Are These Hornets?

[holeycow]

Yes, no doubt.Today I jumped off the tractor to clean off the hay machine and sure enough, i stopped right where I had run over one an hour earlier. There were hornets, so I scurried back into the cab and found a better location. Chicken, yup.

i currently have a large hornet nest hanging near the top of the shop overhead door and a wasp nest hanging in the eave on the gable end of the honeyhouse. The wasp nest will probably have to be destroyed. Wasps (and hornets) love honey, so they are bound to be a nuisance at extracting time. Which is soon..

 

[Del_]

Yes, no doubt.Today I jumped off the tractor to clean off the hay machine and sure enough, i stopped right where I had run over one an hour earlier. There were hornets, so I scurried back into the cab and found a better location. Chicken, yup.

i currently have a large hornet nest hanging near the top of the shop overhead door and a wasp nest hanging in the eave on the gable end of the honeyhouse. The wasp nest will probably have to be destroyed. Wasps (and hornets) love honey, so they are bound to be a nuisance at extracting time. Which is soon..

It's amazing how many garden insects wasp attack.

In broccoli heads the wasp work all around the inside of the stalk looking for caterpillars.

I wish wasp liked mexican bean beetles. Nothing seems to eat them so I spray a Bayer Bio product.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I could only see one out of focus bee in tnt's pics

ps, unless they are bothering you leave them alone. They are generally only nasty near their nest.

That's the problem - the nest is about ten feet from the back door on a shelf.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Or just let them live if they aren't bothering anything.

Tho raid does work good on problem nests.

it's about night and day and weather and has naught to do with time. Just get them when they are in the nest. You'll know if you watch them. Sometimes there's stragglers. Thems the ones that'll get you.

And I read that they are female and the first one to get you leaves a pheromone so the rest of them know exactly where to go.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

They are right there on a shelf and highly likely to be disturbed by someone who would then get stung.

One of the worst things about nest like these is the person often doesn't know that they are disturbing the bees until they get stung multiple times.

I don't like those kind of surprises.

It the next was out in the woods or the yard that is another story.

I was moving some spare tires the other day and some red wasp had nested between them, probably about 50 wasp total.

I hate surprises!

Me too. And I Hate those red waspers!!! They are sneaky and will come after you and you won't hear them coming like you do other wasps.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I have a Tyvec suit and one for mosquitos I can put over my head... duct tape around ankles and wrists.

I was wondering if sticky paper, like for spiders or mice, slapped over the bottom opening then saturate with Raid from the top hole?
Also wondered about shooting a can of expanding foam into the bottom hole, then spraying from the top?
Can they chew their way out the sides of the nest?

Something else that concerns me is removing the nest from the shelf - it's attached to it; pulling it off will likely rip a larger opening... for more to get out quicker.

Maybe making those birdhouse gourds wasn't such a good idea after all.

 

[ironman_gq]

Hose it down at night from at least 10' away. Bring a flashlight and if you see the guards coming out start running. Wait 20 minutes and hose it again. Never been stung yet as long as I'm ready to run, only time I've been stung was when I try to do anything physically to the nest before I spray. Last big one was full of those big black bald face hornets and was the size of a basketball right outside the door of our cabin. Took 3 cans of raid and 2 evenings to wipe it out

 

[Ted Jenkins]

There are a number of ways to eliminate Mudders. Soapy water disables most species for a while so with repeated attempts the hive eventually dies. Traps work well too but one has to be patient to arrive at a successful level. Soap traps also work but had mine invaded by coyotes too. It seems that the OP needs to try several solutions before they become familiar with what works. If the OP does not solve the issue then they will depend on the exterminator for every situation. Thanks

 

[Del_]

Me too. And I Hate those red waspers!!! They are sneaky and will come after you and you won't hear them coming like you do other wasps.

Around here the red wasp are rather docile.

Not like the smaller yellow wasp at all which are quite aggressive.

I see more of the aggressive type in the vegetable garden going after insects. If left alone they go about their merry way.

We grow figs and hornets really love over ripe figs and often seem intoxicated. For the most part they leave you alone though if left alone.

We have homemade hornet traps in the figs.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I talked to a beekeeper yesterday and he told me of someone he knows who used the expanding foam and metal screen on a huge nest found in the cavity of a tree.
He also liked my idea of the sticky paper on the bottom of the gourd.
I think I'm just going to leave it be for now and wait until the weather gets cooler to fool with them. Maybe put up a sign for visitors.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I talked to a beekeeper yesterday and he told me of someone he knows who used the expanding foam and metal screen on a huge nest found in the cavity of a tree.
He also liked my idea of the sticky paper on the bottom of the gourd.
I think I'm just going to leave it be for now and wait until the weather gets cooler to fool with them. Maybe put up a sign for visitors.

Absolutely not a good plan because they can and do grow. You could end up with three nests nearby. My recommendation is buy or fabricate a trap and start with that. HD has some packages of bait or order online and put it into your trap. Since you have time just try some thing and see what gets you any results. I had a huge nest at a tree job a few years ago with them attacking if we got within a hundred feet. It was a real pain. Thanks

 

[Mad Professor]

One more time.............

