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Der Gebirgsjager
10-05-2023, 07:14 PM
and there it was!

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Bigger than it appears in the photo. Due to a now-recovering bad back I haven't walked around there for awhile, and the boys have been busy. But the nights are now down to 28 - 32 degrees every night, and I see several dead hornets lying in the grass below the nest. They'll likely all freeze to death during the coming Winter and then I'll cautiously knock the nest down with a long pole in the Spring. Right now, some are still coming and going.

DG

Winger Ed.
10-05-2023, 08:00 PM
Ohhh, that just wouldn't do for me. I'd have to attack it on sight.

There's a guy on youtube that goes after them with a drone.
He gets them stirred up then flies his drone in & among them chopping them up.

G W Wade
10-05-2023, 08:13 PM
I use a garden hose. Was told rain is natural to them so the do not get upset. If closer use Wasp and Hornet killer in the past with great results. I do swell badly when bit so I try to be carefull GW

dverna
10-05-2023, 08:43 PM
I hate the little ********. Spraying them at night has worked for me.

Three44s
10-05-2023, 09:21 PM
Are these black hornets or yellow jackets?

If that nest was in a safer place I would use a propane weed burning torch. I do the burn at night, never in the daylight. You light the torch and keep the center of the flame right on the opening. As they come out to the light from the torch, the flame melts their wings.

There are foreign hornets and wasps that have made it to the US that are known to guard, fly and attack in the dark so make sure you are not dealing with one of those species. I do not know of these existing here in the Pacific NW however (yet).

I would be carefull in approaching our native species and keep the light off the nest keeping it dark until the first light that reaches them is the flame.

Three44s

Rockindaddy
10-05-2023, 09:51 PM
Those are Bald Face Hornets or White Face Hornets. They are very beneficial! They eat common flies and mosquitoes. They capture them and feed them to their young. Cold weather is coming. The entire hive will die soon because of the cold. Don't mess with them! They will not bother you. The hive will be vacant soon and you can pressure wash the whole hive away. I have them around the farm here SW PA every year. You might want to look up their life cycle.

45workhorse
10-05-2023, 10:17 PM
Wadding for your muzzle loading police special shotgun!:kidding:

Recycled bullet
10-06-2023, 07:23 AM
Smack it with a stick!

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dverna
10-06-2023, 07:54 AM
Smack it with a stick!

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I know a person who did that...once...LOL. Not the brightest bulb on the string.

William Yanda
10-06-2023, 08:16 AM
Smack it with a stick!

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and then run like the Devil was after you

GhostHawk
10-06-2023, 08:37 AM
I like an older vacumn cleaner, the kind with a metal extension for the hose.

Stick that up onto the hole loosely, it will suck the live ones out. As things slow down you can start "Coring out the guts" pulling all the grubs/larva in.

When you have it all, spray in some bug killer, duct tape the end shut. Set it out in the sunshine for a day to let the bug killer work.

When you can walk over, give it a good rap, and not hear a buzz, throw the bag away, empty the trash.

ascast
10-06-2023, 08:55 AM
put an M80 on a long stick, light, and poke into the thing. LOL
wait a month and they will all be dead-much easier the clean up then

Recycled bullet
10-06-2023, 09:14 AM
When I find small wasp nests near an entrance way or doorway AKA a big problem if they sting me.. what I do is I take Dawn dish soap and water in a squirt bottle and I squirt them and they fall down and they can't fly because their wings are covered in soap and I just walk over there and step on them with my work boots.

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JRLesan
10-06-2023, 09:30 AM
Didn't anyone READ #6??????????????

firefly1957
10-06-2023, 04:07 PM
I get rid of them when I can #6 advice or not!

Being on the house I would use wasp spray over the years many a nest in a tree or shrub has gotten a load of shot from the 12 gauge ! Smaller nests just vanish if I figure the load and the distance right that one may take 3-4 shots "IF" it was in a tree .
I reload and bought 209 primers in bulk when they were cheap so price of ammo is not a problem YET!

