Hornet Nest near Propane Tank

CurlyDave · Mar 26, 2012

I walked out to check the propane level and found what seems to be a weathered hornet nest lying next to the tank. See pix. This is a 500 gallon tank and it is ~ 3 to 4' in diameter. The nest is about a foot across.

Looks to me like the fool thing fell off a tree and rolled downhill to its resting spot.

Does anyone know the habits of hornets? I have found nests about this size in the woods before in summer they were full of what looked to be bald-faced hornets, with the attitude of a pit bull in the midst of a PMS session.

Is the nest empty at this time of year, or are they hibernating inside?

If it was almost anywhere else, I would just pour a pint of gasoline on it and fire it off. But the propane tank makes it kind of dangerous to do that.

The temperature was 49 degrees this evening and there was no sign of activity. If I go back down there with a shovel and a plastic garbage bag tomorrow is there a chance I can get it all into the bag without getting stung, or will I live to regret this action? We have garbage pickup and if I can tie the bag off, I can get it trucked far away...

Wasp spray? Other noxious chemicals?

Any other suggestions?

k0ua · Mar 26, 2012

Yeah I am thinking full new can of wasp spray..may not be a thing in it. but if you want you can go down there with a 5 iron and knock the pi** out of that thing, but I would not recomend that. Yeah wasp spray is safest, and soak it until the can is empty. Then move it with a pitchfork or stick into a trash can lined with a good new bag. Tie up the bag quick. If there was no one at home you are out 5 bucks and will feel foolish,, If they are home, well what is your health and well being worth anyway?

James K0UA

kf4uda · Mar 26, 2012

k0ua said:
Yeah I am thinking full new can of wasp spray..may not be a thing in it. but if you want you can go down there with a 5 iron and knock the pi** out of that thing, but I would not recomend that. Yeah wasp spray is safest, and soak it until the can is empty. Then move it with a pitchfork or stick into a trash can lined with a good new bag. Tie up the bag quick. If there was no one at home you are out 5 bucks and will feel foolish,, If they are home, well what is your health and well being worth anyway?

James K0UA

Sounds like a good plan to me.:thumbsup:

EddieWalker · Mar 26, 2012

Are they in it? Once the nest falls the the ground, I thought they abandoned the nest.

If it is active, first thing in the morning, when it's the coolest out, is the best time to fight them. I've destroyed dozens of nests early in the morning, even in summer, without any problems. Never during the heat of the day!!!!

Eddie

AchingBack · Mar 27, 2012

The nest are vacated, and not reused. Lots of folks covet them as decorations. I'd bet yours is empty.

General Lee · Mar 27, 2012

That thing is empty, all is good to scoop it up. If it makes you better smack it with a long object before handling. Hornets don't reuse nests and it isn't that time of year where one would be that big already. If it was recently disturbed or knocked down you would have seen activity by now.

JDgreen227 · Mar 27, 2012

I had one in my lane, went out late one night and covered it with a black plastic 5 gallon pail and after two weeks of bright sunshine hitting that and heating it up there wasn't much left of the nest or bugs. If you were in a hurry to kill them you could always drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket and spray insect killer thru that, or gasoline, then light the whole thing up.

murphy1244 · Mar 27, 2012

Send it to a Kabota dealer....:laughing::laughing:

GolfAddict · Mar 27, 2012

AchingBack said:
The nest are vacated, and not reused. Lots of folks covet them as decorations. I'd bet yours is empty.

Yes, looks like last year's nest. I've always heard them referred to as "paper" wasp nests and if they are recovered after being abandoned, and are in really good condition still, some folks will pay good money for them. They may cut a short portion of the branch off and keep the nest intact and still adhered to the branch which makes for a good display technique.

This one looks like it is deteriorating as it lays on the ground there...

radioman · Mar 27, 2012

it looks too big for this time of year and I like jdgreen idea. Just cover it with a bucket/can and leave for a few days then check it.
I have done both can and garbage bag ideas.

k0ua · Mar 27, 2012

Well Dave was there anyone "home" or not?

James K0UA

CurlyDave · Mar 27, 2012

When I got up this morning, it was raining so hard the dogs wouldn't even go out.

I think I am going to put a bucket over it, spray insecticide into it, and wait for a day to put it in a plastic bag.

I will go into town and get my summer supply of spray cans today. Every year we get 4 or 5 mud dauber nests which require the long-distance spray and I always carry a can on my tractor. So, I will get 4 of the long-distance and one regular spray today.

I have lots of 5 gal plastic buckets which have been used for mixing small batches of concrete, paint or something else that is pretty dirty. I will drill a hole near the bottom of one, & spray lots of the regular insect spray into this one. Plug it with something and wait until Wednesday morning. Garbage gets picked up in the middle of the night on Wednesday.

Say aloha to it tomorrow night...

jonyyuma · Mar 27, 2012

radioman said:
it looks too big for this time of year and I like jdgreen idea. Just cover it with a bucket/can and leave for a few days then check it.
I have done both can and garbage bag ideas.

Same here, I use the bucket at night > Put a little spray into it and flip it over the hole or nest. I have some ground yellowjackets that keep popping up..Your nest looks dead ..

tractchores · Mar 27, 2012

I find similar ones quite a bit. I think the hornets abandon them in the winter around here and stay in the ground for the winter then build a new one. One word of caution though is that sometimes they'll be in the ground right near the fallen nest (though this time of year its likely a non-issue as only a very small number live through the winter). Birds and other animals will tear them apart when they find them (occupied or not). I've found that strangely enough certain insecticides (like the foaming spray you can buy) attract animals that eat hornets, wasps and yellow jackets. In my yard when I find them near the ground I just put some of that spray on it and the next morning its totally gone or dug up if its an in-ground nest. The resident raccoons and skunks come when they smell the spray and eat all the bees. Its amazingly effective for in-ground yellow jackets. I forget the name of the spray, but its relatively non-toxic and has a very short half life, so the animals aren't harmed and I don't get stung taking care of nests now.

jonyyuma · Mar 27, 2012

Tractorchore, would it be with the Crysitamans{sp}, like the Tv show guy sprays>?

tractchores · Mar 27, 2012

jonyyuma said:
Tractorchore, would it be with the Crysitamans{sp}, like the Tv show guy sprays>?

I believe its this stuff: ENFORCER® Advanced Problem Solvers

The active ingredient has a very short half-life and apparently isn't very dangerous to mammals in the amounts used. I researched it the first time because I was afraid I had killed the helpful raccoon who dug up the nest. I sprayed it just after dark when the bees were inside and then a few hours later went out to spray it again and found a hole in the ground and bees nest pieces scattered all around. It was in an area I have a camera so I was able to confirm it was a raccoon. Since then I've done a couple more and one shows up and eats the nest after its sprayed about 75% of the time. Its very effective, though I don't know why the spray attracts them.