# Yellow Jackets: How to deal with them!



## The Mogur (Mar 1, 2010)

I've been reading the threads dealing with yellow jackets in the campsites along the Salmon River, and it is clear that the problem is worse than it has been in many years, probably due to a mild winter. Whatever the cause, there actually is a pretty easy and effective way to deal with them.

My solution for yellow jackets is to have some pieces of cooked chicken--backs, necks, wings, whatever. Get a bucket of water and squirt a little bit of dishwashing soap into it. Set the bucket 30-40 feet away from your kitchen. Hang the chicken a few inches above the water (use wire and secure it well). The yellow jackets will be drawn to the chicken in swarms, and they're such gluttons they'll eat until they can't fly. They'll drop into the water, and because of the soap, they'll sink and drown. 

You can clean out entire nests in a matter of hours this way. I've left heaps of dead yellow jackets wherever I've used this--bushels of them sometimes. Forget the little traps from the store. This really works! 

It draws them away from where you are, and it wipes them out.


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## Mtroserider (May 11, 2011)

Thanks Mogur, Sounds like an easy and effective way to deal with the YJs. We have a group putting on the Main on Sept. 16 and will be using this technique.


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## captishmael (Feb 8, 2008)

Can't wait to try it!


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## The Mogur (Mar 1, 2010)

It is really gratifying to watch the gluttonous bastards fight each other in order to eat themselves to death.


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## colorado_steve (May 1, 2011)

great info!

gotta love the buzz


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## -k- (Jul 15, 2005)

Does it catch bears too?


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## verendus (Nov 4, 2012)

Here's a trap I built for the recent trip. Drum stick, a piece of ham, corn on the cob, etc. but, chicken works the best somehow. Within a matter of a few hours, you can take out half the colony. Depending on how big the colony is, you can set up a few around the campsite. Don't even bother with the commercial traps with a tiny bag. By the end of the day, I had about 5-600 dead yj floating in the soapy water.


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## Stiff N' Wett (Feb 18, 2010)

Sounds like a good feast you might find me face down in that tub!


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## Schutzie (Feb 5, 2013)

Hardy river rafters would substitute barbecue sauce for the soap and roast the little buggers for a tasty late night snack.

They can also be added to morning taters for a surprisingly sharp morning pick me up!


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## catwoman (Jun 22, 2009)

The YJs were no picnic on Lodore last week. No one was stung, but this idea was considered just so we could cook and eat in peace. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.


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## Stiff N' Wett (Feb 18, 2010)

What camps on lodore we are launching in a few weeks?


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## catwoman (Jun 22, 2009)

Stiff,
We camped at Pot Creek 1, Limestone, and Jones Hole 3. It seemed to me like pot Creek was worst - but that might just be because it was our night to make dinner. They were present at all of them in enough numbers to cause some arm flapping. Not swarms of 100's, but definitely 25-50 YJs very interested in the kitchen happenings and beer cans. If you have a choice, Jones Hole 4 looked like the best beach of those camps - the rest of the Jones camps were rocky because of the low water.


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## mcfarrel (Apr 1, 2006)

We had a lot of them show up at rippling brook not tons but quite a few... We were also cooking chicken fajitas so maybe that attracted them?


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

Thanks for saving me some cash. Theyre bad around my house and I havent been able to remember to buy the traps when I'm in town. I'll try it this weekend.


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## LordTom (Aug 31, 2013)

I'm assuming "Yellow Jacket" is an Americanism for wasps or something similar.


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

Yellow jacket - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## LordTom (Aug 31, 2013)

Cheers dude... Very interesting.


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

dude?


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## captishmael (Feb 8, 2008)

LordTom said:


> I'm assuming "Yellow Jacket" is an Americanism for wasps or something similar.


yellow jacket
noun
North American informal
a wasp or hornet.

Right out of the Oxford English Dictionary. Where are you from Lord?


