest was a wasp's nest in the ceiling of the bathroom. They found a hole into the bathroom which they swarmed through. I hate surprises like that first thing in the morning.

Closed the door, dressed, made a trip down the street for bathroom and bug spray, fogged the bathroom and sealed the hole. I then located the hole on the outside which had another wasp's nest. Or perhaps there was only the one, I never did know. Another trip down the street to the Big Lots, which had a sale on an off brand of Wasp's Nest spray real cheap. I bought it, took it home and took aim on the nest. The can immediately shot back against my chest. The nest disintegrated. The wasps shot out in all directions and kept going. I just stood there, stunned, expecting to get stung any minute. After a bit, I sprayed some insect fogger into the hole and sealed it.

Last year I found that bumblebees build nests in the ground and get very upset if you get around them. My approach for them and hornets has been to locate the hole from a distance and quickly use bug spray at night.

I have heard that a sprinkler acts to discourage them from attacking while it is on. Has anyone tested this?

[rfgpitt]

*From my knowledge, not factual at all:

Bees can't fly when it's cold or wet. This is probably why you heard if you have a sprinkler on it could help. If you're several feet away before they start flying out you should be ok no matter what(a little more for killer bees). You have enough time to spray or dump material during the day, but you have to worry about the workers coming home. If you attack an in ground nest at night there is almost no chance to get stung. I normally use gas instead of spray. When I used to landscape that was all that we had on hand and it works. Also, some of the nests are pretty big. I dumped gas into a nest in my yard last year and was surprised at how many holes started smoking. There would have been no way to kill or completely eradicate them with spray. With gas, what the fire doesn't kill, the smoke will. Just be careful not to hit lines or a pocket of natural gas. Don't hold me liable if you blow up your neighborhood! I think some migrate(would be nice if someone knew this for sure???) and will come close to the same area the next year (if still alive ). I had them 3 years in a row and the nests were only a few feet from each other.

I'm glad getting stung and your body doing the harm in fighting was discussed. I never used to have much problem except for the few choice words Brad spoke about when initially getting stung and itching for a while thereafter. Now I do notice increased anxiety and change in heart rate - breathing, so I better be pretty careful from now on.

I was at a local kids park just a few weeks ago and my 2 year old received his first bee sting in the ear. I was freaking out because of not knowing if he had any allergies. Luckily the next day we could not tell if it was bothering him at all.

In the absence of bee kits/anti-venom, is there anything people could do or take if they sense a problem??

Thanks all for sharing, and for those that have suffered the loss of a loved one, I hope you have found some sense of peace.

[hotchkiss]

This has been a very informative and sobering thread. My experiences have been similar. Ground dwelling hornets, yellow jackets and bumblebees have caused me more pain than bees and wasps. I have been stung cutting culms in a grove and once disturbed some bumblebees under a pile of rotten culms. I have seen wasps and bees feeding on honeydew from aphids and mealybugs and this could be what is attracting some of them to the bamboo. The tip about spraying or drenching the nest at night is something I learned recently from a coworker who said he has done it successfully many times. Benadryl tablets will help if an allergic reaction is not too severe. After hearing from Roy and Steve I know I will react immediately if I see a child who has been stung. Thanks to all who have shared.

Mike

[Eastlandia]

Us hill-waller just sneek up to the nests at night with a flashlight, pour some gasoline down the hole and light it up. Makes for quite an attraction....
(oh, BC didnt get television until the late 90's.) -eastlandia

[Thuja]

The weather will soon kill them, but now I'm asking myself whether that means a new generation will hatch (out of the same hive) next spring? I guess I'm going to have to go back to the bookshelf. Or does somebody know the answer to that one? I think a lot of confusion surrounds the topic because of the various species. I read that the Wasps and Yellow Jackets are the most dangerous.

That's one good thing about our cold weather. The yellow jackets (Vespula species) will die here during freezing weather and some queens will hibernate underground over winter. They will then start new nests in the spring.

The nest is started by a single queen, called the foundress, and typically can reach the size of a basketball by the end of the season.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket

German Yellowjacket, Vespula germanica, is becoming an increasing problem here in Wisconsin.

[bamboozal]

German Yellowjacket, Vespula germanica, is becoming an increasing problem here in Wisconsin.

They are quite a problem here too!

My daughter got stung by one a couple of months back. Surprisingly, apart from a minor swelling which disappeared the next day, nothing untoward happened. The strange bit was that while crying and screaming she said some things in a language nobody understood. Kinda like speaking in tongues. That freaked me out a little.

Thanks to everyone who have shared their personal experiences, I am now better aware of the possible scenarios involving insect stings/allergic reactions. For those who suffered loss, my deepest condolences. I hope you have found peace.

Adrian.

[va_highlander]

In the absence of bee kits/anti-venom, is there anything people could do or take if they sense a problem??

Like Mike said, Benadryl can help, if the reaction is not too terribly severe. I'm no doctor - and wouldn't dare play one on Internet - but I have an aunt who is very allergic and recall her talking about a weekend when she was out of prescription-strength Benadryl. She's an ERT and called one of the doctors she worked with and asked what to do should she get stung before Monday. His advise, if I recall correctly, was, "Take five aspirin and for God's sake don't cut yourself".

Have no idea whether one really could take that many aspirin safely and it would no doubt depend on other health issues if present. Consult someone who actually knows about these things.

[Bamboomoon]

Basketball is my favorite sport, but the idea that a queen (Foundress) can achieve the size of a basketball is truly startling.

I read an article about the (online) Wikipedia Encylopedia yesterday, but haven't yet bookmarked it: Just type in your own ideas and add to the article, if you like; a truly democratic if somewhat dubious idea, I think.

The gasoline and matches method may not be prudent for me, since the hole is several feet from the house. It would be too ironic to burn down your own nest while trying to eradicate a much smaller one.

The sprinkler idea is interesting and curious news. I guess that means their game can always be called on account of rain. I'm trying to imagine myself in raingear with a flashlight, approaching the hole at night, with gasoline, matches, and or a can of spray pointed in the wrong direction.

Upon reflection, I believe I will wait for the first really cold night, and spray at that time. Even if a freeze has already killed all but the Basketball Queen, maybe she will be sufficiently deflated, to never play again.

[Thuja]

Basketball is my favorite sport, but the idea that a queen (Foundress) can achieve the size of a basketball is truly startling.

I'm pretty sure the basketball size was meant to describe the nest and not the queen. I hope so anyway.

I should clarify that here in the northern climes, yellowjackets in bamboo aren't a problem. They are attracted to everything else but bamboo around here.

Also, interestingly I am deathly allergic to wasps and yellowjackets, while not at all to bees, including bumblebees. So the bees are my friends and the wasps not.