Yellowjackets

[ckcarr]

Anyone else ever have this problem?

The last two days the yellow jackets have become increasingly aggressive. I have my camera set up on the tripod, shoot for a bit. And then they surface... They start landing on my tripod, the camera, then lens... Then they get in my face and zoom back and forth really fast, left to right. Ha! Like they are daring me to fight.

This isn't a specific location, they seem to just find it, regardless. It reminds me of the end of summer when I lived in the mountains and they would get super aggressive, trying to get into your Coke cans, and all over your food...

Maybe I need to try wiping everything down with some kind of something? I was thinking Clorox wipes, or similar...

 

[AlanLichty]

Yikes - I am familiar with their behaviors in the mountains in late summer when they will land on your sandwich right as you are about to take a bite but I have not seen this around camera gear. Creepy thought.

This year has been exceptional for yellow jackets up here in the NW and my wife's traps have been catching tons of them but I have not been bothered by them when I have been out shooting in our garden. Maybe that just means the traps are doing their job.

Wipes might help. The worst it can do is not work and you are already there.....

 

[JimFox]

That's odd Craig, I haven't seen that. At least not here in SoCal. It doesn't sound like very fun behavior on their part.

 

[ckcarr]

Well, I'm thinking I need to wipe the gear down. I hate yellow jackets. I try and live and let live, but they are sort of like horse and deer flies. They are super aggressive... Out of the stinging insects in Utah they are number one for unprovoked attacks...

"Yellowjackets are more aggressive than other stinging insects such as wasps, hornets, mud daubers or bees.Yellowjackets can both sting and bite -- they will often bite to get a better grip to jab their stinger in. Since they don't lose their stinger, they can sting numerous times, and will do so unprovoked."

 

[Zeph]

My sympathies Craig, we have been besieged at our home and many neighbors both in town and in rural areas, have said that they have never seen these levels of populations before. They can be a benefit with unintended pollination and pest control, but these critters first priority is meat, whether your barbecue or other bugs.
We finally broke down and setup some pheromone traps, there are places on our property that we can’t venture into because of these little bastards. I’ve read that one nest can have 4 or 5 thousand, we have three known hives and I’ve heard the only way to really control them is to kill the queen. One technique is to put out traps in the early spring while the queens are looking for a nesting place, that will be our strategy next year. I’m all about sharing the natural world with wildlife but these insidious demons don’t share the concept.
The more fear you exhibit the more likely you will be stung...