Page 26 - Discover Summer 2023

Weeder’s
Remember, it never hurts to seek professional
advice. You can reach Bob Siren by email:
GardenGab@wslk880.com
www.facebook.com/Garden-Gab-on-WSLK
24 Discover Smith Mountain Lake SUMMER 2023
Digest
By Bob Siren
The recent warm winter may have been nice for our
electric bills, but unseasonably warm temperatures can
have unforeseen or atypical consequences on plants,
animals and insects.
Many plants, such as fruit trees, flowering shrubs, and
perennials need to experience a certain amount of winter
chill in order to set their flowers. Hibernating animals may
awaken too early before the food they rely on is available,
and cold winters also serve to control insect populations.
After a relatively warm winter, we may be inundated with
an overabundance of undesirables, such as ticks, fleas, and
as I've noticed, yellow jackets.
For those of us who are allergic to yellow jacket stings,
and who work or dawdle outside, it is of significant
importance to locate and eradicate their nests in order to
avoid accidentally triggering an attack by the hive. In the
spring, the queens that were born in the previous fall will
establish nests. These may be found in the ground, but
they could easily be located almost anywhere else for that
matter.
A queen would have mated with male wasps and then
over-wintered among yard debris. Once the weather is
warm enough, she'll begin laying female worker eggs,
and until they hatch she will hunt for food for them.
Wasps being meat eaters, she will collect small insects and
caterpillars. This is our best opportunity to take out the
nest, as she will soon lock herself in for the duration once
the workers are able to start collecting food.
As spring unfolds, the nest size increases gradually.
Up until a certain point, you may be able to mow over
or work around the nest and they won't come after you.
That changes when there are enough workers to mount
an attack. So just when you may be thinking that all was
ok, BANG! The queen sends out a pheromone instructing
them to attack and protect the hive.
While the hive will be dormant during the evening,
during daylight hours it is a constant hub of activity, as
the workers are coming and going steadily. The manic
activity bears a resemblance to the Death Star scenes from