Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 26, 2015 9A
Polk County Living
BIRTHS
Yellow jacket activity heats up with weather
Homeowners advised to protect bees when responding to yellow jackets
By Bruce Porkany
Many Oregonians who
have dined outside lately
can attest to the fact that
yellow jacket activity is
starting to pick up. A hot
summer may be at least
partially responsible for in-
creased visibility of the
stinging insect. The Ore-
gon Department of Agricul-
ture emphasizes that yellow
jackets are not the same as
honeybees and bumble-
bees, and any action taken
by homeowners needs to
take that into account.
“We’ve been receiving
complaints from people
who are just trying to eat an
outdoor meal and are un-
able to do so because of the
y e l l o w j a c k e t s ,” s a y s
ODA entomologist and pes-
ticide expert Rose
Kachadoorian. “The yellow
jackets are just so quick and
aggressive.”
Yellow jacket activity in
Oregon happens every late
summer and fall. But this
year, conditions are a bit
different.
“We’ve had a lot of hot
weather,” says Kachadoori-
an. “Yellow jackets largely
feed off of smaller insects.
Normally there can be a lot
of insects feeding on
grasses and other vegetation
that usually would be
green. Plants may be dried
and brown and, in some
areas, there could be a re-
duction in the yellow jack-
ets’ food supply. As a result,
yellow jackets might be for-
aging in areas they normal-
ly don’t go into and maybe
they are being a bit more ag-
gressive.”
There is a big difference
between wasps or yellow
jackets and the common
bees still busy pollinating
this time of year. Honeybees
and bumblebees are not the
ones coming after your din-
ner plate.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Wasps and yellow jackets
are producing queens that
will be overwintering, so
they are in search of pro-
tein-rich food. Most likely,
there’s a yellow jacket nest
within a quarter of a mile of
your home if the unwanted
dinner guests show up.
Those nests can be in the
ground, under an eave, or
inside a crack in a rock wall.
Homeowners may be
tempted to do something
about annoyingly aggressive
yellow jackets. A key for any
pest problem is proper
identification. Yellow jackets
are heavy-bodied and dis-
tinctively striped yellow and
b l a c k . Wa s p s , w h i c h
have similar coloring, have
a small connection between
the thorax and abdomen.
Both don’t make as much of
a buzzing sound as the hon-
eybee.
Measures directed at
a wasp or yellow jacket
problem should stay clear of
negatively impacting hon-
eybees and bumblebees.
There are steps homeown-
ers can take and there
are steps they definitely
should not take. Spraying a
pesticide product on flow-
ers or plants won’t do any-
thing to control yellow jack-
ets and wasps but will
cause great harm to bees
who are still looking for nec-
tar and pollen.
Another option to at least
slow down some of the yel-
low jacket activity is to pur-
chase and erect traps that
contain a bait to lure the in-
sect. Once inside the
trap, they don’t escape and
Continued from page 8A
—
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2
• Scrabble with Betty — 1 p.m., Independence Public Li-
brary, 175 Monmouth St., Independence. Scrabble games first
Wednesday of every month. Free; refreshments and prizes avail-
able. 503-551-7687 or 503-838-1811.
• Yarning for Others — 3 to 5 p.m., St. Thomas Episcopal
Church, 1486 SW Levens St., Dallas. Knitters and crocheters
gather to make clothing and accessories for those in need on
the first Wednesday of every month. 503-689-7222.
• Helping Hands Emergency Food Bank — 10 a.m. to noon,
Monmouth Christian Church, 959 Church St. W., Monmouth. For
eligible community members; available every Wednesday. 541-
404-6517.
iCLIPART/Itemizer-Observer
Normally there can be a lot of insects feeding on
grasses and other vegetation that usually would be
green. Plants may be dried and brown and, in some areas,
there could be a reduction in the yellow jackets’ food sup-
ply. As a result, yellow jackets might be foraging in areas
they normally don’t go.
eventually die.
“Don’t place traps too
close to where you will eat,
but around the perimeter of
your yard,” says Kachadoo-
rian. “If you know you are
having a backyard meal or
event, you can plan ahead
and use a number of these
traps. It’s best to get the
traps out earlier in the year
to attract the queens. But
even this time of year, it’s
worth a try to use the traps.”
While these non-toxic traps
contain a synthetic lure to
attract worker yellow jack-
ets, meat or wet pet food is
often used to enhance the
attraction.
The yellow jacket season
will probably last for at least
several more weeks if
not months. Normally, the
workers die out in October
and November while the
queen mates with a drone
and looks for a place
to overwinter. Whether the
extended hot and dry con-
ditions have an impact on
the timing of yellow jacket
activity remains to be seen.
With the threat of a painful
sting and the nuisance of
having them hang around
your food, it’s easy to forget
that yellow jackets and
wasps can also be benefi-
cial insects. As predators,
they will feast on caterpil-
lars or insect life stages that
might other wise har m
plants and crops. That
probably counts for very lit-
tle when your outdoor feast
is interrupted by an un-
wanted dinner guest
from the insect world.
For more information,
contact Rose Kachadoorian
at 503-986-4651.
MI TOWN
Summertime — and the
living is busy these days in
MI Town, as families begin
to make preparations for
their sons and daughters for
another year of school.
Whether your child is excit-
ed about his or her very first
day of kindergarten or you
are busy helping your off-to-
college student load the car
for their university experi-
ence, this is the time of year
when emotions run high
and just about any sentence
spoken can be filled with
both tears and laughter.
