Hornets

[Ritothebull]

Sevin dust works great on ground nest, just dust them a night when their sleeping :zzz:

 

[Jchonline]

I use the shop vac.

A couple of hours without any attention, and the hive population is safely smashed in the canister.

Hard on motor brushes I suppose, but I've had the vac for over 40 years, and it still flips on with the switch.

I watched a guy on the tubes that filled the basin of his shopvac with water, so it sucked the wasps in, then they drowned. I believe he added a bit of surfactant (like kitchen soap) so it stuck to their wings and killed them quicker. This seemed like a good idea to quietly remove a nest. Do it in the evening and have a nice long extension you can use to get the vacuum opening right in front of their nest. Be far away when you flip the switch on!

 

[Einthewoods]

Thought this was funny. Read the descriptions under each bee.

A comprehensive guide to yellow stripey things

 

[oosik]

Ha - - just about finished with the hummingbird feeder for this year. Only two pair remaining. But who should show their ugly face three days ago - - a couple of those bald faced hornets. Sooo - somewhere - not to far away - there be a small nest that probably looks like a paper bark wasp nest. It will house just enough of those hornets to really ruin a guys day. Gotta keep my eyes pealed. Six years ago I had a bad experience and I don't run any faster now than then.

 

[ChiefBodie]

Yellow jacket nests in the ground get gasoline, it seems to be the only thing that kills them, I have tried all the sprays and none have worked..

I spent several days fighting a yellow jacket nest. It was in a hole in the front lawn near the front porch. Three eradication efforts failed. Spray barely worked. Covering the holes with a glass bowl just made them madder. And the vacuum would not reliably get enough of them to make a difference.

About a pint of gasoline went down the hole-- presto-- problem solved.

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

My brother in law was out working in the cattle pen last week when we was stung near/in the eye! He's been stung plenty of times in the past, but this time when stung he took a few steps and went down - tongue swelling etc. Luckily my sister was there with him and called 911. He's going to keep an Epinephrine pen now.

These are the little ******* I deal with most. It's like an electrical shock when they zap you. I can get my camera lens within about 4 inches of their nest without them attacking, but there's a line!

View attachment 567794

I like the Raid canned spray that knocks them down fast. I've also used the shop vac to take care of a nest of some other really aggressive smaller bees in the walls of the house, which worked well.

 

[PeterK]

I carry a full can of wasp+hornet killer when I'm mowing the field just in case. We have white face hornets - look like a storm trooper. First indication I get if I don't see them first is that the nest guard hornets hit me in the back of the head a couple of times to warn me off. Yeah, like a paint ball - hard and direct. Respect. More than just a little bit. Then back off immediately. If I miss the signal, I spray continuously while moving away quickly, holding my breath so I don't inhale the spray. These things are mean but just trying to protect their nest.

 

[oosik]

Yes - PeterK - you and I are talking about the same beastie. Bald faced hornets/white faced hornets - they have white marking on their head - look like they belong to some remote native tribe from the Belgian Congo.

I've mowed past their nest - hanging in a low branch of one of my pine trees. Then like a shot from a rifle - all the way across my lawn - one comes - full bore - hits my head/face so hard that he bounces off. I get the message - quit mowing - wait for evening -- evening attack with the can of 25 foot wasp/hornet spray.

 

[radios1]

contact cement spray drops them real fast!. it's like a straightjacket!..

 

[ChiefBodie]

Then like a shot from a rifle - all the way across my lawn - one comes - full bore - hits my head/face so hard that he bounces off.

For a small critter the speed and force is amazing. Had a wasp hit my straw hat yesterday, deforming the hat where it hit.

 

[Handloader109]

Call your cable guy..... changed service last year and he eradicated a large nest in my attic. Took him a couple of spray cans, but what a guy..

 

[rd_macgregor]

For ground-nesters, I drop a few mothballs into the hole in the evening, then cover it with a board or flat rock.
The stripey things overview is funny (but not comprehensive by a long stretch). My experience with bumblebees is that, at at least some of them (there are many species), while reluctant to sting, really pack a whallop when they do.
Threads like this make me really, really glad that I have a cabbed tractor!

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Here's a trick. If you have the kind of wasps or hornets that build their nests under eaves and such, they chose that spot because it is a paper nest and must remain DRY. Just spray it gently with a garden hose. They will think they got rained on and abandon the nest the next day.