Winger Ed.
10-06-2023, 05:54 PM
I read #6 and it reminded me of one of my favorite songs, "Jimmy Cracking Corn".
I especially like that part in it that goes, "I don't care'.

If wasps and hornets want to co-exist with me, they need to be a couple hundreds away, and out of my sight.

.

elmacgyver0
10-06-2023, 06:05 PM
They have their place, but not on or in your house.

ShooterAZ
10-06-2023, 06:16 PM
Yikes DG, I would not want them on or near my house either. This past summer we had a major infiltration of paper wasps and yellowjackets. Every time I would water my tomato plants they would come a'runnin, and my wife would refuse to go out in the back yard. I know they just want water, but they are scary nonetheless.

Texas by God
10-06-2023, 07:24 PM
I remember a program with Jeff Corwyn (the wildlife guy) down in Mexico participating in an annual wasp nest ceremony. The women prepared the beans and tortillas and when the pot of beans was about ready, a designated man got on a ladder with a wet towel and yanked the nest down, putting all of it in the pot to cook.
Tequila was consumed before during and after the meal….


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jsizemore
10-06-2023, 07:57 PM
Those are Bald Face Hornets or White Face Hornets. They are very beneficial! They eat common flies and mosquitoes. They capture them and feed them to their young. Cold weather is coming. The entire hive will die soon because of the cold. Don't mess with them! They will not bother you. The hive will be vacant soon and you can pressure wash the whole hive away. I have them around the farm here SW PA every year. You might want to look up their life cycle.

Had one fly in the truck about the time I got ready to leave after warming up the truck yesterday morning. He bumped a few windows and when he turned my way I saw the white face. I opened the door, stepped out and he followed. He flew on the outside of the windshield to make his way home. I wished he'd eaten more of those skitters that chewed on me this afternoon while shooting.

Recycled bullet
10-06-2023, 08:20 PM
Just a couple of hours ago....I found a yellow jacket wasp crawling around inside my truck while I was cruising down a twisty country road.

I was concerned that if I did not remove him he was going to crawl under my leg get squished and sting me when I wasn't ready for it.

These little bees feel like a hot piece of metal being pressed up against your leg it's not the worst thing in the world but it is distracting and I'm operating a big ass pickup truck on a little road.

So I did the only reasonable thing which was I pulled over put my hazards on and picked him up with a piece of paper and shook him outside the window and he flew on his merry way.

There's a time for killing and then there's a time for peace. Build disgusting wasp nests above the doorways going into my home and the difference can be discovered.

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Winger Ed.
10-06-2023, 08:41 PM
Yellow jackets around here have a terrible attitude.

I think they go around looking for people so they can sting them, then fly away laughing about it.

Recycled bullet
10-06-2023, 08:46 PM
The mean ones around here are the Virginia European hornets. Around this time of the year they're storing food so that the nest can survive the winter. It makes them abnormally aggressive and they're targeting two things apples and flesh. I've been chased away from a barbecue by a swarm of these things and they are strong enough that they can remove pieces of steak off of a t-bone with their mandibles and then fly away with a piece of meat. They got a big ugly red face, they are as long as your finger and they sound like a small DJI drone when they fly. Other than all those negatives I think they're fascinating I just hope I never see one again [emoji1787]

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Recycled bullet
10-06-2023, 08:49 PM
A good way to kill large hornets is to staple raw chicken to a piece of plywood and then hang that up upside down a couple of inches above a tupperware or a bucket full of soapy water. They eat and eat and eat until they're too heavy to fly then they fall in the water and drown. The best part is since you're not stepping on them they don't release the chemical pheromones for swarm and attack.



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country gent
10-06-2023, 09:01 PM
Hopefuly theres not a vent under the net or it may also run down inside the wall. If so it may be bigger inside than out

Winger Ed.
10-06-2023, 09:29 PM
There's a guy I think in Japan where they have those really bad hornets that will kill an entire honey bee hive.

