Meat Bees? Yellow Jackets?

[ChuckD]

Any sugestions on how keep these pesky things away from from food. Were headed up to the mountain tomorrow and it might be too cold for them now, but if it's not, any hints will do. TIA

 

[gearwhine]

open your palm, and start flailing your arms. Thats what I do at least. _nicko_

 

[ChuckD]

:banghead:

 

[TRNDRVR]

On your way through Prather, if you're going that way, stop at Longs and pick up a "Yellow Jacket" trap in the garden department. They work wonders.
Thanks,
Dan.

 

[Tucker]

I'll 2nd that ... get a trap. Not foolproof, you'll still get bees around but not nearly as many. We went camping/mild wheeling last weekend and the bees were out but not in force. Mosquitos were much worse.

 

[ChuckD]

On your way through Prather, if you're going that way, stop at Longs and pick up a "Yellow Jacket" trap in the garden department. They work wonders.
Thanks,
Dan.

Are you sure the longs isn't in the town of Auberry, at least that's what the zip code says. Did you live near Fresno before, or just take one of the great trails this way?

Thanks Dan and Tucker for the advise, I remember how bad they were last year. They sure do like roast beef!

 

[F. F.]

They like BBQ Salmon too

 

[TRNDRVR]

Are you sure the longs isn't in the town of Auberry, at least that's what the zip code says. Did you live near Fresno before, or just take one of the great trails this way?

Thanks Dan and Tucker for the advise, I remember how bad they were last year. They sure do like roast beef!

Longs is in Prather. It's in the shopping center with the Canyon Fork Market. Also, I have never lived there or taken any of the great trails. Would love to do the Dusy some day. My Mother & Father have lived in Auberry for the last 20 years or so. Been there lots of times needless to say. Have fun and good luck.
Thanks,
Dan.

 

[ChuckD]

I stand corrected, I thought at one time I was doing a map search to give somone dirtections to the Shopping center. I told them prather and they ended up going in circles and then at someones house. Oh well, I learned something.

BTW check out the Sierra Chapter, Aug 2&3 Swamp lake Run (many SoCal/Sierra Chpt members), then Dusy Aug 15-17. Maybe see you ther this year.

 

[GreenGhost]

The traps work very well, but DO NOT get any of that lure sent on you! That's a sure recipe for disaster. In a pinch, if you don't have traps on hand. Set out decoys before you start cooking/breaking out lunch. set 3-4 chunks out in different directions 20-30 ft out from where you're eating. This'll often keep 'em occupied and allow you to dine in relative peace.
In the "know your enemy" department: These little beasts can recognize mammalian faces, and target them when attacking. Most likely this is due to their main predators (bears and skunks) not being as thickly protected by fur in the face. The demons also "tag" you with a pheremone when they sting, which lets their buddies target you as well. This can last for weeks. One summer I got stung 3 times on my left ear and no where else. The stings were each several weeks apart. That's some targeting ability. Unlike honey bees which have barbed stingers allowing them to only sting once, yellow jackets have smooth stingers which they can extract from your hide and dose you as many times as they want. They also have a nasty bite, and can remove a sizable chunk of skin with their mandibles.
I worked summers on the Eldorado NF for several years, and if you ask anyone who spends a lot of time in the woods what beasts worry them while they're out there: yellow jackets, every time. Mountain lions, bears (no grizzlies in the Sierra anymore, so you might get a different answer in the Rockies), snattlerakes are a distant second.

 

[RichP]

We had to deal with them at Ft Dix in NJ and the sandy training areas at Ft Drum NY, they make their nests in the sand, would come out in force when the cooks were cooking regular meals and were a PIA, we'd get our trays and walk or drive out of the area. They never bothered us though when we broke out MRE's, smart bees.
Never seen the traps, they would have been a life saver. If the 1st shirt or mess sgt was on the ball he'd pop a few CS cannisters 1/4 mile upwind and about 300 yds across before setting up the mess trucks, that got rid of all the insects and critters in the area including the ticks for a few hours.

 

[JJ13]

If they do happen to bother you, change the arrangement of your table and chairs. It is proven that the yellow jackets stumble upon the food by accident and remember the location of the food by using landmarks. It is a myth that they locate things by smell, they are more sight oriented. In fact if you change the arrangement of stuff after the yellow jackets find it, you will see them return to the spot and circle repeatedly even if the food is only moved a couple feet.

 

[woody]

Dude... buy a 6 pack of mountain dew, open each can and drink or drain 1/2. set out on the perimiter of the campsite. I can't guaratee that all the meat bees will fall victim...but a bunch of them will. Warn small children nearby that those cans aren't for drinkin. JJ13 is correct they 'see' and remember locations of food. Don't be afraid to move the table (or cook site) but leave those cans stationary.

I am allergic as crap to yellow jackets & hornets...a faster way to bait them away suits me fine. Down here in the south we have Japanese Hornets...(Think mongo thumb-sized yellow jackets) and fortunately they seem pretty passive...

 

[19XJ96]

Get a coffee can and a coat hanger. At the top of the can put 2 holes on opposite sides of the can run the coat hanger through the holes fill the bottom of the coffee can with water hang a chicken drumstick (raw) from the coat hanger. Put far away from your food. They will keep eating that damn chicken till they are so heavy then they will fall into the water and presto dead bees

 

[ChuckD]

I like the cheap tricks to kill'em, with all these ideas start a camping best practices on the tech write-ups.

Fortunately this weekend there were no bees yet, but they'll be out there waiting. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!