Hornets' nest

[dragonballz]

I think this is a hornet nest. Any tips on getting rid of it?

Im in Massachusetts and it's going to be around freezing temps for a while. I just saw it a couple of days ago. Never seen any hornets around for at least 10 years.

 

[shooting4life]

 

[ElectroLight]

It's been cold enough that they're history, me thinks a garden rake should do the job just fine.

 

[crankshaftdan II]

Had a simular situation-mine was under a front deck-sprayed it with wasp&Hornet spray from about 12' distance and knocked it to the ground with a long pole. Sprayed it again with brake kleen and set it on fire away from the deck. They were not pleased and this was in the summer time-they might be dormant in cold weather and stay inside until they hit the ground?? One can never be too cautious with those critters!!

 

[koditten]

You need to put your hand next to it and take another pic so we can get an idea how big it is

 

[78RS_to112SS]

I seen one guy try the fire trick and:

They sell a spray can that you can spray from 6ft into hole that not only kills but foams up and seals hole. Works good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[78Bird]

if it's good and cold, grab it in a trash bag and get it down.

Then just toss it on the fire...

 

[Punchwood]

Those appear to me to be white faced hornets. Been there, done that. However, you have cold temps on your side. I wasn't so lucky. When it's really cold just go up to the nest with a trash bag, wrap it around the nest and cut it down. Then kill it with fire.

 

[Professur]

I'm a fan of giving wasp nests a shot of CO2.

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

The cold weather should be on your side. In the summer time I put 1 part lemon Joy to 3 parts water in a spray bottle and shoot the bees, wasps, what ever and being exoskeleton or something like that and it starves their bodies of oxygen and they die.

 

[PugetDude]

If you can harvest it gently, without damage (heavy plastic bag, just seal it up for a month and let the hornets asphyxiate) many taxidermists will buy them to use with a full-body bear mount.

 

[stangguy78]

I had one similar to that several years ago, but it was about four times the size and built on the ground. I had to wait until it got cold enough so I could catch them all in the nest. I used a cheap bug sprayer filled with gasoline; went in early one cold morning and started poking holes in it and sprayed them with the gas as the nozzle entered. When I heard them all "calm down" (no more buzzing) I scooped up the nest with a grain/snow shovel and placed it on my driveway and set it ablaze. I haven't had a problem since. You can't imagine how big some of them were inside the nest.

 

[dragonballz]

Haha thanks guys.

So you guys think they're living inside there at this time of the year?

I think it is about 6" in diameter

 

[AMCguy]

If that is an active nest there will be a hornet standing guard at the entrance. At this time of year I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I have a lawn maintenance business. I deal with them constantly. I've gotten rid of quite a few of them in the past. Here's what you do;

Place a garbage can directly under the nest. Keep the lid handy. Use a flat shovel. In one quick precise motion, shave it from the underside of your deck. When it falls into the garbage can, drop the shovel and grab the lid and cover the can. Do what you want with them after that.

Bald faced hornets are good pollinators, but later in the season when there are fewer blossoms, they become pests looking for whatever they can find. The can ruin an outdoor event. The are persistent but rarely a threat. Get close to their nest and that is a different story. They are fiercely defensive. In the fall, they will all leave the nest and find a place to winter over and look for a place to start a nest of their own in the spring If they survive.

A little known fact. All the hornets in the nest are sisters.

 

[nonhog]

If allergies are an issue. (when its warm and the nest is active) use a super soaker filled with ant poison. (Suspend) and soak the nest. Takes a few days but will kill them all. Wish I had seen the Bald face Hornets nest before I started tugging on that blackberry vine.

Brake cleaner is fun.

 

[nonhog]

Haha thanks guys.

So you guys think they're living inside there at this time of the year?

In Seattle no! They are dead. Where your at?

 

[Graymills - Craig]

Why miss an opportunity to bring firearms into play?

 

[dragonballz]

In Seattle no! They are dead. Where your at?

Massachusetts. It is freezing.

 

[BADSIX]

I just did one about twice that size and active. What you do is wait until after dark, they all go to bed then and you can kill all of them. Go out with a flash light and a can of wasp and hornet spray and saturate the nest starting at the opening. The next day you should be able to remove it with no danger. Don't screw with it during the day they have some of their buddy's out side and they won't like what your doing
Jay D

 

[Firestarter Fred]

Why miss an opportunity to bring firearms into play?



^^^^THIS! HAHA

 

[WNYflyer]

I just took down a huge one around Thanksgiving. The hornets had been long gone with the on-set of cold weather. They probably left the nest mid October I would say. I think most die off but some winter in the ground.

