Hummingbirds and yellowjackets

NancyNGA

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
The hummingbirds are just about ready to take off here, and the yellowjackets have started invading the feeder. Every so often I find a yellowjacket INSIDE the feeder floating. The opening is only 1/8 inch. :confused:

When I've watched, the yellowjackets seem to actually chase the hummers away. Is this possible, or was it a coincidence?

Have any of you had this problem? Any solution?

Probably too late for this year, but it happens every year at times.
 

My hummingbirds took off at the beginning of September and this year I've not had much problem with yellowjackets (thank goodness!) Maybe because it's been so dry up here. Two years ago had a major nest on my back hill under a rock. Took a lot to get rid of them. Aggressive little bastards. Had to spray the nest several times at night.
 
So you went after the nest. Hmmm... Have no idea where my YJ's are coming from.

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea just to put some sugar water out for the YJ's that is easier for them to get at than the feeder.:rolleyes:
 

Our hummingbirds have already left. I have a problem with yellow jackets getting inside the feeder as well as black ants all summer long. I also wish I had a solution for that. I'm not sure if the bees are actually chasing the birds away. Maybe the Hummers just don't like them around. I have noticed that sometimes the hummers don't even get along with their own kind.
 
So you went after the nest. Hmmm... Have no idea where my YJ's are coming from.

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea just to put some sugar water out for the YJ's that is easier for them to get at than the feeder.:rolleyes:

Yellowjackets are tough because they build underground or in tight spaces, in additional to under the eaves of a house. I just happened to notice one go in a hole under one of my landscaping rocks. Within weeks I had a massive hive under there. Made it difficult to walk too close to my waterfall feature.

Go to a hardware store. There are special traps you can get just for yellowjackets. Here's a simple trap you can make yourself. http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Yellow-Jacket-Bottle-Trap/
 
RUTH: Yes the ants. I've been lucky recently. The ants would get inside the feeder and get so fat they couldn't get out. The trick was to get a feeder that didn't leak and hang it from the ceiling of the porch. Once it leaks on the ground THEY WILL FIND WHERE IT'S COMING FROM! :D
 
Good morning to all-
Yes, I hate yellowjackets. The best way of dealing with them- once you've found the nest- is to pour a cup of gasoline down the hole, and then run away. Sprays don't get down in the nest itself- gasoline does.
Don't do this if the nest is close to plants you want to keep- gas kills just about everything it touches.
I don't like those little yellow bugs at all- good day to all- Ed
 
Good morning to all-
Yes, I hate yellowjackets. The best way of dealing with them- once you've found the nest- is to pour a cup of gasoline down the hole, and then run away. Sprays don't get down in the nest itself- gasoline does.
Don't do this if the nest is close to plants you want to keep- gas kills just about everything it touches.
I don't like those little yellow bugs at all- good day to all- Ed

I read a column from a guy who has dealt with them over the years. His recommended method was to go out at night, use indirect light from another person holding a flashlight, use a quick spray to take out the "guards" who sit at the edge of the nest, then dump a bunch of dirt over the hole. The bees will suffocate.

After I sprayed my nest, the following night I had the kitchen light on. The bees came to the window, attracted by the light since they couldn't go into the nest. It was creepy! Found a bunch of dead ones along my screen porch windows. But, I took out the nest. A few years earlier they built a nest under a juniper bush at the top of my driveway. No way to get them. My landscaper took care of them and then dug it out. Said it was massive. The good news is that the bees die (except for the queen) over the winter then nest somewhere else.

Sorry, I took this off-topic a bit as this obviously doesn't help with the problem of hummingbird feeders.
 
In August the Hummers were rushing to the feeders (3 ). Would sit on our swing & try to count them.
Yellow jacket & ants were using the feeders also.

I tried oiling the plastic flowers around the feeder openings,,,,,,,worked for awhile.

Last year I noticed one of my bird houses looked odd.
Looking closely at it realized it was covered in a hornet or yellow jacket nest!

Hubby used bee spray on it.
 
We had only 4 hummers this year. They fought like cats and dogs all summer. So much wasted energy.:) Hope they make it back next spring. The latest I ever saw one here was October 9th, two years ago. Probably passing through.
 
My hummingbirds took off at the beginning of September and this year I've not had much problem with yellowjackets (thank goodness!) Maybe because it's been so dry up here. Two years ago had a major nest on my back hill under a rock. Took a lot to get rid of them. Aggressive little bastards. Had to spray the nest several times at night.

