Sandra Alvey wrote:
>
>      Hi Folks,
>
>      My Dad asked me to find out what would tear up a wasp nest that was in
>      the ground in his yard.  What ever it was, was not afraid of the wasps
>      because the nest was torn to shreds.  My guess was a ground hog,
>      skunk, something along those lines.  Anyone have a more educated
>      answer for my Dad.
 
I would bet that your Dad is right about the skunk; probably it wasn't
a ground hog (woodchuck) because they are vegetable eaters.  Skunks
have long been a problem for some of my hives.  They come at night and
scratch the hive fronts until bees run out, which then get swatted and
eaten by the skunks.  Since they seem to love these stinging insects,
they probably have no trouble with ground dwelling yellow jackets
either, which are likely the wasps you refer to.
 
Incidentally, I now use carpet tacking strips to attach to the hive
fronts and bottom board entrances of hives getting skunk attention.
They have lots of small sharp tacks sticking through which are very
effective in stopping the bee swatting activity of skunks.
 
Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA