Bees in the ground [UPDATE] Tried to dig it up...

[Deer Heart]

I have never seen anything like it before. I don't know if anyone here has?

Basically I was walking at dusk and noticed a swarm of very small yellow bees swarming into a moderately large opening in the ground. After searching on google, I seem to get the impression it couldn't be bees? I found a solitary species of bees listed for this and other ones listed (but are listed as only active in spring. This is obviously not spring) most listings say that it could be hornets but I couldn't see any discernible black on the insects. They just looked like a swarm of yellow and yellow-brown. I even found myself accidentally standing in-front of their cloud at the start and they simply flew around me. Hundreds if not thousands of bees and not one sting.

But google and the style of nest implies hornets...

... the point of my conundrum is whether or not to bomb the hole, killing them all.
I don't want to kill harmless honey bees but... I have no idea if these are harmless, I almost stepped right on the opening. :|

UPDATE 12/19/15:

I tried to dig the nest up now that they finally all died (after being covered in bakeware fir a week and covered in garden dust)

and....



AND....




:x


So much more of it was still in the hole. I took my shovel and could only chip off chunks. Every time I stuck my shovel in the ground, it wobbled like jelly due to the comb.

See newest post for more pictures....

 

[Dood]

Need a body to identify but sounds like a yellow jacket nest.

Another way to identify is that bees are always "furry" while wasps and hornets are hairless and "smooth"

They will likey die once a good frost gets to them but a few queens usually manage to survive and will start the colony from scratch in the spring. <br /><br /> __________ Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:19 pm __________ <br /><br /> Just saw you are in Florida so they probably won't die out over winter

 

[a7736100]

You're very lucky you didn't get stung. I once step on a Yellow Jacket nest and got stung several times on my head. Lucky I was able to drive myself to the hospital in time before the allergic reaction went too far.

 

[Miss M]

Very likely yellow jackets.

 

[Preitler]

Most likely wasps. Got stung twice this year because of stepping on the nests. I have hornets here too, but I actually like these - big, noisy, hard to miss. They are far less aggressive and don't mess with your food, drinks etc. And they hunt lots of stuff I don't really like, like wasps...

 

[Ramjet]

Could be either hornets or yellow jackets , both will build large nests in the ground - 3000+ individuals .... both feed on other insects and can destroy a bee hive in short order. They can also sting multiple times , unlike bees.

I wouldn't want them around .... especially around children.

 

[Rabbitdog]

. I even found myself accidentally standing in-front of their cloud at the start and they simply flew around me. Hundreds if not thousands of bees and not one sting.

I don't want to kill harmless honey bees but... I have no idea if these are harmless, I almost stepped right on the opening. :|

Not sure what they are but I can tell you what they are NOT.
DEFINITELY not yellow jackets. They don't pile that muddy looking substance around the entrance. Also, I guarantee you that you couldn't stand at the entrance to a yellow jackets colony and NOT get stung multiple times. They are AGGRESSIVE!
Also, I can assure you they are not european honeybees! Probably should catch one and post a pic.

 

[Ramjet]

Also, I can assure you they are not european honeybees! Probably should catch one and post a pic.

Probably should leave them alone so as not to get stung ..... many times.

About the only thing I'd do is cover the hole with something similar to plaster of paris.

 

[Rabbitdog]

Also, I can assure you they are not european honeybees! Probably should catch one and post a pic.

Probably should leave them alone so as not to get stung ..... many times.

About the only thing I'd do is cover the hole with something similar to plaster of paris.

Yeah, just leave them alone and wait until a child or your pet gets into them. Then, tell your child and your pet to leave them alone. Much like terrorists .... just leave them alone. Sounds like a plan to me!

 

[funnies50]

The opening looks kinda like yellowjackets, buuuut...
You should probably cover the opening with something. Anything, lol. :lol:
Stay safe :x

 

[michaels4gardens]

most bees that make their home in the ground are aggressive if they are disturbed, -- and the ones that are about honeybee size but more yellow, [we called them meat bees because they storm sandwiches, and any meat left outdoors] can cause severe infections, and or blood poisoning when you are stung,and bitten, depending on what they have been eating before they bit a chunk out of you..

 

[Ramjet]

Also, I can assure you they are not european honeybees! Probably should catch one and post a pic.

Probably should leave them alone so as not to get stung ..... many times.

About the only thing I'd do is cover the hole with something similar to plaster of paris.

Yeah, just leave them alone and wait until a child or your pet gets into them. Then, tell your child and your pet to leave them alone. Much like terrorists .... just leave them alone. Sounds like a plan to me!

Well , I did say seal them in .... which is the least invasive way of dealing with them.

 

[Preitler]

most bees that make their home in the ground are aggressive if they are disturbed, -- and the ones that are about honeybee size but more yellow, [we called them meat bees because they storm sandwiches, and any meat left outdoors] can cause severe infections, and or blood poisoning when you are stung,and bitten, depending on what they have been eating before they bit a chunk out of you..

Ahm, imho what you call meat bees are wasps, which you also call yellow jackets (=several species of wasps).

Bees can't really bite, and sting only once (you'll find sting and poison gland left in the wound. Pull it out asap without pinching the gland). They have no interest in meat, but like sweet stuff.

