yellow jackets/wasps

TheTexan · 09-23-2003, 04:20 PM

Anyone have any good tips on dealing with these critters in hunting camp or after a kill? They are everywhere this year!

skein · 09-23-2003, 04:31 PM

We put out home-made bee traps. Here's how:

Fill an aluminum pie plate full of water and add some Lemon Joy dish soap. Cover a piece of meat with tinfoil, like a tent, and hang it a couple of inches over the water. They will climb under the foil, chew off a chunk of meat and fall into the water trying to fly with it. The dish soap will kill them dead in seconds.

Three or four pans will make a huge difference around your camp. You will also notice the pans that are getting the most action, so place most of them on that side of camp - must be the nest side.

As for the kill site, drag the gut pile as far away from your animal as possible. They will focus on that. You'll still have them, just not as bad.

That's my technique, but I'm always interested in what others do.

Skein

dla · 09-23-2003, 05:11 PM

First of all, don't gut.

Secondly, other than competing for my lunch they aren't much of a problem. Maybe it's just me, but they don't bother me.

I've had them all around when quartering an Elk. They're always trying to saw off a hunk a of meat and fly away. The good thing is that they also like to eat flies. The only time I've ever been stung is when I squash one or wander in on a nest.

Killertraylor · 09-23-2003, 06:03 PM

I say Kill em' all! I hate working on an animal or even fish with yellowjackets around. I've done what Skein does with success although I never thought to use the foil - the foil is a great idea - keeps them on the bottom of the meat. I try to use rotten meat or tenderize it good so they fall off easy with a chunk.

For flies, get a quart mason jar and put a stinky little peice of meat in the bottom. Use a nail and put holes in the lid so that the jagged edges go into the jar - they can't climb back out that way. This gets kind of gross after awhile as the dead flies attract more flies and after a while you've got a whole jar full of dead soupy flies! :shocked: Haven't tried this on yellowjackets, but it might work.

nitrobass · 09-23-2003, 08:42 PM

Similar to Skein's idea...this is our version of camp tv.

Take a 5 gallon bucket(or similar container) and fill it part way with water and add some dish soap. The glycerin in the soap coats their wings and they drown quickly. We take a piece of meat and tie string through it, then hang it from a piece of wood over the bucket. You watch the greedy little monsters take more than they should, then fall into the water and its lights out. You can really clean out a nest quickly. Fried chicken works great too, also apples. I like to hang an apple from some string from a limb and sit 10 feet away with a BB gun and fire away on them. Sometimes you hit them and they just disappear.

I was stung SO many times as a kid that I still love getting a little revenge on those things.

On my elk kill Sunday they were really thick and we managed to get our work done with one sting to my buddy's wrist.

Old Coot · 09-24-2003, 09:11 AM

Just a cautionary note - At the ripe old age of 54 I stepped on a yellowjacket barefoot. No big deal, I thought, just another sting to add to the dozens and dozens of previous stings.

Five minutes later, I felt a wave of heat move up my body, starting at my foot and slowly rising, taking about 15 seconds to get to the top of my head. My wife and son stood staring open-mouthed, because I was turning lobster red as the heat wave moved up. Then, I began a whole-body itch. 20 minutes later I was on the way to the Emergency Room, having great difficulty breathing because my chest and diaphragm muscles were in spasm.

Long story short, somewhere between my last two stings I developed a severe allergy to bee/yellowjacket/hornet venom. The cautionary part is that I had just returned from a Boy Scout backpacking trip through Black Canyon, conveniently located a three-hour hike and top-speed two hour drive from anywhere. My physician told me that had I been stung down in there, I would be dead.

I now have bee kits stashed everywhere, at home, in my cars, in my buddy's truck, in my vest, et al. But, I never gave anaphylactic shock a thought until it happened to me. That stuff happens to other people, and I had been stung before. Lots of times.

Turns out that the sensitivity can develop at any age, and does not necessarily come on gradually. Many tmes you get stung and, nothing. Then, one more sting and WHAM! You are in deep stuff.

I am not a physician, I am not prescribing, but I sure do suggest it might be wise to tuck some benedryl or similar antihistamine in your gear this fall, to be carried in your pockets, for you or your partners. This is the quick first-aid medicine, the allergic symptoms are apparently a response to histamines. I've developed a fondness for Claritin Redi-tabs because they dissolve the instant they hit your tongue and get the ingredients into your body right now. Both are available over-the-counter.

Mods, if you feel this post should not be allowed to stand because of the medical recommendation from an unqualified person, please remove it. Any physician who sees something in error, please correct it or contact the moderators.

[ 09-24-2003, 10:15 AM: Message edited by: Old Coot ]

Norm · 09-24-2003, 10:46 AM

They can be a pain when your working on hanging meat. A little vinegar and lemon pepper on the meat helps a little. I usually just wear a heavy set of gloves and a long sleeve jacket.

Rusty · 09-24-2003, 03:52 PM

Here is a neat trick I learned many years ago while hunting in the Heppner Unit.

PAM

What am I talking about? Am I "crazy"? Maybe, but listen up.

