this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Environment
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People hate the common asshole wasp. Most people don't know that other nicer wasps exists ๐
Right. That small mud dauber, she's cool (even though she's probably hunting spiders to lay eggs in). The little yellow jacket that buzzes around the picnic, no big deal, I know you're just looking for food.
Those hornets who see you from a distance and go murder rage, you can just go to hell.
I'm no fan of those mostly harmless wasps that has a suicidal curiosity and no respect for personal space either. "Oh, look, lets land on this guys neck and tickle him until he tries to scratch it. THEN lets sting him." At least as a kid I could usually hear them sneaking up on me. Not so much anymore.
Until you step on their nest.
At my first house, long ago, I was mowing the lawn. I discovered a hole in theground, likely a leftover rabbit den. There were wasps flying in and out of it.
Stop the mower, go inside, get online, learn that wasps will build their nests in existing holes in the ground. Find a can of wasp killer with a nice long range, spray the hole as well as I can for a moment before they got super mad and I ran away like a baby.
Wait inside for about ten minutes so they forget about me. Go back outside, bring the garden hose over, and flood it out. While flooding, I don my motorcycle gear - helmet, jacket, boots, gloves. Now they're angry again, but I am able to pull the hose back. Spray the wasp killer again, run away again.
Ultimately, I had to just wait until the sun was setting and the temperature went down before I could finish mowing.
I know it's not exactly good for the environment, but I was taught to use gas or diesel as it basically suffocates them.
Now I know about the "industrial strength" shit I used when I was a groundskeeper that is instakill for them.
When I was young though I was riding a small 50cc dirt bike and fell over on a nest. Luckily it was near a body of water so I dove in, but damn, inches from death.
When I was still living at home, I once discovered a massive anthill near the house. Easily a foot and a half across, and rising above the ground four or five inches. Dug it out with a shovel and turned it over. Next day - it's fixed. Soaked it with gasoline and set it on fire. Next day - fixed. Doused with gasoline again, dug it out and turned it over, more gasoline, more digging, more gasoline, more fire. That finally did it.
They probably moved because their nests are quite deep. Like 10-20 feet. (3-6 meters for the everyone else.)
True enough, but even the docile bee isn't going to be nice in that case.