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

I think we've got a beautiful example of how we're "two nations divided by a common language." LordTom's info says "Rochester, Kent, UK" right under his name.


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

Look out! The Red Coats are coming!!!!!


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## LordTom (Aug 31, 2013)

Yeah I'm from the south east of England. Thought I'd check up on the colonies and see how the paddlers are and whether there are killer wasps on the loose.


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

*Avatar*

Hey Lord here's a yellow jacket for your avatar. It will make you stand out when you post.


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## LordTom (Aug 31, 2013)

Thanks but I'll stick with my pic for now. It's an old one but I like it. Where would you guys recommend paddling over your side of the pond. Thinking of travelling over in a while.


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## LordTom (Aug 31, 2013)

I should specify I'm plannin on going to comicon in San Diego so somewhere around that area if possible. No more than a few hours drive.


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

Everyone here will insist that their area is best. The only thing we will all agree on is that if you can get on a Grand Canyon trip you should.


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## captishmael (Feb 8, 2008)

Probably ought to start a new thread, asking where to go and why. Let 'em know how much time you have, what kind of water you like, etc. Then stand back and watch the sparks fly. Oh yeah, wherever you go, watch out for the Yellow Jackets, carnivorous little Bastards


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

No YJ's on the Grand just Africanized Honey Bees, Fire Ants, Scorpions and Rattle Snakes.


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## LordTom (Aug 31, 2013)

Ooh poisonous and bitey. My favourites lol


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## leo_amore (May 30, 2006)

We got back from Lodore this afternoon....yellow Jacket swarms at Rippling Brook 2, to the point where my wife and son retreated to the tent immediately after dinner. They were bad but no one stung. The traps described earlier might just wipe out those colonies or at least reduce to what nature intended. we had a few at most campsites, but RB2 was by far the worst. Other than that, we had skunks at JH 1 come through sometime during the night and found a clean camp and left without a sighting but did leave a hint of their being there~~~~~~


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

I guess it would be totally out of line to suggest that each group leave their traps on the beach and that the next group could pick up the full ones and leave new ones.


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## dave skovgaard (Jun 25, 2007)

*YELLOW JACKETS GONE WILD! BOOZER WASPS*

:lol:While on the MF last week I spilled a few drops of apple whisky on the table at camp. The little bastards seemed to love it so we poured out some more and made a little whisky river across the roll table. They pretty much ignored all the other food and drink and swarmed the sweet whiskey. Soon they were so intoxicated they were aggressively buzzing around the pools of whiskey like kids driving their dad's 69 Camaro on a Friday night. Several fights broke out. There were head on collisions with nearby trees and other objects on the table. Some simply were to drunk to fly and fell to the dirt in an alcoholic haze. This continued all night, the boozer wasps way out partying our group. There were several deaths.

The next morning, we noticed many of the wasps never went home and were still at the bar. They were all huddled together trying to stay warm singing Whiskey river Don't Run Dry by Willie Nelson. Several wasps were laying on their backs, wings barely moving. Their little wasp heads lying in little pools of wasp vomit. There was a small group of rafter wasps in the corner making fun of each others sexuality and telling each other they had pretty mouths and humming dueling banjos.

True story. We set up a yellow jacket bar every night for the rest of the trip.


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

David Miller said:


> I guess it would be totally out of line to suggest that each group leave their traps on the beach and that the next group could pick up the full ones and leave new ones.


I'm sure the bears, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and chupacabras would appreciate you leaving your setup out for them!


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

I did it at my house. Worked great. But the dogs try to get the chicken. 
I also found another method that works well too. 
Leave a little pop in the bottom of a plastic bottle. Cut the top off and invert it inside the bottom part so it makes an upside down funnel. The little bastards will fly in to get the sugar but cant get out.


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## captishmael (Feb 8, 2008)

So it's all getting clear now.

Soda bottle, inverted top, apple whiskey inside.