He takes a couple of those stick 'em/glue rat traps and puts them on top of the bee's hive box.
Then kills one and put it on there too. It releases some sort "I need help" scent that calls all the rest of them.
Within a few minutes, all the rest of the hornets come to the funeral and get stuck too.

MaryB
10-07-2023, 01:04 AM
I went to move my homemade boat trailer and got nailed by wasps. They had built a nest in the front cross brace tube... I waited for them to settle down, snuck up on them with the 12 gauge and a blank. Stuck the shotgun in the end of the tube and BANG! Blew them and their nest out the other end in pieces. Had to stomp 3 or 4 that survived but were to stunned to fly...

I get paper wasps every year, go through 4-5 cans of spray hosing them down from around the deck and over the front door. Got to the point I can pick one out of mid air with a burst of spray.

MrWolf
10-07-2023, 07:24 AM
Just saw the same thing yesterday. I took the pic after whacking it once. Nest was empty as we have had a few cold days and now in the cold season (to me at least). #6 had good info on them being beneficial which I didn't know. Thanks
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Bmi48219
10-07-2023, 05:54 PM
Some part of the medical / pharma industry uses hornet stingers for research or anti-venom. I watched a discovery channel show about how the harvest them
The daughter in Michigan had ground wasps (yellow jackets?) in an underground nest by her front door. Her sister in law gave her the # of a local team that removes them for free. They sell them to research facilities.

MaryB
10-07-2023, 10:52 PM
Some part of the medical / pharma industry uses hornet stingers for research or anti-venom. I watched a discovery channel show about how the harvest them
The daughter in Michigan had ground wasps (yellow jackets?) in an underground nest by her front door. Her sister in law gave her the # of a local team that removes them for free. They sell them to research facilities.

My idiot neighbor mixed gas and diesel 50/50 and poured it down a ground wasp nest. He backed up and tossed in a flare... the fumes were just right to be explosive... left a crater in the boulevard, damaged the gas line that ran right under the hole... cost him a bundle to get it all repaired!

Jimmynostars
10-08-2023, 01:37 AM
We had a wasp nest in the ground down the back of our section a few years ago.

Upon advice I filled 2 buckets with sand and quietly placed them near by during the day.
Came back at night and quickly poured 2lt of diesel down the hole and covered it with the sand, first thing in the morning I delt to the stragglers when it was still cold

firefly1957
10-08-2023, 08:50 AM
Winger Ed Jimmy Crack corn was about a boy who was drunk on corn whiskey after he swatted his masters horse and blaming it on the blue tailed fly .

Earlier in the year I had a invasion of the large European wasps but they all went away mid July?

I have been stung terribly by ground yellow jackets once was walking though a field with swim suit and t-shirt on first thought was I had walked into nettles , Looking down both legs were covered in wasps ! I ran though the weeds and got them off but the mile walk back to my car was painful as heck! At home I took a couple Benadryl and a cold bath it was a painful couple of days.
I did go back and wipe them out the hole was three inches around a ounce of Dionizon (sp) and a quart of gas was poured in and a rock placed on the hole . The fumes will kill the live ones the poison was for the eggs & grubs . I had heavy clothing on boots head net for the task and did not get anymore stings .

waksupi
10-08-2023, 10:31 AM
I've noticed over the years when I have been cutting down trees and find I am standing on a ground hornets nest, I tend to leave the chain saw right there when leaving the area. Requiring going back to get the chain saw!

Der Gebirgsjager
10-08-2023, 11:21 AM
I do believe that these are bald faced wasps, as offered in Post #6, as I've examined some of the dead ones lying on the ground and they have white faces. I'm sure that the winter will kill them. They haven't been aggressive at all.

At the same time, every morning the frost on the metal roof melts and drips onto the ground, especially noticeable on my paved parking area on the west side of the house. There will be several hundred small bees show up to drink the water. Sometimes a couple of hundred will be all lined up along the drip line on the blacktop drinking. They are also non-aggressive, and I haven't been stung by anybody this Fall.