Why would you get rid of them?
 
Why would you get rid of them?

For a long time I ignored it, but the nests became bigger and the bees more numerous. Yellowjackets are easily agitated. I worried that someone might inadvertently disturb the nest, especially a child or a landscaper. The one on my back hill was within 4' of the edge of my wall where just walking by you'd get bothered by them. The one at the top of my driveway was a hazard to anyone walking around the front of the car. I let them be as long as I could.
 
As a child had a brown wasp get under my dress, on my back.
It stung me as it walked down my back.

Have never been stung by a bald face hornet ( black with white on head ) ,,, watched one sting my father through his ball cap.
He sure did a Mexican Hat dance on that cap!

Yellow Jackets aren't fun to be around.
They have no discrimination over who they sting or where they sting.

Notice if you aren't wearing perfume or hair spray ,,they don't follow a person as much as some one with can of pop .
 
Why would you get rid of them?

Yellowjackets will come after you and sting if you walk near their nests. Most wasps and bees have to be trapped first before they sting. Don't know about hornets. I saw one hornet nest once hanging from a dead tree. Detoured around it.
 
Yellow jackets are attractive to the color yellow, so make sure the feeder is all red. Feeders also come with bee guards, which help. Just moving it a couple feet from where it is located now, sometimes helps. Also, into a shady area, since they prefer sun to shade.

Regarding nuisance ants, if they are getting into your feeder, just use a little bit of vaseline around the hook where it hangs. Ants will not cross it.
 
Regarding nuisance ants, if they are getting into your feeder, just use a little bit of vaseline around the hook where it hangs. Ants will not cross it.

I took duct tape and made it double sided, then wrapped it around the pole leading to the feeder. Never had another ant after that.
 
Bob - -We're only a relatively short distance north of you, in western, Maine (about 25 miles from N. Conway). We had a ton of hummingbirds here, in the Spring but when we returned, at the start of September, they were mostly gone, and also this Fall, we haven't seen any yellowjackets. One thing of interest has been the Downy Woodpeckers, who regularly drink from the hummingbird feeder. Something we haven't seen in previous years?
 
Bob - -We're only a relatively short distance north of you, in western, Maine (about 25 miles from N. Conway). We had a ton of hummingbirds here, in the Spring but when we returned, at the start of September, they were mostly gone, and also this Fall, we haven't seen any yellowjackets. One thing of interest has been the Downy Woodpeckers, who regularly drink from the hummingbird feeder. Something we haven't seen in previous years?

I've seen more Downy Woodpeckers this year than I can ever remember. They are all over my other bird feeders, but never bother with the hummingbird feeder. I have 8 feeders up on two poles, so the birds are well taken care of. I get a huge block of raw suet for the woodpeckers and they love it. I also made my own "bark butter" last year, which they devoured as soon as I put it up.
 
I only had trouble with one yellow jacket and he got me good. Didn't see him but once he stung me, I knew what it was! He stung my finger and it was swollen for several days! Their stings really burn!
 
I only had trouble with one yellow jacket and he got me good. Didn't see him but once he stung me, I knew what it was! He stung my finger and it was swollen for several days! Their stings really burn!

Had what I suspect was a queen sting my hand one time when I was cleaning out a gutter. There was lots of debris in one corner, so I reached my hand down there to dig it out. Really swelled up. Looked in the gutter and there it was, now dying after having stung me. Was very large compared to most that I see. Assume it was attempting to hibernate there over the winter.
 
As regards to ants in the hummingbird feeders - -our daughter purchased these small plastic cups (I think at a hardware store). They are outfitted with a hooking point. top and bottom. You just fill them with water and shouldn't have any ant problems after, at least we haven't.

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And Bob, at the suet blocks, we have some of the Hairy Woodpeckers in the mix. Look similar but the size difference is notable compared to the Downys . Also here in good numbers are the Nuthatches with their "upside down" approach.
 
And Bob, at the suet blocks, we have some of the Hairy Woodpeckers in the mix. Look similar but the size difference is notable compared to the Downys . Also here in good numbers are the Nuthatches with their "upside down" approach.

Yup, same here. Nuthatches, Carolina Wrens and sometimes chickadees hit the suet blocks. I get a big chunk from the meat aisle of the supermarket and put it in a cage. They are on there all day.
 


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