What's the proof of your whiskey? I'm guessing that if it's too strong the little buggers wouldn't drink. Too weak and it would be like, oh I don't know, pointless, like light beer.


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

No indeed
I would never waste good (or even bad) whiskey by mixing it with anything but ice or feeding it to bees.
However, I do have a pretty funny story about a drunken mouse that I caught in a jar that had a little bit of whiskey left in the bottom.


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## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

LordTom said:


> I should specify I'm plannin on going to comicon in San Diego so somewhere around that area if possible. No more than a few hours drive.


Ha ha, totally sounds like the plot from the movie Paul but replacing alien tourist sites with kayaking


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## duct tape (Aug 25, 2009)

The Mogur said:


> I've been reading the threads dealing with yellow jackets in the campsites along the Salmon River, and it is clear that the problem is worse than it has been in many years, probably due to a mild winter. Whatever the cause, there actually is a pretty easy and effective way to deal with them.
> 
> My solution for yellow jackets is to have some pieces of cooked chicken--backs, necks, wings, whatever. Get a bucket of water and squirt a little bit of dishwashing soap into it. Set the bucket 30-40 feet away from your kitchen. Hang the chicken a few inches above the water (use wire and secure it well). The yellow jackets will be drawn to the chicken in swarms, and they're such gluttons they'll eat until they can't fly. They'll drop into the water, and because of the soap, they'll sink and drown.
> 
> ...


Digging up an old thread from last year for a practical question, since I'm on the Salmon this summer.

The next morning, how do you remove chicken, wire, etc. (other than "gently") and do you reuse it or start with a new batch the next night. Assuming they're still on it, seems like a nice way to get stung.


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## The Mogur (Mar 1, 2010)

duct tape said:


> The next morning, how do you remove chicken, wire, etc. (other than "gently") and do you reuse it or start with a new batch the next night. Assuming they're still on it, seems like a nice way to get stung.


By morning, the bones will be picked clean. Besides, I think yellow jackets go to their nests at night. I've never had a problem with them in the morning. And cleaning up the trap is swamper's job, not yours.


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## rioperro (Jan 11, 2013)

I've had really good luck with dryer sheets. Clip one to the table, you can have one sticking out your pocket for personal protection. And they smell so good.


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## MOJO (Mar 21, 2014)

With all the pack in pack out rules! What do you do with the bucket of soap, water and bees for the lenght of your trip?


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## Sembob (Feb 27, 2014)

MOJO said:


> With all the pack in pack out rules! What do you do with the bucket of soap, water and bees for the lenght of your trip?


it would make sense to dump the water through your strainer then add the bees to your trash or ash can to be burned later that day.


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## cataraftgirl (Jun 5, 2009)

I'm just hoping that last summer was an anomaly. I've been doing the Main Salmon for about 10-12 years, and while yellow jackets are always present, they've never been the horrendous swarms that people were describing last summer. I wasn't able to go last summer due to injury, but my group went in late June/earlyJuly, and they reported no swarms or issues with yellow jackets. The only time we've had issues was in 2007 when we floated thru the fires. The smoke made them aggressive, but didn't increase their numbers. Fingers crossed that last year was a fluke.


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## David Miller (May 23, 2010)

Would like to hear a report from someone who has gone down this year. I launch June 19th and may want to bring a large screen tent. Thanks in advance.


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## sleighr (Nov 14, 2011)

As far as killin em at your house goes, Mogur is 100% right. They go to the nest at night. Traps capture adults and this is a good thing, but if you want rid of em for a longer time spend a few hours with a note pad and record comings and goings thru the day. Most of the time they will reveal where the nest is in this way. Then come back at midnight and attack the little buggers with fire or poison or just squash em if that is practical. Whichever is appropriate to the location of the nest. 
RE drunk bugs... we enjoyed watching them mop up the left overs in the margarita cans last summers GC trip.. They really do just sit there all night too drunk to fly home....


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