Spray it with permethrin. Has about a 1 month residual so anything that crawls out and/or hatches from inside will be toast. If you put it in a good pump sprayer you can get it from about 15' away.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

One more time.............

Spray it with permethrin. Has about a 1 month residual so anything that crawls out and/or hatches from inside will be toast. If you put it in a good pump sprayer you can get it from about 15' away.

Okay. Will get some today after work. I have a sprayer.

You ever have your plate so full you just want to scrape everything off?
That's me.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

You ever have your plate so full you just want to scrape everything off?
That's me.

Yes that has been my regime for quite some time. I just wand to close down business and sail to the skeleton Coast and watch the fog for a couple of months. Thanks

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Okay. Will get some today after work. I have a sprayer.

You ever have your plate so full you just want to scrape everything off?
That's me.

Just called the coop. She said the permethrin is for flies, fleas and ticks and not as strong as something she has in a spray can specifically for wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets. that will shoot out 20'.
She's holding three cans for me.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

You ever have your plate so full you just want to scrape everything off?
That's me.

Yes that has been my regime for quite some time. I just wand to close down business and sail to the skeleton Coast and watch the fog for a couple of months. Thanks

Sounds like a plan!

Me, I'll settle for my little pool on Sundays, for now.

 

[Mad Professor]

Just called the coop. She said the permethrin is for flies, fleas and ticks and not as strong as something she has in a spray can specifically for wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets. that will shoot out 20'.
She's holding three cans for me.

The permethin concentrate for $20 will make up 5-gal of spray. It won't knock them down as quick as the cans but has a longer residual. What is the 3 cans spray costing?

Also, the spray for bees/wasps is pretty nasty to humans , let the building vent out before you use it. The permethrin you can spray on your clothes, let it dry, and the clothes will kill ticks/insects for a month but won't hurt you.

 

[holeycow]

Raid kills bugs dead. simple.

I dispose of them in other ways most of the time, but have used Raid and it's quick and easy and no drama. I prefer not to use poisons. Ever.

I like the wd40 flame thrower method. It's dramatic! But rarely get to do that cause most times it could cause a nasty fire.

 

[Wow]

Found these last night when I put something on the shelf next to the gourd.
What's the best/safest way to get rid or/kill them?

During the day when they're out? At night when they are resting? Call a professional?

I was thinking I could cover the top opening with a piece of duct tape and then quickly pick it up by the vine and drop it in a large garbage bag... but what to do with it then?
View attachment 921714View attachment 921715View attachment 921716View attachment 921717View attachment 921718

We have something that builds a nest layered with an opening like what the photo shows..They look a LOT like HONEY BEES but are WASP and can sting and sting..Here's what I do..and have done for years.. Hi Yield spray High percentage.. One ounce to a gallon of water..BUT..Don't fill a gallon Pump up strayer full of water because you want to add my tricky ingredents.. FIRST just test the sprayer with Water..Get a nice long stream but widen the spray nozzle some..Make sure it's spraying good..Let the air out and add Liquid Dish soap but hold that until last.. Not a lot a ounce to the mix is plenty..Maybe half an ounce..The secret ingredent is....Listerine Mouth wash..This stuff FREEZES them right up and IF one gets past you he keeps flying.. I buy equate brand ORIGINAL the amber colored...Add a couple ounces to that..MIX after the Liquid dish soap is added it should make about a gallon including the other stuff. Pump up sprayer and shake it well..You will see the suds..Do this just before you get ready to spray..NOW....wait until it's very dark outside..If there's a moon I wait until it goes down you will want a dark night..Next you will want a Red light and or a FLASHING light..I have both..These things have a LOT better night vision that a red wasp..IF you can drive up in a closed vechicle ( in my rent house I was able to get close enough to spray from my car)..There WILL be guards OUTSIDE the nest watching.. Get them FIRST..Then (make sure you sprayer is pumped up good) then stick the end of the sprayer into the nest and wiggle it around.. Slowly move away and leave it alone..Drive up in a car if you can get close with all the windows up and see IF you get buzzed..MOSTLY the spray killed them and those that ran will return and the spray will kill them too..After two days I got brave enough to spray it again and the next day I put the sprayer on Fog (like a fire hose) and approached..With the mouth wash IF one comes at you it will NOT fly through the spray with the mouth wash..This mix has served me well here on the farm..I keep it on my tractor because one time I was hit a lot of times before I learned this trick..ONCE one hits you the OTHERS will smell that and target you. IF you get hit SPRAY the bite and it's helps stop repeat bites .. Just remember you will NEED to wash it off immediately as soon as possible and DO NOT get it in your eyes or face. Often I make this and Leave the Hi-Yield out and mist the air for wasp and mosquitoes..ON wasp..I leave the Nest hanging..The stragglers will come home and die..The old nest tells the other wasp a colony has failed here move on to another location..My guess is this would work if you used only half an ounce of Hi-yield because the soap and mouth wash does a number on them. Blinking light makes it hard for them to target you..Good luck..

 

[Wow]

One more time.............

Spray it with permethrin. Has about a 1 month residual so anything that crawls out and/or hatches from inside will be toast. If you put it in a good pump sprayer you can get it from about 15' away.

and add Listerine mouth wash and Soap..It's a great mix and works magic..