Has anyone else noticed an increase in Yellow jackets?
They are swarming where I live,I used to have problems with wasps/mud dobbers and bees but I have not seen very many of them lately,probably a couple of years since I saw bees.In case you're not sure what Yellow jackets are,they are a little smaller than wasps and have black and yellow stripes and you never see just one.They don't pack the wallop that wasps/hornets do but they are more aggressive. I reached into my mailbox and had one crawling on my hand, I saw 3 crawling out of my sideview mirror and 2 flying around my backseat while I was driving. Is this just a local thing or is this going on nation wide? It seems like they are running off all the other stinging insects.

No increase in Florida. I've seen bug infestation "Booms" come and go from time to time, for example one year when I was in Michigan we had a flare up of Tent Caterpillars, a year later and you hardly saw a nest!

They are nasty and sometimes dangerous little critters. The yellow jackets where I live nest in the ground and woe to the person who accidentally digs into a nest! My brother installs satellite dishes and once dug into one and instantly was covered in yellow jackets. He ran and tore off his uniform and the uniform was loaded with them. Luckily he isn't allergic. My husband was just sitting on the deck and one crawled into his sleeve and stung him and his hand swelled up double its size. My son in law was digging a fire pit and ran smack dab into a nest and was severely stung. He was hospitalized and now has to have an anti -venom syringe with him at all times. His lips and face swelled up grotesquely. I really think that they are multiplying. I don't remember ever seeing so many before!:eek: So don't mess with yellow jackets if at all possible!:eek:

They are nasty and sometimes dangerous little critters. The yellow jackets where I live nest in the ground and woe to the person who accidentally digs into a nest! My brother installs satellite dishes and once dug into one and instantly was covered in yellow jackets. He ran and tore off his uniform and the uniform was loaded with them. Luckily he isn't allergic. My husband was just sitting on the deck and one crawled into his sleeve and stung him and his hand swelled up double its size. My son in law was digging a fire pit and ran smack dab into a nest and was severely stung. He was hospitalized and now has to have an anti -venom syringe with him at all times. His lips and face swelled up grotesquely. I really think that they are multiplying. I don't remember ever seeing so many before!:eek: So don't mess with yellow jackets if at all possible!:eek:

I guess they are becoming the dominate stinging insect in the country,I knew something was going on with all these nests around here. I have this clothesline pole in my back yard that has two little holes in it and last year they would come swarming out at me everytime I came close with the mower. This summer I clogged the holes up with cigarette butts and went into the house only to look out the window to see them pulling out the cigarette butts and climbing back into the holes. I have gone thru 6 cans of wasp spray this summer.

I've seen a decrease of yellow jackets where I'm at.

I've seen a decrease of yellow jackets where I'm at.

You can have mine.

You can have mine.

No thanks...

Yes, more yellow jackets and less honey bees!

Here in Florida we have these little critters called "Luv Bugs" because they actually fly while mated together. Last year they were all over the place, and the Car washes made TONS on money (They charge a premium rate to wash away Luv Bugs). This year we only had a few of them.

Here in Florida we have these little critters called "Luv Bugs" because they actually fly while mated together. Last year they were all over the place, and the Car washes made TONS on money (They charge a premium rate to wash away Luv Bugs). This year we only had a few of them.

Have you ever seen any of those Cicada killers? Some friends of mine live in Florida and were telling me about them,they kind of look like those Giant Asian Hornets.

They got me.
I managed to avoid them all summer but my luck ran out today.It was cool for a change around here so I decided to put my garden hose in the garage till next summer,I was twisting and tugging on it trying to unscrew it from the spigot and 7 or 8 yellow jackets flew out from where it goes into the wall,I tripped in that pile of hose trying to get away and got stung. They got me 3 times, one in the eyelid,another below the eye and one by my ear. I look awful,kind of like the Elephant Man,the left side of my face is swollen. I needed some stuff from the store but didn't feel like going so I asked my sister if she would go for me and she showed up with her grandson. He was scared of me so I had to explain to him, " I am not an animal,I am a human being!". I thought yellow jackets were like honey bees and would die after they sting but as I was trying to get untangled from the garden hose I watched them with my good eye when they headed back to their nest and it appeared they were laughing and congratulating each other. I sure hope this was just a freak year for them because they made this summer miserable,and that wasp spray is getting too expensive.

http://fox2now.com/2013/09/18/new-wave-of-wasps-doubles-warning-calls/

Very few bugs where I am. Low humidity is probably why.

Very few bugs where I am. Low humidity is probably why.

There are plenty of insects in this city and every year they come in swarms and infestations. Back in the 80s we had a cricket invasion that was like a horror movie, thousands everywhere, you could hardly hear the television at night if the windows were open. For some reason my dog had a fear of them,there would always be dead ones floating in his water bowl and the cat would always drop one on him when he was sleeping and he'd get pissed and chase the cat all over the house. The next year they would suddenly vanish and be replaced by another type of insect. The only ones that ever bothered me were the flying/stinging kind. My younger brother has a fear of all bugs,we lived in New Mexico when we were little and got a job at a driving range picking up golfballs, he was in an irrigation ditch looking for balls and got covered with fire ants. We heard him screaming and by the time we reached him he had blisters all over him. Now he panics if he sees a moth or a ladybug.

I have gotten yellow jackets mainly in my backyard and the yellow jackets usually come during the summer when we usually feed our cats and when the yellow jackets come our cats sometimes get stung and end up with eating problems and swollen jaws and pain. But me and Mom never go outside because we dislike bees and flies and we have to take caution when we go outside. If you have yellow jackets especially if you have cats outside be sure to keep the cat food plates clean and always replace the uneaten cat food with fresh cat food
Bestie

We have more red wasps than yellow jackets here. Those red wasp are really aggressive too.