 

[Sittingbull2]

Back around 1998. I was on my 4 wheeler in my pasture finding stumps so my brother would not run over them while bush hogging. He made a few passes in the pasture, I am up front by the road he is in the back. I come up to a stump and the weeds about 4 ft. tall. My front wheel comes into contact with a stump and I commence to cut around the stump with machete out comes a bumble bee the ones that look like a carpenter bee that drills holes in your exposed lumber. They are smaller and fuzzy looking. Needless to say one stung me. I smashed him, well needless to say that brought out the whole army on me. I am still on my 4 wheeler with tire up against stump vibrating it from the engine. Now here is the bad part I am a paraplegic can't walk can't run. I bale off my 4 wheeler and start rolling on the ground. They tried getting in my mouth and ears. I am just trying to keep them from going down my throat. Those little B@$+@ds ate me up. My brother saw me on the ground waving my arms at vehicles going by. Everybody thought I was waving at them and the just waved back. He finally saw a black cloud over top of me. Jumped off tractor and came and rescued me. He pulled me under the bob wire fence and started throwing the fine dust up in the air and on me and they left me. I got stung over 250 times had to go to hospital. I have my own tractor now and when I mow or bush hog I wear a white t-shirt. If you wear anything dark and you get attacked they think your a bear from the dark clothes you have on.

 

[Soldier415]

This is why I have a cab

 

[jdom84]

Here's a trick. If you have the kind of wasps or hornets that build their nests under eaves and such, they chose that spot because it is a paper nest and must remain DRY. Just spray it gently with a garden hose. They will think they got rained on and abandon the nest the next day.

Interesting, so that's how the cans of spray you buy from the store work! :laughing:

I have found the best way of dealing with hornets is with a propane weed burner. A quick blast burns all their wings off and they can't get you...

I have yet to burn down my house or buildings and have been doing this for years. I have had a few smoldering nest that I quickly knock down and smash.

 

[tjkubota93]

I was driving down a real tight 4 lane going downtown to convince the nurse at work that I was ok to work after surgery. Something kept vibrating/buzzing under my seat. Older truck with some miles, who cares it makes all kind of noises. The mud tires cover up alot of noises. Well this time the noise was a problem had a bald face hornet pop out and look straight at me about 2 inches from my face. I got scared! I was able to calmly let the window down, grab my doctors note and politely shoo him out. That road is so tight the power poles have marks from busses smacking their mirrors all the time. I am very thankful I didn't have a wreck or get stung on the face! Now I spray under my vehicles with bifenthrin.

 

[Fallon]

Was glad I have a cab, QH & TnT this weekend. Apparently I hadn't used my ballast box in a while & they thought they could. Hosed it down with some spray. Now have bits of squished yellow-jacket nest on my top hook. They were not happy. A lot disappeared after I moved the tractor into the shop (near my wasp spray) & took the photo.

 

[Ghostrider16]

Haven't tried it personally, but I read on another site where a guy had ground nesting wasps. He would wait until early evening when their activity was less, then take a block of dry ice and place it near the opening, cover it with an upside down bucket, and kick dirt around the base to seal it.

The Co2 from the "melting" dry ice would permeate the underground nest, killing the colony, queen and all.

 

[DJ54]

About 6 years ago, preparing to move back into the home place here, I had some hornets build a nest under the eave of the patio, right above the steps, to go across, and into the house. I really didn't see it until it was about the size of a softball. After that, I went around to the other set of steps. It was still pretty warm, but it was supposed cool off into the 50's in a couple days. I got 2 cans of spray, and waited until that cool morning, figuring they'd be a little sluggish.

When I pulled in that morning, to my surprise that nest was in shreds on the steps, and a few stragglers buzzing/crawling around. I made quick work of them, then took a good look. I could see muddy paw prints on the 4 X 6 header, so followed it back to a 2" pipe upright supporting the roof, then on back to one of the seats on the picnic table. Apparently, a Raccoon had seen the nest, and was waiting for cool weather too.

What I'd have given to see that Coon tear that apart, to get to the hornets.

We've had them in the Maple tree's in the yard though the summer, but never got stung mowing around them. Once it hits freezing temps, the birds tear into them, and chow down.

We also do a lot of trail riding by horse back in the summer, and mostly in State Forests. In July and August when it's normally dry, you'll get reports of Yellow Jacket ground nests on the trail, usually around tree roots. If it's just 1-2 people, it's usually not a problem stirring them up. But when a group of 4, or more ride together, it's usually the 4th horse on back, that will get stung. Apparently the first few horses hooves hitting the tree roots stirs them up. You're always prepared to hear someone shout, BEES..!! Who ever is in the front of the group, best be ready to move out fast, so those few behind can get away from them. And those at the rear, do a 180, and go the other way.

Thanks to the internet, and the extensive Facebook horse group pages we belong to, warnings are posted where the bees are located on a trail, and to be aware. Years ago, we carried Benadryl capsules along, to give to the horse if the got stung. Mix it with their sweet feed, and they'll lap it right up. Now, the have antihistamines in granular form, to give the horses, if they get stung.