Killing hornets/wasps

[sidecarist]

Gone. GONE!!! Went back around lunch time. Saw one WF hornet buzzing around. Sprayed again with diesel. THEN... in my 12 year old mentality, I figured I needed to punch the nest with a long stick.

Found a 7' stick, albeit rotten, and whacked the nest real good. No sign of life. So, I took the opportunity to knock it down. After the required amount of stomping it, then re-spraying it with diesel, I struck a match to it. End of story.

(I'm sure that was the last I'll ever see of White Face Hornets?) (NOT)

They are actually quite beneficial as long as they don't build a nest where humans travel frequently. I had a nest on my pool house this year it was instantly removed. I have another nest that I can see from the road but no one ever gets within 100yds of it so I left them alone.

 

[mapper]

They are actually quite beneficial as long as they don't build a nest where humans travel frequently. I had a nest on my pool house this year it was instantly removed. I have another nest that I can see from the road but no one ever gets within 100yds of it so I left them alone.

I agree, bald faced hornets are pretty docile when they are out foraging for other bugs. But they will also defend their nest with a ferocity unmatched by any other hornet or wasp. They are also very hard on honey bee hives if they are too close. I won't bother with trying to get rid of nests that are out of the way of people but if they are anywhere close to where we will be they're gone.
Incidentally the last time one of the bee guys workers were here he told me that they will attack dark colors, they actually put a band of black tape around the end of their collection container and can leave the vacuum running, walk away for awhile and the ones that are out foraging will try to attack it when they return and get sucked up. If you avoid dark clothing when working out where they may be it may reduce the chances that they will attack if you get near their nest.

 

[Wagtail]

Does hairspray really work?

(I mean as a glue/irritant/poison; versus using it as a flame thrower to burn them out)

There are several sites, via Google [hairspray kill wasps], that says so. It makes sense for knocking them out of the air/bunging up their nest as it coats them in a sticky solution. The loose ones become too heavy to fly and/or their wings won't work so they drop = stomp on'em. The nest exit gets plugged and the outside becomes a temporary shell so that you can safely remove it = stomp on'em.

I've employed the hairspray method, it works and I wasn't stung once. Mostly European and Paper wasps... Mud-daubers are just a 'hole-filling' annoyance.

 

[moriboy]

I agree, bald faced hornets are pretty docile when they are out foraging for other bugs. But they will also defend their nest with a ferocity unmatched by any other hornet or wasp. They are also very hard on honey bee hives if they are too close. I won't bother with trying to get rid of nests that are out of the way of people but if they are anywhere close to where we will be they're gone.
Incidentally the last time one of the bee guys workers were here he told me that they will attack dark colors, they actually put a band of black tape around the end of their collection container and can leave the vacuum running, walk away for awhile and the ones that are out foraging will try to attack it when they return and get sucked up. If you avoid dark clothing when working out where they may be it may reduce the chances that they will attack if you get near their nest.

Interesting about the color black.
I was running my dozer last weekend pushing up some brush piles. Sure enough I ran into a nest and the only place I got stung was on my ankle. I was wearing shorts and black socks...Go figure!

 

[motownbrowne]

I agree, bald faced hornets are pretty docile when they are out foraging for other bugs. But they will also defend their nest with a ferocity unmatched by any other hornet or wasp. They are also very hard on honey bee hives if they are too close. I won't bother with trying to get rid of nests that are out of the way of people but if they are anywhere close to where we will be they're gone.
Incidentally the last time one of the bee guys workers were here he told me that they will attack dark colors, they actually put a band of black tape around the end of their collection container and can leave the vacuum running, walk away for awhile and the ones that are out foraging will try to attack it when they return and get sucked up. If you avoid dark clothing when working out where they may be it may reduce the chances that they will attack if you get near their nest.

Yep, black's the color they go for.


Mapper, compared with most of our "customers" you have an incredibly high comprehension of what the collectors are doing. Most people are very reluctant to believe that there isn't honey in the nest... Their understanding usually goes downhill from there.

