Wasps and Hornets

I have never really had the pleasure of dealing with these pests before moving here. These guys can't be that bad, right? I guess I should have taken a hint when one of our first welcome to the neighborhood gifts was a wasp trap.

I thought could this really be true? Will we need to use these? They are very unattractive being bright green or bright yellow. To me, they don't seem so attractive. Then again I am not a nasty insect.

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Nasty? Now that seems like a harsh word but I am sure they have been called worst. Our first encounter happened when the kids were playing on a plastic dog house. Yes, a plastic dog house (not my style either). The previous owners of our house left it behind and it is too small for our dog. The kids just ended up using it as their play thing to climb and jump? Well of course the wasps decided to build a nest in an unsuspecting hole that is inside the structure. How is it possible to see a nest being built? Sure enough, one of the kids got stung and this was my wake up call. 

If you hurt one of my babies, then I must in turn do something to yours. Yes, we can cohabititate together peacefully, but once you cross the line and try to attaché me for getting close to investigate, it is the dread bug spray for you. I went to the store the next day and purchased some. It can shoot about 10 feet away and boy did I need it. They do not mess around as soon as I started, they came bounding out at me. It did the trick and they left their nest. I caved then and bought a bunch of traps to put around the yard. I managed to catch quite a few, but realize there are more out there. 

This was last year and you would think we would be veterans now. I read that you should put the traps out in spring to capture the queens before they nest. I certain,y did that, but I was not successful. We had a nice spring with plenty of rain and they were not attracted to the traps. 

As summer progressed, I would search around our living areas for nests and quickly remove them. They tried to make some in the roof of our decks, on the eves of the garage, our electrical box, grill, and in our light boxes on the driveway. I thought I was being proactive enough, but again there are more of them than me. 

I was casually playing ball with my dog in the yard when the ball landed in a nest on the ground. Poor guy had no clue and was yelping because he was getting stung. Those meanies even continued to sting him as he was running to get inside the house. I had to brush one of of him before entering hoping I wouldn't get stung. Well, war was declared and out came the spray. Sorry guys but when you mess with my dog....well you are dead now. 

Poor dog got it again in another casual incident. We were on our deck and had no clue that a nest was built inside a stack of chairs. Once again, the dog was playing and casually sniffed where the nest was hidden. Instantly, we were surrounded by angry wasps who were attacking the dog. Of course we all ran as fast as we could to take cover. Once they returned to their nest, I pushed the chairs down and the nest popped out. I waited a bit to make sure I did it see any nasties and sprayed the nest. Later on I just stomped on it. 

I figured it was probably time to fill up the traps with more attractant and water. I also read that they are looking for water. This probably is another advantage because we again have not had rain in over a month. As soon as I refilled them, I instantly caught a few. As you can see it has been less than a week and I have caught tons. 

There is no way that I will ever catch them all. I know that this will not be the last time that my kids, dog or I will ever be stung. I am grateful that they do not have an allergic reaction as my relations do. 

I am amazed at how many there are and even more amazed that scientist have created a way to get rid of them. So, I will sit back and watch the traps fill up. I smile as I pass them saying to myself, "This will be one least nasty bugger who will not get me!"

On a side note:

J became a victim of her own "valuable life lesson". She thought she was grabbing for a white pine cone in a conifer tree and as you can imagine it wasn't. Her first sting and she was very upset. I felt bad, but had to chuckle a bit. I explained that there are no white pine cones and that those particular tree did not even produce pine cones. 

All my dreams

When I envisioned having kids, I of course wanted them to have childhood similar to mine. Our children were not going to have these same memories if we continued living in Chicago. Yes, they probably would still have great memories, but not the same.

We have not regretted moving here to Idaho. As you know,

we celebrated our 1^st year and are continuing to discover new things. Spring will always continue to amaze us with everything coming to life and the wonderful blooms on the trees.

I remember being 5 living in Worth, Il playing in my back yard where my grandmother planted lilacs. The smells were amazing and the garden was of those English ones you read or seen in movies. I loved playing outdoors, picking flowers, and finding great hiding spots. When we lived in Frankfort, IL, I loved playing in the grass, finding interesting insects, finding toads, and playing with caterpillars. I remember sitting in the grass, soaking up the sun, and looking at the clouds.

My love of nature is finally rubbing off on my children! I keep taking them outside, pointing out flowers, trees, bugs, insects, butterflies, snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, tons of birds, bears, moose, deer, and much more. They are so lucky to be experiencing this incredible atmosphere. And there is so much more that we have not even uncovered.

S continues to discover many things and is always running inside to ask me to check out something he has found. He found a caterpillar the other day and shared it with Jillian. They spent about an hour playing with it. J is having fun discovering the wonderful scents of the blooming flowers.

As she is turning 6, she is becoming more like me each day. She is always so excited to be a part of whatever it is that I am doing. She is taking on the role of weeding the garden on her own. Planting seeds and watering them has also been an amazing task. Recently, she picked various flowers and put them in a glass of water for me.

The addition of the tree swing has also encouraged them to be outdoors more on their own. They will go out and swing each other. Of course it is just as it was when we were little, twirling each other around so fast to see if they barf. The best part is to hear them come up with their plans and squeal with delight with their rewards.

One day, they will walk out of the house and say see ya later mom. They’ll be gone for hours exploring all our mountainous neighborhood has to offer. They will probably come home with a rabbit just as I did or a frog. I can’t wait to hear them ask if they can keep it. S knows if he catches a snake it can be his pet (optimal word…IF).

My vision is finally coming true when we decided to move here. We are enjoying the great outdoors, learning about life, and living it.