24th August, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments
As if the sting of the Saddleback Catterpillar wasn’t enough, while walking to check on the blueberries recently I looked down just in time to watch my foot descend while my brain said “That looks like a hornet nest in the ground.” followed by the sound of crunching exoskeletons and the sharp pain of being stung on my leg. Evacuating the area with due haste, having been swarmed in the past, I attended the sting and returned to the investigate the nest.
If you’ve never seen a ground hornet nest it looks like a small hole in the ground maybe an inch to an inch and a half across, with a pile of dirt around the entrance. They are easy to spot, if one is looking for them and not stumbling blindly around the yard like I was, due to the flurry of activity that occurs between dawn and dusk. Get down low to the ground and look out across your lawn. Provided the nest is more than a few dozen individuals, there will be a small cloud of hornets around the nest as they fly in and out. This nest in particular was very active, counting over 50 hornets on the ground and in the air around the nest.
Usually I leave wasp and bees nests if they are in a location that where we will not bother one another and can live in harmony. This was not one of those cases, however, as the nest is in a direct line from my porch stairs to the blueberry bushes, a path my youngest daughter takes when she goes to get a snack. At two years old I can’t trust that she will remember and not wander over it accidentally.
This meant the nest had to be removed so I began searching for options of which there were many. Some suggested one of the chemical sprays on the market, other folks suggested pouring gasoline or diesel into the nest late at night and then setting it on fire, and others still used a method of mixing boiling hot water and dish soap together to then be doused onto the nest. This last option sounded like a nice pesticide free option and I went looking for recipes. That lead me to this:
Don’t try this if you cannot get away quickly or get a direct shot at the nest.
Also, don’t try this on a huge colony since you won’t be able to hit all the wasps or hornets and you will be attacked by the rest. (emphasis mine)
That last part and my previous experiences with ground hornets, including getting stung over a dozen times all over my body, the chemical-light method was abandoned and a can of Ortho Home Defense Max was chosen because it created a foaming barrier to help keep the hornets in the nest as it began to work. Late last night I doused the nest and a 10s of hornets were killed within a few moments. As the foam dissipated other individuals tried to return to the nest and also perished. The Ortho product was more effective than expected and was worth the $5 price tag for the ease of use and peace of mind in effectiveness.
Today I went back and checked on the nest at dawn and there was no activity of any kind and a pile of dead hornets all around the entrance. If no more activity is seen after another investigation tonight the nest will be considered destroyed.
Though I don’t like using pesticides and other toxic chemicals due to the impact they have on beneficial wildlife in my environment, there is a balance to be struck when choosing an appropriate technology to solve a problem. Though I used chemicals this year it serves as motivation to try to find a different solution going forward.
Be safe and enjoy your garden.
22nd August, 2010 - Posted by Scott - 2 Comments
This little guy, about an inch long in real life, is a Saddleback Caterpillar. They are of note for two reasons:
1. They are a general feeders that will munch on a wide variety of garden plants. In large numbers, which I’ve had this year, can defoliate a 3 year old blueberry bush in a matter of days. On doing a garden walk two weeks ago I noticed that all four of the blueberry bushes were in various states of becoming denuded. A cursory glance at noon didn’t reveal anything so I went ahead and started picking blueberries figuring I would find the predators in the early morning or late evening. That’s when it happened. I got stung.
2. The sting. I’ve been swarmed by ground hornets on several occasions, usually because I ran over a nest with a mower, hit by bumble bees, and fallen into thistle, to name a few ways I’ve been injured by nature’s bounty, and nothing compares to the stings I received from the Saddleback Caterpillar. I didn’t know what hit me but it hurt like the dickens. I rushed inside to wash my hand and check the damage, thinking I disturbed a wasp. There were three stings in total, that I could see, all clustered in the soft part of my hand between the thumb and forefinger. The pain was like an electrical current pulsing into my hand, and yes, I’ve electrocuted myself before too.
A rash raised up across the back of my hand. Application of ice took out the peak pain and a follow up with a topical anesthetic made it tolerable the rest of the day. The next morning the rash and pain were gone. Though it didn’t last long, it did incapacitate that hand while it lasted.
Control:
I have been hand picking them while wearing a heavy pair of leather gloves and then disposing of them. This has been fairly successful with only a moderate amount of work. Though I pulled over 40 off of the 4 bushes the first time out after discovering them, and recovered from the sting, in days since I have only picked another half dozen or so. Manual control looks to work well, is simple, and only takes a few minutes to accomplish.
From researching it a bit, it looks like they are susceptible to BT if you choose to dust or spray with it. Be advised, however, that BT will also kill butterflies.
However you choose to handle them, wear protective clothing and be careful. These little guys pack a powerful punch.