Even wasps do not bite, but sting, never heard of infections but quite heavy reactions to the sting, especially when allergic. Bacterial infections can happen by scratching.
Normally a wasp sting is, after the initial pain, an itching nuissance for a few days. In my experience, bee stings don't itch that much.

It is life threatening if a wasp or bee is swallowed and stings in the back of the mouth. That's why I like hornets: Wasps will not build a nest close to a hornets nest, you can even buy fake hornet nestes to drive off wasps.

 

[michaels4gardens]

Yellow jackets sting and bite, and can do so numerous times in a second or two,

Yellowjackets are more aggressive than other stinging insects such as wasps, hornets, mud daubers or bees. Yellowjackets can sting and bite. Since they don't lose their stinger, they can sting numerous times, and will do so unprovoked. Yellowjackets vigorously defend their nests.
RESCUE!® - Yellowjackets
www.rescue.com/bug/yellowjackets

from the university of Vermont, http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/yellowj.html

Maintaining your composure around yellowjackets, or if they land on you, also can help prevent stings. Move slowly and keep calm. Swatting or other fast movement can agitate them, provoking stings and even bites. Yes, they can even bite! Slowly brush them off, or waiting until they fly off on their own, is better than hitting or constraining them. Squashing a yellowjacket also releases a chemical alarm that signals others to the area to attack!

I know that there are numerous websites, some of them from universities, [like the university of Florida] who state that Yellow jackets do not bite, -- but anyone who has had an encounter with a nest of them [the biting kind] can find out quick-and attest that,-- some species do indeed bite, and can leave 1/4 inch square pieces of tissue missing from your body in hundreds of places in a few seconds, as well as stinging you at the same time... [I have been there myself , and it can be quite traumatizing, and very painful ]

 

[Preitler]

Hm, of course I only know the european species, some of them you have over there too, and watching them chewing off a piece of meat makes you think this is a very effective way to die if biting something living, what I can imagine is that they bite to get a good hold to place the sting.

But where we have lizards and ring snakes in our swamps you have alligators and boa constrictors , what do I know of your wildlife over there.

If I notice a wasps nest I back up slowly and put a mental "MINE!" sign there, but normally I notice it only after being stung :? , when they are not close to their nest they are much less aggressive.

 

[FourRingCircus]

I vote gas and a match

We have had a few yellow jackets nests... the last one I mowed over at least twice with no issue (crazy, huh?? No one could figure out how I came out unscathed)... just an hour or so later the donkey in the pasture got out and stepped in the hole. He was going crazy so our neighbor/tenant went to check it out and got stung a bunch of times as well. Those suckers hurt. I wasn't home so DH's cousin torched it for us.

 

[Deer Heart]

So it is definitely some sort of not-a-bee. I went back today around noon with backup to check it out, we noted almost immediately they were swarming around aggressively without anyone being anywhere near the nest (we were only just close enough to see the bugs flying around, about 30 paces). Then a braver-soul-than-me inched closer than I was about to for a better look. He got close enough they were buzzing around his head. He says yellow jackets.

We do not close on this property until the end of this month. First order of business after we close is to now kill the entire nest as we can't get anything done safely as long as it is there. It's not just a hazard, but it is a deadly hazard.

I've been told that gasoline would asphyxiate the entire nest if it is poured down and the hole covered with something solid, I'm not sure how accurate or safe that is. I just imagine infuriated gas-covered bugs trying to murder us. That and pouring gas in the ground seems unsafe in general.

Also haha so many strong opinions on this. You guys are great, sounds like I'm not the only one who has ever had to deal with such terrifying creatures.

 

[Miss M]

Gasoline is fast and effective. You just have a little work to do to set up.

My uncle discovered a yellow jacket nest in his front garden a few years ago. He set up an 8' ladder nearby after dark, when the nest was quiet. A little later, he took a long piece of gutter, and leaned one end on the ladder, and then carefully placed the other end right in front of the entry to the nest. When the gutter landed there at the opening, a single yellow jacket popped up about 2' into the air, looked around, and then went back down.

A while later, he took a gas can and slowly approached and climbed the ladder. He quickly poured the gas down the gutter (it was a good bit of it). Yellow jackets immediately started crawling out of the nest in droves, trying to get away from the gas. Once he was finished pouring, my uncle quickly got down and ran around to the back of the house, where he came inside (the nest was right next to the front door). No yellow jackets even seemed to notice him. They were way too preoccupied with the gasoline.

I had a flashlight trained on the hole (from inside the house, through a window) as he poured the gas. It was unnerving seeing them all coming out, and I was afraid this was a big mistake and my uncle was going to get seriously hurt. Instead, they crawled and writhed in misery, dying within minutes. I don't think a single one of them flew.

That was the end of the nest.

 

[Homer]

Gasoline is fast and effective. ...

Yes it is. When I was a kid we use to put gas in our squirt guns and shoot them right out of the air with it. They would fold up in mid air and hit the ground dead. (yea I use to run with scissors too.)

 

[Bunny-Wan Kenobi]

Gasoline is fast and effective. ...

Yes it is. When I was a kid we use to put gas in our squirt guns and shoot them right out of the air with it. They would fold up in mid air and hit the ground dead. (yea I use to run with scissors too.)

:rotfl: