Let 'em live - or kill them sumbitches?

[ShopVac]

Guess I don't walk in the front door too often, but just noticed a nice sized hornet's nest about 20' up.

Being that high up, I'm not worried about people getting stung walking to the front door, and while hornets are not bees, reading they do have some benefits...guess they are better than your typical ground yellow jackets that just want to F your day.

So, pose the following question - spray at night and risk it a little getting swarmed and remove in the nest with water the following morning...or just let them live through the fall where they'll eventually die out in the winter and remove the nest when they're out.

What are your thoughts?

[Alfisti]

YOu have 2 options. Call a pro and be done with it nice and easy, or fill a sprayer with gasoline, open that window, douse the nest and close the window quick smart. Nothing but nothing kills wasps and hornets faster than gasoline.

[King Rudi]

Burn the entire house.

[catskillclimber]

Leave it alone. Knock it down in the winter when its empty.

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

YOu have 2 options. Call a pro and be done with it nice and easy, or fill a sprayer with gasoline, open that window, douse the nest and close the window quick smart. Nothing but nothing kills wasps and hornets faster than gasoline.

The window is actually 2 stories up as well...so accessing this from the inside would be tricky. While I'm good to gas a good ground hornet nest, not sure I'm for gassing anything attached to the house.

[ryan stewart]

I spray at night as long as the sprayer can reach. If you hit an actual wasp/hornet they die like STAT but also if you coat the nest anyone who is away and returns also gets sick.

That way you arent dealing with the bastards while being out on your deck, working in the garden, etc all season. Then after a couple of days melt it with a hose.

My only bitch is I have an overhang that is too high and JUST out of the reach of the spray and I think those little fuckers know that, they love to nest up there.

[Tommy-G]

Ummm, yeah.....

https://www.boringcompany.com/not-a-flamethrower

[TiMSport]

I'd probably have a pro take care of it. Of course I have pest control service so pretty sure they'd take care of it as part of the plan if anything that nasty showed up. No way I'd leave it.

[DocL]

I hate hives. I usually get one or two a year up in the space between my garage door and overhang. I shoot it down with a hose and run like a little girl when the bes/wasps start flying out. It's not a pretty sight, but I'm sure people laugh if they see me.

[UncleWede]

You should have asked us about 5 weeks ago, before he nest was sealed.

When they come and start on my carport, maybe 3 rows of nest, out comes the jetted can of wasp killer. Then a week later I get on the ladder and knock it down.

[Manny01]

I’m usually a live and let live kind of guy with beneficial insects/animals, but for every wasp nest see there are ten others near by. I say get rid of it.

[jsf721]

Had one just like that last summer. Got 5 cans of foaming jet hornet spray. Put on my helmet goggles long sleeves and went to work at about 7pm. They are pretty much all back in there.

Take wet towel throw on top. There is a vent hole.
Fill the entrance with foam and don’t stop. I put a large tarp from horrible freight under the area to make clean up easy. They will keep coming out and fall on tarp dead. Don’t stop spraying and have all the cans ready. Might not need them all but you might need them all lol.

Use hose and deck brush to remove.

Fold up tarp put in Hd trash bag and done.

Make sure you keep and eye over next several days for any that come back they will look to rebuild. A hose will discourage them and they will look elsewhere.

I got away without a sting but it’s hairy for the first 5-10 minutes they come out so fast.

[RickFLM4]

Just call a pest control company to get rid of them. Won’t cost all that much and safest solution. Maybe you’ll need to listen to their sales pitch for ongoing service but you can just tell them you want to see how they solve this problem before deciding anything.

What are the benefits of hornets and are they in short supply like bees?

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Just call a pest control company to get rid of them. Won’t cost all that much and safest solution. Maybe you’ll need to listen to their sales pitch for ongoing service but you can just tell them you want to see how they solve this problem before deciding anything.

What are the benefits of hornets and are they in short supply like bees?

In reading (no expert) it says they will pollinate some (not like bees, but some) and take care of nuisance bugs - which is odd, as I'd consider these a nuisance.

EDIT: guess the question would be hornets or wasps? I really don't know.

[fiveohwblow]

Kill them. Kill them all.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Just my humble two cents: destroy that as soon as you can - don't just leave them be.

Primary reason: that nest will spawn further queens who will hibernate through the winter and build more nests around the area come next Spring.

Also, both hornets and wasps become more aggressive food hunters as Fall approaches and become a giant pain in the ass. Don't know if you eat outside or have little kids?

I walk my property once every two weeks to examine for budding nests and spray those f@ckers with a good wasp/hornet spray while the nest is still small.

As others have said, you can probably kill that yourself, but with it being that high up, I would call a pro. Worth $100.

[chassis]

Death, make them all die.

[upstatedoc]

Isn't there already a thread on this? Don't "let it be" you have to make them feel unwelcome. Otherwise they will come back. I think gasoline is the best choice.

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by chassis

Death, make them all die.

.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

In reading (no expert) it says they will pollinate some (not like bees, but some) and take care of nuisance bugs - which is odd, as I'd consider these a nuisance.

EDIT: guess the question would be hornets or wasps? I really don't know.

So I googled and thought the same. The passage went on to state, "Put simply, without wasps, we would be overrun with insect pests, and we would have no figs—and no Fig Newtons." Seriously? I could totally trade Fig Newtons in lieu of a surprise painful hello, from an ant-sized demon from the depths of hell and a shot, or a trip to the ER.

Although these little bastards do keep other pest populations at bay, I recently watched a documentary on insects; and there are 200 million insects to each human on earth. Makes me wonder, what would that number be without these insect equivalents to meth addicts? The documentary went on to say that if the insect kingdom ever got their shit together, we're all done.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

So I googled and thought the same. The passage went on to state, "Put simply, without wasps, we would be overrun with insect pests, and we would have no figs—and no Fig Newtons." Seriously? I could totally trade Fig Newtons in lieu of a surprise painful hello, from an ant-sized demon from the depths of hell and a shot, or a trip to the ER.

Although these little bastards do keep other pest populations at bay, I recently watched a documentary on insects; and there are 200 million insects to each human on earth. Makes me wonder, what would that number be without these insect equivalents to meth addicts? The documentary went on to say that if the insect kingdom ever got their shit together, we're all done.

Yeah, imagine them organized and working together, plotting and carrying out the death of mankind.

Sounds like the makings of a good movie. I think there was something like that, though I can't remember what it was called.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Yeah, imagine them organized and working together, plotting and carrying out the death of mankind.

Sounds like the makings of a good movie. I think there was something like that, though I can't remember what it was called.

Starship Troopers