Two Skunks Walk Into A Nectar Bar

As mentioned in my blip yesterday, a pair of skunks discovered the well-established yellow jacket nest thriving beneath our creeping phlox bed. We had planned to address it later this Fall when cooler temperatures set in. They have visited three consecutive nights, and each night the hole gets deeper. Discarded dirt, roots and stones now cover about half the phlox bed • Yellow jackets are wasps, and they build paper nests in concealed, preferably underground, areas; their nests can be as large as a soccer ball • They have many natural predators with skunks being among them, mostly attracted to the nectar, but they’ll also slurp up the larvae, nymphs and adults if they get in the way • We’re grateful to have our “problem” resolved in a natural way; the skunks are certainly happy; and our phlox bed can be repaired • A win-win, I suppose, unless you’re a yellow jacket.