8
in other words
august16
2018
Diggin’ in the Dirt: Yellow Jackets
By Chip Bubl
Oregon State University
Extension Service - Columbia County
Garden topics
Rhododendron leaves droop in
response to moisture stress. Most recover,
but some may wither if not watered soon
enough. Newly planted trees and shrubs
need particular irrigation attention now.
Fall webworm nests are show-
ing up. While the nests are large and vi-
sually disturbing, the caterpillars rarely
do lasting damage except on young,
growing trees. They can be removed
with a broom on a small tree and ig-
nored on an older one. The caterpillars
prefer walnuts, apples, cottonwoods, and
sometimes, alder. They are never as de-
structive as the western tent caterpillar
which is a spring problem.
Some other insect activity in-
cludes significant outbreak of alder
flea beetles. As they feed, the larva and
adults leave holes in the leaves. Their
populations are cyclic and we haven’t
seen them like this for a number of years.
Again, no treatment necessary.
Sunflowers rotate their growing
point during the day from east to west
and then rotate back east at night. This
is called heliotropic movement for you
botany fans and/or crossword puzzle en-
thusiasts. All this comes to a halt when
the flower buds form. Then, the plants
quit rotating and face east permanently.
Why east and not south or west? Why
stop? It turns out that flowers facing
east get five times the number of polli-
nator visits and that seems to be related
to higher morning temperatures of the
flower. Flowers forced to face west and
then heated artificially in the morning
received more visits than unheated flow-
ers. So, it appears, as always, it comes
down to reproductive success, which for
the sunflower means keeping the honey
and bumble bees happy the first thing in
the morning with a nice warm landing
pad.
If you are in an area that got hot,
you may see some sunburn on apples
and peppers. Usually it occurs on the
southwest side of the tree or plant.
Some “ester” herbicides includ-
ing triclopyr (Crossbow and others) and
ester lawn herbicides volatize and move
away from the target when it will be 80
degrees or higher even six hours after
spraying. Don’t use these products in
the weather we have been having! You
could damage your or your neighbor’s
plants. Symptoms are twisted
and “cupped” leaves. Tomatoes,
squash, beans, and grapes are very
sensitive.
Very high yellow jacket numbers
Last year we had very few
yellow jackets. This year, they are
thick and ornery. The difference? A
dry spring. Many insects that over-
winter here do better in dry springs.
Cold wet weather in April and May
curbs their enthusiasm for life and
love. That was 2017. This is 2018
and April and May were dry and
warm. They are bursting with joie
de vie. We are not happy. They are
intruding on these nice summer
evenings, attacking us if we acci-
dently step near a ground nest, and
generally making life miserable for
bees, pets, hummingbirds, and us.
But time has its revenge. Some species,
like the bald-faced hornet that makes
very large paper nests, only live for
about 125 days. Then their clock is rung,
Ms. Queen dies, newly pregnant queens
depart, and the workers are on their own
with no instructions. They wander off
and die. The nest is permanently aban-
doned and is destroyed by winter weath-
er. I have it on good authority from a guy
that collects live wasps for their venom
that most are already gone this year. The
pregnant queens survive under brush,
firewood piles, etc., waiting for another
warm spring. This general cycle is true
for all yellow jackets and hornets though
not the 125-day timing. Lower latitude
hornet nests are active longer.
But back to the present, I would
not want to be a bow hunter this August.
The yellow jackets will be there in force,
waiting for your intrusion near their
nests and the meat you might be working
up. It won’t be fun.
Ground nests are hard to find,
especially when there are lots of them.
Traps rarely work well enough and are
especially useless this year given the
high numbers. If you do find a ground
or paper nest that is causing a problem,
the aerosol “hornet and wasp killer”
products do a good job if you can spray
into the hole. I would leave high aerial
nests alone and let them die naturally in
the fall. The ground nest is also made of
paper in a cavity under the ground. If
the opening that leads to the actual nest
makes a bend, the aerosol may not work
as well. Otherwise, the spray is very
effective. Skunks, raccoons, and bear
hotline that you can reach Mon-
day through Friday from 9:00 am
to 4:00 pm at 1-800-354-7319.
You can download for free all our
food preservation publications
at http://extension.oregonstate.
edu/fch/food-preservation.
An
additional great resource is the
National Center for home Food
Preservation at http://www.uga.
edu/nchfp/.
like to dig up ground nests. Picture from
Napa Vector Control.
Food Safety or Food Preservation
Questions? OSU Extension Service
Has Answers.
Are you planning to preserve
food from your garden or purchased
from a farm this summer? If so, call or
visit the OSU Extension Service office
before you start canning, freezing, or
drying. Costly and potentially harmful
mistakes can be made by using outdated
canning recipes and instructions. We can
also test the accuracy of your pressure
gauge. You can drop off your canner lid
with gauge and pick it up later in the
day. Sometimes, it might be possible to
have it tested on the spot. An inaccurate
gauge can lead to canning at a lower than
recommended pressure which could lead
to serious food poisoning concerns.
Food Preservation class series
scheduled in St. Helens: They will
start late August and continue through
September. See page 4 for details or call
our office for more information.
You can find free publications at
the Columbia County Extension office
located at 505 N. Columbia River High-
way in St. Helens (across from the Lega-
cy Clinic). If you have questions, phone
the office at (503) 397-3462. There is
a statewide Extension food preservation
C H I RO P R AC T I C C L I N I C, I NC.
Joseph Dombek, DC
Many Extension publications
available online
Are you putting up salsa,
saving seeds, or thinking about planting
grapes? OSU has a large number of its
publications available for free download.
Just go to https://catalog.extension.
oregonstate.edu/. Click on publications
and start exploring.
Take excess produce to the food bank,
senior centers, or community meals
programs. Cash donations to buy food
are also greatly appreciated.
The Extension Service offers its
programs and materials equally to all
people.
Contact information for the
Extension office
Oregon State University Extension
Service – Columbia County
505 N. Columbia River Highway
(across from the Legacy clinic)
St. Helens, OR 97051
(503) 397-3462
Email: chip.bubl@oregonstate.edu
Vernonia’s Voice is published twice each month on the 1st
and 3rd Thursday. Look for our next issue on September 6.
VERNONIA
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Free newsletter (what a deal!)
The Oregon State University
Extension office in Columbia
County publishes a monthly
newsletter on gardening and
farming topics (called Country
Living) written/edited by yours
truly. All you need to do is ask for
it and it will be mailed or emailed
to you. Call (503) 397-3462 to
be put on the list. Alternatively, you can
find it on the web at http://extension.
oregonstate.edu/columbia/ and click on
newsletters.
That’s a relief
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