Hornets --- OH NUTS!!

[smiley]

I went up to my old garage today and this is what I found over the garage door.

These are large lamp post hold down nuts that I had painted "OH", in front of. --- Guess I'll have to be a little more careful going in now.

 

[Oldoak]

Just yesterday I discovered a Yellow Jackets' ground nest while weed whacking around our pole building.
OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!

Got stung 7 times before I could get far enough away. Not near as bad as a hornets sting though.

 

[robertm]

Be careful. My dad found a yellow jacket nest a couple weeks ago that consumed a space under a shelving unit 48" x 24" x 6". He was moving the shelf in his barn. Too late. 50-60 stings before he could get away, and they followed him to the house where the hose couldn't help fast enough. At 74, he's lucky. Tough as nails. Wanted to go back out and bite them.

 

[plowhog]

Yellow jackets are nasty. I fought a ground nest this year and paid the consequences. We were tied in the grudge match until I got out the gasoline.

 

[ruffdog]

It was hot and these boys were ready for action.

 

[Diggin It]

My understanding is that Hornets abandon their nests in the fall before the weather gets cold. A few years ago, I had a very large one in a tree down the road. They never bothered anybody walking past and sure enough, it was empty by November.

Watch it if you can and when you don't see activity wait until some colder morning to knock it down.

 

[RandyT]

Just yesterday I discovered a Yellow Jackets' ground nest while weed whacking around our pole building.
OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!

Got stung 7 times before I could get far enough away. Not near as bad as a hornets sting though.

Yesterday my nephew while mowing around the building got hit twice with yellow jackets, but couldn't find the nest. Later when removing the rear finish mower from my tractor, I found the nest was under my mower, and I had stirred them up when I put the mower on the tractor earlier. The mower is about 20 feet from where he was at when he got stung. They started swarming around when I noticed them but had to go into the mix of flying bees to get back on the tractor and get the heck out of there. Not a single one attempted to sting me, but my nephew came back through the same spot about an hour later and they got him again.

 

[oosik]

In all the 36+ years out here I've only found one nest like smiley has posted. Most are "open comb" nests about the size of your fist. I burned that big one at night and almost burned the carport down in the process. I had my share of bald faced hornets at the hummingbird feeder this year but - fortunately - never ran into one of their nests.

The really sad thing - I continue to see fewer and fewer wild honey bees every year. Thirty five years ago I quit using any type of spray in the orchard - concerned then about the wild bees. I can see that the majority of any pollination is now done by yellow jackets, bumble bees or hornets.

 

[check]

I remember Joaquin yellow jacket nest in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains when I was fishing as a kid. They swarmed out like crazy, but they never went after me. Never got stung once.

Wasps are a different story, however. I am amazed at how they post sentries, waiting to come and get you if you get close. I remember spotting one right at the tip of the gable end under the overhang at the cottage. It launched its self at me and in that same split second I reached my right hand over and smacked my other hand because I could see where it was coming. It is amazing how fast it got to me and stung me before I could squish it.

 

[yomax4]

Bald Faced Hornets are very common where I live. I have several big paper nests in my home as decorations. They are nasty but I have had much less trouble with them compared to the little ornery ground hornets.