 

[GLyford]

I have had white faced nests (most small, some big) every year for the last half dozen or so. If I can get to them before they're much bigger than a softball it usually works OK, but last year I had one basketball sized that I didn't see until I had already bumped the tree with my mower. They let me know. I tried spraying it several timers but even 3 or 4 cans one after another weren't enough to do much more than make a tear that they were able to repair in a day. Then in late fall, it was torn to pieces. Apparently crows and raccoons think they are tasty. At a guess I will say crows, I certainly see more of them about, but it was only at head height in a small tree.

This year I was extra careful to keep an eye out for developing nests. It was made easier by half the leaves being gone from the gypsy moths combined with drought. I saw two, one got to be about baseball sized before we had a windstorm come up and it was gone. The other got to be softball sized, but was far enough up the tree I was thinking I might not have to deal with it. It was also about 2 feet below a robin's nest. Came home one day to find it gone, I suspect the robins may have had something to say about it.

I could have a couple of others in the neighboring trees, but I won't know for sure until the leaves start to fall. For something so big, they sure can be hard to see when all the leaves are out. The other trees weren't as hard hit by the moths and have more to lose before I can see everything.

So far, the ones that have tried to build on my sheds I have left about half the old nests up, and certainly seems to cut down on the repeat builders.

 

[Pilot]

Aquamoose is right, trap the YJ queens in the spring. When the temps bet to around 70+ put out your traps. Give it a couple days and if you don't catch anything, move the trap. Location is very important. I have 10 acres and there is only one spot that catches the YJ's, but it does very well, often catching 50 or so queens in the spring. I set the trap out in late April or mid May and by around late June we don't see any more flying around--the remaining queens are all underground setting up housekeeping and getting the nursery ready. Then just after July 4 the offspring declare their independence and go out foraging, looking for someone to sting.

For some reason, last year & this year we have seen very few YJ's. I doubt it has much to do with my trapping every year, because they have been sparse all over the county. But when you catch 50 queens in the spring, you know you have made a difference in your own area.

 

[Paddy]

Gem99,

When I was cutting grass as a young man, I'd see the large white faced hornets nests. If they left me alone, we were fine. But if they acted aggressive, I went to war.

I'd tape some sort of small box on the end of a 10 ft pole. With the top cut a way, I'd stuff it with balled up newspaper. Then I'd soak it with diesel fuel. Early in the AM before they start moving, I'd light it and hold it under the nest. As they left the nest, their wings would just singed off. There would be a pile of angry, wingless hornets.

Do this after a rain! so as to not start a fire.

 

[dfkrug]

Aquamoose is right, trap the YJ queens in the spring. When the temps bet to around 70+ put out your traps. Give it a couple days and if you don't catch anything, move the trap. Location is very important. I have 10 acres and there is only one spot that catches the YJ's, but it does very well, often catching 50 or so queens in the spring.

That's awesome. I try to trap them in the spring, too, and am lucky to get 1 or 2. None in the trap. So I should buy
more attractant pheromone and move the trap?

I did get one this spring with my HF paddle-zapper. I stunned it, and was taking a close-up photo, when
it woke up and flew away! Arrgg.

Last week, I found a YJ ground nest....BEFORE stepping on it. So I tried a mothball first, putting it in the hole and
covering it up. No good. Then I used about 8 oz. of stale skunky gasoline. Nope. They must have a P-trap in the
tunnel.

Finally, what worked was to cover the area with mud.

All this was done in the dead of night, since their union does not allow them to fly after dark. I wonder if that is
true of hornets, too....

 

[Pilot]

No need to overdo the attractant. Move the trap, try it in different places for a few days until you find the sweet spot. I tried about 8-10 locations before I found the right spot. Use the same place every year. BTW, mine is about 4 ft. above the ground; I don't know if there is a magic height.

About 8 ounces of gasoline poured on the ground nest after dark has almost always worked for me. The one time it didn't work was with a nest where I got stung in the afternoon. Next day I went to try to find exactly where the nest was so I could pour gas on it that night , but a skunk had gotten to it first & destroyed the nest, so I didn't get the chance to gas the nest. Over the next few weeks I found half a dozen or more nests that little guy had destroyed for me.