Simply spray good old PAM, the cooking spray, liberally on the carcass and around the skinning or gutting area. NO MORE BEES. Don't believe me, think I'm a nut case, well maybe I am, but...I don't have any trouble with bees

once I bring out the PAM.

Why does it work? What don't the bees like about it? I DON'T KNOW! It just works. Try it yourself, what do you have to lose?

If you have similar success stories with PAM, please "back me up" as I may need it after this post.

Rusty

[ 09-24-2003, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Rusty ]

biederboat · 09-24-2003, 07:05 PM

To say the least they are a little bothersome but I have to say that I came back to a monster muley (skinned) to GOBS of them and I just minded my own business and they minded there's. I may pack some pam though to try. And I will take some benedryl!

If you can drag the carcass out with the hide on in the morning, great, not much of a bee problem. Once you're in camp, a sack over the meat takes care of the problem.

Biederboat

feisty's wife · 09-25-2003, 01:14 AM

I learned in my recent first aid qualification course that you can carry a vial of Epinephrine with you when hunting, self administration is nothing, any Dr. will give a prescription for it when you tell them of your concern r/e yellow jackets, I got some, and carry it when hunting, for myself, or others, if needed, with permission, of course.

skeezer · 09-25-2003, 07:35 PM

last year we had about ten of the trps you buy in the store and when we started hanging deer the most you would see is a dozen bees , but the traps had to be dumped acouple times during the 9 days of our hunting trip....

StickFish · 09-26-2003, 04:46 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Killertraylor:
[qb] I say Kill em' all!

I'd totally agree with that statement. We have found that wasp traps work well. But my favorite is finding the nest. If its in a log a high power rifle really ruins their nest. Paper nest in a tree, shotgun. Ground nest, about a cup or two of gasoline and a match. Me and yeller jackets well heck we don't see eye to eye, they hate me and I HATE them. I've been told I'm a touch of a fanatic with my baseball cap around yeller jackets, but heck eventually I connect and they become a smear on the ground.

[ 09-26-2003, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: StickFish ]

Rusty · 09-28-2003, 01:49 PM

I am surprised that no one else has picked up on the PAM spray idea. If you have tried this trick before, please let me know if it worked as well for you as it has for me.

Rusty

Sixpack · 09-30-2003, 09:19 PM

StickFish...I agree the gas and match work well for ground nest, but be careful not to encourage this method in the dry woods....Some people don't have the experience or common sense to avoid mixing fire and dry forest fuels.

skein · 10-01-2003, 04:48 AM

Actually the gas alone will work. I've taken out many nests with just a cup of gas down the hole - and never light it. The petroleum fumes will kill them. If you do it at night, you will get almost all of them. No matches required!

Old Coot and Feisty,

Good info on the Claritin and Epinephrine, That could save a life - really.

Rusty,

PAM, eh? Okay, I'll try it when I get my buck this weekend and report back. :grin:

Skein

tailchaser · 10-01-2003, 06:46 AM

One of the best tricks I know of while taking care of an animal is to have a gallon jar of vinegar with you. This is used best to keep the flys and bees off of your animal while it's hanging. When you skin the animal wipe it down with a rag doused in the vinegar. It not only leaves a nice sheen over the top of your meat, but it gets rid of the excess blood on top, and also detours all insects from coming to take a piece of it or lay eggs. It doesn't effect the taste at all and you loose the top layer of the meat anyhow after it dries. I was absolutely amazed by how clean everything turned out the first time I did it and had zero problems with the insects with it hanging in camp. I'll do it every time when I have the chance.

tc

StickFish · 10-01-2003, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sixpack:
StickFish...I agree the gas and match work well for ground nest, but be careful not to encourage this method in the dry woods....Some people don't have the experience or common sense to avoid mixing fire and dry forest fuels.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Quite right Sixpack. Please use COMMON sense whenever fire is involved.

ScottD · 10-01-2003, 06:12 PM

My dog and I got stung last weekend while pheasant hunting. I took my boss's son out to the release site with my dog. I wasn't hunting, just running the dog for the kid. Well, Skeeter stuck his nose into a nest in the ground and the bees immediately covered him. I tried scraping them off of him with my hat but they were really holding on in his fur. I had to just grab them and squish them with my fingers. I only got stung once, and I think must have been stung at least 5 times. (I don't think the ones on his body got through his hair, but I know he got stung on his feet and his snout).

I plan to go out there with my 12 ga this Friday and unloading a few rounds into them. Maybe I'll try the cup of gas thing instead.

tailchaser · 10-03-2003, 01:03 PM

Pepper will work, but you need a lot of it to do the job. The problem is exposed spots that don't have pepper will be munched on still.

tc

fishingfirst · 10-03-2003, 02:50 PM

I agree with Tailchaser on the vinegar. I usually put 1-2 cups per gallon of water and wipe the animal down liberally. Works great to keep the bugs away, and clean a little better. The meat cutters are very appreciative.

Good luck this weekend.
Scott

Sturgeon King · 10-03-2003, 11:58 PM

I have heard that after your meat is hanging and covered with cheese cloth, sprinkle ground pepper all over cheese cloth. This is supposed to detour yellow jackets. Anyone else able to back up what I've heard?

~SK~