On the other hand, like waksupi, I've had some memorable experiences with ground hornets. I was mowing a grassy area under some oak trees where I used to live over in the Coast Range, and my dachshund was supervising. Suddenly I heard him whining and yelping and I saw that they were coming out of the ground in abundance. I jumped off the mower and grabbed him up and headed for the house at a dead run, about 30 yards distant. They got me seven times before I got in the door. The poor dog went into shock and just lay on the sofa quivering for maybe an hour and a half, but eventually came out of it and was o.k. I sure that if one didn't have a refuge of some sort they could prove lethal.

DG

Moleman-
10-08-2023, 12:09 PM
The bald faced bees and yellow jackets are both jerks. We get both nests in our yard every year. If there's an issue because of their nest location they get hosed down with wasp spray at night until the nest falls down and they're all dead. My wife is allergic to all bee's so we don't take chances. There are plenty of other less agressive bee's to take their place. The hive will die over the winter but the queen will try to find a warm place to winter over. About two weeks ago I killed two queens in my polebarn a couple days apart. One was flying around and landed on a window sill, the other was in a drawyer of 1/4" bits in my rolling tool box. Bit of a surprise to open the closed drawer and start rooting around for a specific size bit to see something moving and have that something be a yellow jacket queen. The very first yellow jackets and bald faced bees you'll see every year will be the queens making the start of a new hive.

For those of you using a vacuum to kill them, add a couple inches of soapy water to the bottom. Not enough soap that you get foam coming out the exhaust, but enough to break the water tension which kills them. If they've made a nest inside of a wall or someplace not easily accessed, get liquid dog tick and flea killer with Fipronil and squirt the little bottle around and in the opening. It's a slow acting poison so they track it inside, and by the time it kills them they've already poisoned the queen and larve.

redhawk0
10-08-2023, 01:21 PM
Posted on a bulletin board at one of my customer's in the NorthEast. As far as getting rid of them...I usually wait until a freeze...then pull it down. allergies dontcha know.

redhawk

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BNE
10-08-2023, 06:00 PM
When I was a kid, we had a big nest like that close to my sisters room. Ring the smart kids we were, we would throw a rock and hit the nest. If we go in fast enough to not get stung, we would watch as they angrily flew against her window. And yes, I vividly remember my sister screaming and running as she was getting stung in the backside.

The rule of throwing rocks was you had to throw and then NOT MOVE. It worked most of the time!

BNE

10x
10-10-2023, 09:14 AM
I know a person who did that...once...LOL. Not the brightest bulb on the string.

but very red and swollen.....

Bmi48219
10-10-2023, 12:10 PM
If you locate a ground wasp nest, wait until dark and shove a lit 10 minute road flare in it and pack the hole with a rag. If the heat doesn’t get them the fumes will. Just make sure you’re not near a gas line or underground cable.

Skipper
10-10-2023, 01:54 PM
12 ga loaded with grits or cream of wheat.

farmbif
10-10-2023, 06:59 PM
as it gets colder they will all die except the queen and the queen will find a place to hide through the winter. if you can kill the queen that colony won't come back

pricedo
10-10-2023, 09:52 PM
Had a big paper wasp nest under the eaves of my shed ... washed it away with the high pressure water hose ... sprayed the wasps on the ground with Raid before they could dry out and also sprayed the place under the eaves where the nest was so any survivors couldn't rebuild there ... worked like a charm like it always does ... the dog was curious and started sniffing the ground under the nest and took a sting ... he lost interest real quick

10x
10-11-2023, 06:37 AM
I put a very large paper wasp nest in my workshop. It kept kids out for over 20 years.
Once the wasp nest is empty, they never return, they have built a new nest elsewhere.

waksupi
10-11-2023, 11:22 AM
I used to have lots of yellow jackets nest in the eaves of the cabin. I put up a few Japanese lanterns, and it keeps them away, as they think it is another bees nest.