 

[sasquatch12]

Agree , as long as it is cold temps, just cut the top off with a shovel etc, and drop it into a open garbage bag etc. Doesn't take much cool weather for them to go dormant.

 

[BearCuda]

I destroyed a smaller one this past summer with fire. Had to spray em all for like ten minutes before hand. Their communication is incredible. As soon as I started spraying and they started falling, suddenly dozens and dozens came from nowhere towards the nest. Killed like a couple hundred before I could flip over the rug they were under, under my deck. I flung the carpet it was attached to in the yard and soaked it with brakekleen I was spraying and roasted em.

The other guys are right though,if you can kill off the ones inside while it's cold out, the nest will bring a few bucks.

 

[psychob0b1977]

I'm also in ma, I call those paper wasps... I just took down a small nest last week and it was empty.

I would poke it with a long stick just to make sure it's empty BEFORE you scrape it off!

If there is any activity after poking, douse the whole nest with the jet type hornet spray, when the dead stop falling out, spray it again...

But this time of year I don't think you'll have any trouble.

 

[dragonballz]

The other guys are right though,if you can kill off the ones inside while it's cold out, the nest will bring a few bucks.

What do you mean? I can sell the nest? Somebody will actually buy it?

 

[ZRX61]

It took until 26 posts for this:

Whatever you plan to do, make sure someone is close by with a video camera

 

[laser3kw]

If you can harvest it gently, without damage (heavy plastic bag, just seal it up for a month and let the hornets asphyxiate) many taxidermists will buy them to use with a full-body bear mount.

^^^^^
this
you can get $40 ~$75 at farmers markets if you save them right - meaning no live one that well jump out and stig granny.

 

[dragonballz]

If you can harvest it gently, without damage (heavy plastic bag, just seal it up for a month and let the hornets asphyxiate) many taxidermists will buy them to use with a full-body bear mount.

Dont know how I missed this post. I'll look into this

 

[dragonballz]

^^^^^
this
you can get $40 ~$75 at farmers markets if you save them right - meaning no live one that well jump out and stig granny.

Mine is on the small side so I'll probably get bottom dollar.

 

[Pathfinders]

The movie Tommy Boy. Bees, your weapons are useless.

 

[BearCuda]

Mine is on the small side so I'll probably get bottom dollar.

I dunno, from the looks of it, it's about 6 inches across isn't it? Not huge by hornet nest standards but not tiny either. You could start leaving out comic papers out in the spring and you will get a bigger psychedelic tie dye looking nest. There's some cool pics on the net of people who have done this. Check it out.

 

[Standard Gas&Oil]

I own a pest control company, this time of year all the wasps are dead. They all die off except the queen that leaves the nest in the late fall. You will be ok to scrape that down without getting attacked.

 

[dragonballz]

Thank you everybody

 

[Arps]

Had a simular situation-mine was under a front deck-sprayed it with wasp&Hornet spray from about 12' distance and knocked it to the ground with a long pole. Sprayed it again with brake kleen and set it on fire away from the deck. They were not pleased and this was in the summer time-they might be dormant in cold weather and stay inside until they hit the ground?? One can never be too cautious with those critters!!

This is generally how I deal with them too. No dead is too dead when it comes to wasps and hornets.

 

[fredtech]

My dad did beekeeping as a hobby for 15 years. People in his hometown used to call him when they didn't know how to remove the nest. My dad is retired and would do it for free.
His trick was to wait after the sun goes down, all the bees/wasp are inside the nest for the night. He would put a piece of tape on the bottom opening. Cut where it's attached and put it in a bag for transportation.

He would relocate the wasp in the woods. When they were bees he tried to start a new colony in a empty hive. That worked most of the time, bees didn't always stay in a new home

 

[zenon52]

Where abouts in Mass? I am in Western Mass and smashed up 4 of them there nests this past summer. Just used my pressure washer and the pin point spray, shattered the nest into next week.

 

[Fishplate]

Everyone wants to burn the nest, and yet, everyone has enemies who could benefit from receiving a gift like this in the mail...

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I heard a story once about a guy who found a Hornet's nest outside in the winter time, and didn't see any bees because it was so cold. He thought the nest would look good in his rec room hanging near the wood stove. Guess what happened when the hornets inside warmed up?????

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

Everyone wants to burn the nest, and yet, everyone has enemies who could benefit from receiving a gift like this in the mail...

OK, what's your address?

 

[dragonballz]

I heard a story once about a guy who found a Hornet's nest outside in the winter time, and didn't see any bees because it was so cold. He thought the nest would look good in his rec room hanging near the wood stove. Guess what happened when the hornets inside warmed up?????

Hahah

I'm in eastern MA