Page 59 - Sonoma County Gazette Sept 2017

By Date
Learn 3 design elements with Joseph Monte and Jon Forney a decade of experience fabricating waterfalls and water features in Hawaii. Free – 1-2p, Wildwood Nursery, 10300 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, 707-833-1161, opengate@wildwoodmaples.com
Sep 9 & 10 ~ Beckoning Butterflies, Birds, Bees to Your Garden Workshop 10-2p, Fall is the best time to plan. $2. Donation, Nursery Open Weekends 10-5p, Russian River Rose, 1685 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg, 707-433-7455, russian-river- rose.com/events_sept17.html, info@ russian-river-rose.com
Garden Tours: Korbel 13250 River Rd. korbel.com/winery and Luther Burbank 204 Santa Rosa Ave. SR. lutherburbank. org
Daily Acts – Free, dailyacts.org 707- 789-9664
Sep 6 ~ Re-Imagining Your Yard - Low- Water Lawn Alternatives - 5:3-7p, Windsor Regional Library, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy. liz@dailyacts.org
Sep 6 ~ Re-Imagining Your Yard: Low- Water Lawn Alternatives 5:30-7p, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor
Sep 14 ~ Garden Day 10-12p - Cavanagh Center Food Forest, 426 8th Street, Petaluma,
Sep 16 ~ Cotati Creek Clean-Up! 9-1p Cotati Well Lot #2
Sep 20 ~ Garden Day - Sebastopol City Hall & Library Landscape 10-12p, 7140 Bodega Ave.
Sep 21 ~ Daily Acts Open House 5:30-7p 245 Kentucky Street Petaluma
Sep 22 ~ Garden Day - 2-4p Cotati Pocket Park (LaSalle and Loretto St)
Sep 9 ~ Creating a Mini Garden Retreat
How to Find an UNDERGROUND Yellowjacket Nest
Locating underground yellowjacket nests can be a challenge that requires time and lots of patience, but it can be done. Yellowjackets look for food close to their nest - usually within 1,000 feet. Yellowjackets often make their nests underground in an abandoned gopher hole but are also known to nest in wood piles, dense vegetation (like Italian cypress
and ivy), utility vaults, and other enclosed spaces.
The best time to look is after the
day has warmed up - usually after
10 a.m. – when the yellowjackets are
actively flying in and out of their
nest. Yellowjackets are most active
between 10 am and 4 pm, weather
dependent. If the weather is too cold
or too hot, yellowjacket activity will
be a little sluggish. Sometimes the
late afternoon sun can work in your
favor, increasing your ability to see
their “bee line”. Begin by searching
the ground around your home for
holes. Watch for yellowjackets flying in and out (often along a constant “bee line”) or a cluster of yellowjackets “guarding” an opening. If you are lucky enough to find an active nest on your first go-round, don’t stop there, continue checking the rest of your property as there may be more nests.
Continue walking in a circular pattern around your property, expanding
your search area with each pass. Be careful where you step and be aware that
the vibrations from your footsteps may agitate underground colonies causing them to become defensive and aggressive. If this method does not work, you can try to locate the nest by placing a piece of meat on the ground and waiting for a yellowjacket to take a piece. They do not eat the meatthemselves, but take it back to their nest to feed the larvae (young yellowjackets). Once a yellowjacket picks
up a piece of meat, your job is to follow it back to its nest. This method can be
time consuming and requires patience because yellowjackets don’t always fly in
a straight line back to their nest, but is well worth the time and energy if you do find the nest. If there’s an established attraction (water in a birdbath, uncovered trash can, blooming flowers, decaying fruit, etc.) that the yellowjackets are already using, use that in place of the meat bait method.
Once you find the underground nest, mark it so that it can be re-found easily by one of our technicians. DO NOT place the marker directly on or in the nest as it could easily agitate the yellowjackets.
Once the nest is marked, call Marin-Sonoma Mosquito Vector at 707-285-2200 or submit a service request online at www.msmosquito.com. Remember, we ONLY treat UNDERGROUND yellowjacket nests and we do it for FREE!
If you find a structural nest (one that is attached to a structure or in the wall of a structure) contact your local pest control operator.
SonomaCountyNurseries.com GUIDE for LOCALLY -OWNED Garden Businesses
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