At 13:18 -0500 9/14/98, TD wrote:
>I had noticed that my hive has been rather feisty as of late and was
>perplexed until I opened my hive the other day and was attacked by a
>yellow jacket!
>I looked inside for evidence of bee slaughter, and found a couple of dead
>bees with their abdomen removed. What can I do to beat off these pest
>before winter sets in (I'm up in Vermont, so I have less than a month to
>the first frost in my area. Some regions have already had a frost) and
>shore up the colony.
>
>Should I feed the hives to help the recoup from these attacks?
 
I've had Yellow jacket problems here in Southern California. My soluton is
the following.
 
1) Close up the entrance to the hive so there is a smaller opening for the
bees to defend. You must be careful of the temperatures though. If it gets
really hot, open things up for ventilation.
 
2) Use yellow jacket traps. You can get these at Home Depot. They have a
bait repository at the bottom with holes in it for the yellow jackets to
enter. Above the bait is an inverted cone and a cover that traps the yellow
jackets as they leave the bait. These things can fill up in a few days. I
use pieces of hot dog for bait and hang the traps on the hives. The bees
will not enter them.
 
3) Feed the hive, but you must be careful that the yellow jackets do not
overwhelm the bees to get to the food. This has happened to me with an
entrance feeder. Again, reducing the entrance size makes it easier for the
bees to defend themselves.
 
Paul