It seems like I'm seeing less yellow jackets than before! ;) This summer I've been seeing these really gigantic black bees ! Bigger than bumble bees! :eek:Well I'm assuming they are bees? I researched this big flying insect online and it seems to be a Carpenter bee, but I'm not 100 percent positive! One was even flying around in my bedroom one time!:eek: I TOTALLY was freaking out!!:crazy::eek:

I saw a hornet a few weeks ago, and had to run upstairs really quick because I was so frightened.

I haven't noticed many yellow jackets where I live but there are lots of mosquitoes. They get really active in the evening around dusk time when the sun starts going down. So I try not to be outside at that time to avoid mosquito bites.

One insect that's around here that I haven't seen before is a beetle type insect, it flies and it's colors are black and red, it's kind of a cool looking bug and seems to be harmless but I don't know what it is.

Another thing I see here is a lizard/salamander type of critter, it scurries along on the ground and has a blue tail, people around here call them blue tails.

The most pesky thing I have is moles. Those things are a pain in the ass, I have them in the front and back yard, they tunnel their way through the ground and sometimes will make a pile of dirt in the yard and it tears up my grass. Moles are not easy to get rid of, if there was an easy solution I'd get rid of them, I hate those damn things. :mad:

And a few weeks ago to my surprise I discovered a little frog on my bathroom floor beside the toilet, it must have gotten in the water system somehow and found it's way thru the pipes, into my toilet and on to the bathroom floor. That's the only way a frog could have ended up in my house. So I scooped it up in a plastic container and set it free in the yard and it hopped away. That was a weird experience and I hope it doesn't happen again. :eek: :lol:

I haven't noticed many yellow jackets where I live but there are lots of mosquitoes. They get really active in the evening around dusk time when the sun starts going down. So I try not to be outside at that time to avoid mosquito bites.

One insect that's around here that I haven't seen before is a beetle type insect, it flies and it's colors are black and red, it's kind of a cool looking bug and seems to be harmless but I don't know what it is.

Another thing I see here is a lizard/salamander type of critter, it scurries along on the ground and has a blue tail, people around here call them blue tails.

The most pesky thing I have is moles. Those things are a pain in the ass, I have them in the front and back yard, they tunnel their way through the ground and sometimes will make a pile of dirt in the yard and it tears up my grass. Moles are not easy to get rid of, if there was an easy solution I'd get rid of them, I hate those damn things. :mad:

And a few weeks ago to my surprise I discovered a little frog on my bathroom floor beside the toilet, it must have gotten in the water system somehow and found it's way thru the pipes, into my toilet and on to the bathroom floor. That's the only way a frog could have ended up in my house. So I scooped it up in a plastic container and set it free in the yard and it hopped away. That was a weird experience and I hope it doesn't happen again. :eek: :lol:

I can't stand mosquitos either. Got a lot of bites when being on vacation too.

Last Sunday morning my son was stung 3 times in his bed! He said that they were really small bees but not yellow jackets. He was all swollen up and fevered so we drove him to a nearby clinic. He got a shot and has been taking a steroid med this week. He was fine soon after the shot and the next day he was ok.He woke up being stung! Weird! :eek:This was at his house. He found where they were coming in and sprayed the heck out of them:D

Last Sunday morning my son was stung 3 times in his bed! He said that they were really small bees but not yellow jackets. He was all swollen up and fevered so we drove him to a nearby clinic. He got a shot and has been taking a steroid med this week. He was fine soon after the shot and the next day he was ok.He woke up being stung! Weird! :eek:This was at his house. He found where they were coming in and sprayed the heck out of them:D

What's a steroid med?

What's a steroid med?

I'm not really sure but I do know that type of medication is given to people with asthma, severe allergic reactions or other breathing problems. He was very short of breath and couldn't even swallow.

There are not a lot of bugs in my area, including yellow jackets, but we do have a lot migrating butterflies. I saw a Tiger Swallow earlier today, it was so pretty:)

I'm not really sure but I do know that type of medication is given to people with asthma, severe allergic reactions or other breathing problems. He was very short of breath and couldn't even swallow.

Thank you for the information, and sorry to hear about your son.

What's a steroid med?

Here is a link to help understand more about steroids

___________________________________
https://familydoctor.org/how-to-stop-steroid-medicines-safely/

Steroids are a type of medicine with strong anti-inflammatory effects. They help to reduce redness, swelling, and soreness. They come in pill form, as inhalers or nasal sprays, and as creams and ointments.
Your body naturally makes steroids by itself. When your body is under stress, such as infection or surgery, it makes extra steroids.

_________________________________________________________

Steroids (mainly overuse) can have bad side effects on your body and need to be reduced slowly.

Here is a link to help understand more about steroids

___________________________________
https://familydoctor.org/how-to-stop-steroid-medicines-safely/

Steroids are a type of medicine with strong anti-inflammatory effects. They help to reduce redness, swelling, and soreness. They come in pill form, as inhalers or nasal sprays, and as creams and ointments.
Your body naturally makes steroids by itself. When your body is under stress, such as infection or surgery, it makes extra steroids.

_________________________________________________________

Steroids (mainly overuse) can have bad side effects on your body and need to be reduced slowly.

Thank you Foggy.

In my house during the summer it's always bug city and addition to yellow jackets I get little flies but one insect Mom and I dislike is horseflies and they are so annoying that Mom and I have to go through tons of bug spray and we usually get them sometimes because our next door neighbor has goats and lambs and sheep and the horseflies like to rest in the goat manure. I also have gotten frogs too and we usually get frogs during storms and rain but our cats used to eat frogs until they would get stomach pains and runny bowel movements but we don't get that many frogs anymore
Bestie