—
We’re also anticipating the
arrival of a new group of stu-
dents at Western Oregon
University in just a few short
weeks, and have already
seen several new young
faces from faraway places as
students are walking around
MI Town and the campus.
P ATTY
T AYLOR
D UTCHER
Columnist
It’s been a joy to visit with
these bright and smiling
young men and women as
they seek to find their way
around our community and
learn so much about an en-
tirely different culture and
language than in their home
countries. It is true that the
Internet has made us all
more aware of other coun-
tries and their customs, but
when young people arrive in
a small town half a world
away from all they know, it is
quite a challenge and a big
adjustment for everyone.
Let’s do our best to welcome
our newest residents to MI
Town.
—
As we go to deadline for
the column, the leading
news all over the northwest
— and the entire western
United States — is about the
devastating forest fires that
are consuming so much of
our beautiful area. The loss
of natural resources and
property is in the billions,
and the deaths of firefighters
cannot be described as any-
thing but tragic — for their
families, their friends and
for their brothers and sisters
in the fire service, who have
sworn to serve and protect
the rest of us from harm.
This summer’s unrelenting
heat combined with a lack
of rain has caused all of us
discomfort and inconven-
ience, but those fighting
fires — whether in our local
communities or in areas far
away — have had the most
difficult summer of all.
—
This evening is the very
last of the Concerts in the
Park for this summer. The
Celtic group, Coming Up
Threes, will entertain from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Main
Street Park in Monmouth.
Everyone is invited to share
in the good times and enjoy
the music.
—
Tomorrow night’s free
movie at the Independence
Amphitheater is “Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day.” Be
sure to shop at the stores
and businesses that have
contributed to this sum-
mer’s concerts and movies.
It’s wonderful to have such
great events right here in MI
Town.
24 hour
Service
A RLENE
K OVASH
Columnist
four days later, Aug. 20. Their
6 pound, 8 ounce daughter
is named Miley Rose. Her
proud brothers and sisters
are Morgan, Cheyenne,
Wyatt and Levi.
—
Alan and Sue Garten just
spent 12 days in Mossy
Rock, Wash., south of
Chehalis, with the Polk
About Sams RV club. They
camped right on Mayfield
Lake and spent time taking
drives to see the dam and
fishery, and visiting RV
friends. The week before
they had taken son Mark
and his wife Stefanie’s sons
Bryson, 8, and Jackson, 10,
to the 1,000 Trails RV Park in
Newport, where the boys
spent most of their time
swimming in the pool. Their
older son, Eric, his wife,
Jaime, and son, Parker,
moved to Elkhart, Ind., this
summer, where he is now
the executive director of the
Elkhart Botanical Garden.
—
Judy Clark Guida traveled
in her Roadtrek RV to Fair-
m o n t Re s o r t a n d Ho t
Springs near Anaconda,
Mont., for the Clark Family
Reunion. Her grandparents
had homesteaded in the
mountains near there.
Music in the Park
Main St. Park • Monmouth
Every Wednesday through August 26 ~ 6:30pm
MUSIC, FOOD, BEER & WINE GARDEN
Performing Tonight
Look for
Music in the Park
Series on Face-
book for more in-
formation about
this year’s artists.
August 26
Coming Up
Threes
(Celtic)
FREE AND OPEN
TO THE PUBLIC
For More Information Contact:
Mark Fancey 503-751-0147
Bring
your chairs
and blankets and
we’ll see you in
the park!
10 Year Anniversary!
presented by
Performing August 28th
PEDEE NEWS
Several people from the
community attended the
Burbank/McBeth family re-
union this year, mainly be-
cause several people in the
community are Burbanks or
McBeths. Over 40 people in
all attended this annual
event, held at the Dallas Park
on the third Sunday of Au-
gust each year, including the
youngest family member,
Shawn and Ashlee McBeth’s
9-month-old baby, Maver-
ick. All who had extra family
photos brought them to
share, which was a great way
to start the reminiscing.
—
Mike and Melissa McBeth
could have had the youngest
child at the reunion, except
that their newest family
member wasn’t born until
Wyatt
Zayne Lee Wyatt was born to Zachary Wyatt and Shan-
non Patterson of Dallas at 10:11 p.m. on July 26 at Silver-
ton Hospital Family Birth Center.
He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and was 19.5 inches
long.
Zayne joins Evan, 7, and Wynter, 6.
Show begins at 7:30
Amber Clark Chen and Brett
Clark did amazing presenta-
tions regarding genealogy
going back into the 1600s
when the Clarks arrived on
this continent. She traveled
with family dogs Bango and
Arlo for her first solo RV
drive and explored historical
sites through Washington
and Idaho on the way over to
the reunion.
—
Paul and Diane Telfer
spent last week at Gleneden
Beach with their children
David, Helena Christianson,
and Amber and families, in-
cluding their four grandchil-
dren. The weather was just
perfect with one day of some
rain. The toddlers loved
playing in the giant sandbox
of the Oregon Beach.
SHOOT
TO THRILL
AC/DC
Tribute Band
Lawn Seating — Bring blankets & chairs
This Week’s FREE MOVIE:
Showing August 27 • 8:45
ALEXANDER and the Terrible,
Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!
(Comedy, Family)
Pick up &
Drop Off
• VENDORS • BEER & WINE GARDEN
Riverview Amphitheater, Independence, OR
Visit our website: independenceamphitheater.com
RECYCLE. A great investment in the future.
