bees and bee spray.

[mpgo4th]

I have a huge yellow jacket nest in the base of a tree that is next to my coop. The bees have been getting my birds and they are getting worse. My plan tonight was to go out with bees spray and a flash light to spray into the entrance of the nest. It looked like they covered the entrance over with dirt for the night. I started moving the dirt around with my foot to find a hole to spray a "little" bee killer in it. Long story short, I uncovered the whole thing, ****** them off, freaked out and sprayed a whole can in their direction. Now I'm worried that my birds will get sick from the spray tomorrow or even eat dead poison filled bees. What should I do? I was thinking of just blocking them from the area but its in the middle of their run.

 

[Stacykins]

I have a huge yellow jacket nest in the base of a tree that is next to my coop. The bees have been getting my birds and they are getting worse. My plan tonight was to go out with bees spray and a flash light to spray into the entrance of the nest. It looked like they covered the entrance over with dirt for the night. I started moving the dirt around with my foot to find a hole to spray a "little" bee killer in it. Long story short, I uncovered the whole thing, ****** them off, freaked out and sprayed a whole can in their direction. Now I'm worried that my birds will get sick from the spray tomorrow or even eat dead poison filled bees. What should I do? I was thinking of just blocking them from the area but its in the middle of their run.

Just so you can be clear, bees are different than wasps and hornets. Your topic title mentions bees, but your post talks about wasps, and then bees again. Perhaps it would be good to be on the same page everywhere? Do you actually know what you have?

If you actually had honeybees chilling in your tree (they like cavities), I'd recommend contacting a professional beekeeper who can remove the hive and save the valuable pollinators. Wild honeybees are fantastic, they know how to survive and are worth quite a bit.

Since you've already sprayed the 'yellow jackets', then there isn't much you can do except block the area from your chickens to ensure they don't eat the poisoned insects. If you hadn't sprayed, there were other, less toxic methods to deal with the nest.

You also should have waited until just before dawn. That is when they are coldest and most inactive, meaning they'd be sluggish and unwilling to attack. Early evening, they're still warm from the day, and it isn't a smart time to tackle a nest.

 

[chikkenfriend]

I use wasp spray around our house. Have to, to keep from being over-run! And I'm super allergic.

What I do is pick up all the dead ones and throw them away. Then I hose down (flood) the areas that I sprayed.

I worried that I might poison my babies. It's been over a year and no issues. But again, I pick up, clean up, and hose down.

Good luck.

 

[mpgo4th]

Thanks. I will go hose the area down well. Around here they are called yellow jackets. They love in the ground and bite as well as sting. They stung my rooster and he scratched the feathers out around the sting. This left a little blood and the hens were picking at the area. I had to cover the red skin with blue coat to keep him from getting pecked. I'm sure these aren't honey bees. I know what they look like and the ones I've found wold don't really seem to bother anyone.

 

[chikkenfriend]

Thanks. I will go hose the area down well. Around here they are called yellow jackets. They love in the ground and bite as well as sting. They stung my rooster and he scratched the feathers out around the sting. This left a little blood and the hens were picking at the area. I had to cover the red skin with blue coat to keep him from getting pecked. I'm sure these aren't honey bees. I know what they look like and the ones I've found wold don't really seem to bother anyone.

Good idea on the blue coat. We always keep it handy.

I don't know where you are, but around here we have tons of wasps, hornets, honey bees and carpenter bees. The honey and carpenters are not an issue. In fact, the chickens love the carpenters. Poor things, when they patrol too low, my girls snatch them out of the air!

We got tons of bugs! Scorpions and Brown Recluses in the house. We do as much organic as we can but it just isn't enough. Like the fire ants. We have orange peel extract, neem, you name it but they just move. But some organics work. The scorpions and spiders we take care of with organic slippers. No VOC's and no cholesterol.

Meet Georgina, Gladys, Bertha, Dorcas and Veruka. Our organic Pest Patrol Agents

 

[Silkies4life]

My husband was in the pest control business for 10 years and the absolute best thing to kill any wasps, hornets, bees, etc. is water and dawn dish soap. It "grounds" them instantly then kills them and it is non-toxic to all the animals and people.

 

[chikkenfriend]

My husband was in the pest control business for 10 years and the absolute best thing to kill any wasps, hornets, bees, etc. is water and dawn dish soap. It "grounds" them instantly then kills them and it is non-toxic to all the animals and people.

I read that somewhere. Tried it but didn't work for me. The nests around our house are usually pretty high. My sprayer didn't hit them. I buy that 20 foot 20,000 volt stuff now. The soap thing, and the neem and a couple of other things that my wife mixes up work on pests in the garden. It runs them out. Then either the chickens get them, I stomp them, or I drown them.

But the wasps are just too stubborn. Poison is the only thing that has worked. Well, that and motorcycle chain lube. Best stuff in the world! It doesn't kill them but it sticks to them like it sticks to my bike at 10,000 RPM's!!! It sure makes a mess, though.

I know, organic is best. And we try. And when I can, I kill the wasps with my flyswatter. But that's really dangerous for me. As I said, I'm extremely allergic.

All the best to ya