Mad as a Hornet?

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Claire

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
7,967
Location
Galena, IL
Well, must say that it has come full circle. After hubby spending a day in emergency after an ambulance ride to the hospital, nearly dying after being swarmed by hornets when he tried to trim the hedge, I looked and looked for a hornets' nest. This was in June.

This past Tuesday we hired a yard guy to trim the hedge (needless to say, hubby was NOT going to trim the hedge). Suddenly we saw our yard guy running across the yard. I went out to see what was happening ... we had a hornets' nest the size of a big football. Now that it was exposed they were really PO'd. The next morning they swarmed the porch. Orkin came out 4 times, then said his feelings wouldn't be hurt if we hired someone else. Which we did. The nest is now dead (the local guy will come to break it up and throw it away this week).

If you're in disaster mode, don't call Orkin. On the hottest days of the summer, we couldn't open our windows because the hornets were getting in around the screens. We couldn't let the dogs out on that side of the house (where their fenced-in yard is). I was getting up mornings even at that and killing hornets so that my husband wouldn't get stung. Meanwhile Mr. Orkin was doing preventive maintenance at rich people's homes. At least he could have said he wasn't up to the job on Tuesday.
 
OUCH!
I'd be really mad too!!

I'm glad you have the problem
all taken care of now.


 
Claire, I understand. I have a hornets nest under my porch. :mad: Every time me or the dog steps on the step the hornets come out of the nest. I have called every pest control company for miles around. Some either don't service my area or cannot come for two weeks. :rolleyes: Finally, I got a hold of a local guy that said he could come tomorrow (08/08). I normally can deal with them myself if they are small, but this one is huge. I have already been stung once and my dog once. Hopefully, after tomorrow I will not have any more trouble.

Sorry, about all your troubles. SC :)
 
I have destroyed many nests in my 54 years. YOU NEVER DO DURING THE DAY!:rolleyes: Just get yourself a good Hornet,Wasp and Bee killer.........and follow direstions.
 
Bangbang said:
I have destroyed many nests in my 54 years. YOU NEVER DO DURING THE DAY!:rolleyes: Just get yourself a good Hornet,Wasp and Bee killer.........and follow direstions.

I have also heard you should not get rid of the nest during the day. The early morning before the sun is up is best. That is when they are least active.

My nest is in such an awkward spot that I can reach it safely without crawling under the porch. So, I thought I would leave it up to a professional. He said that he would remove it for free. So, I figured why should I take the chance of getting stung when some else will remove the nest for me.
 
I just soak the nest with Hornet Killer during the night......the next night...I cut it down and place it in plastic bag.....or burn it.
 
Bangbang said:
I just soak the nest with Hornet Killer during the night......the next night...I cut it down and place it in plastic bag.....or burn it.
We used large firecrackers or shot it up with shotguns up north to blow them apart when we were kids. Lots of fun.:ROFLMAO:
 
Hornets Nest

Bangbang said:
We used large firecrackers or shot it up with shotguns up north to blow them apart when we were kids. Lots of fun.:ROFLMAO:

My dad raised Bees, I lnow for sure that you always go out at night.... YOU DO NOT DISTURB THEM IN THE DAYTIME.

Bang bang is right, go to local hardware store, and get stuff to kill Hornets, spray it at night, and gather in plastic bag , and burns remains<<<< Works everytime, and my Dad was never Stung>>>>>

Songbird
 
linda gayle said:
My dad raised Bees, I lnow for sure that you always go out at night.... YOU DO NOT DISTURB THEM IN THE DAYTIME.

Bang bang is right, go to local hardware store, and get stuff to kill Hornets, spray it at night, and gather in plastic bag , and burns remains<<<< Works everytime, and my Dad was never Stung>>>>>

Songbird

I have never been stung either while destroying a nest but been nailed a few times when I got near a nest that I was not aware of.
 
It seems the wasp, hornet and yellow jacket groups are active all over the US..The past two years we've had crop after crop of them and they seem to get a large population each summer. I've also noticed they swarm the small fish pond I have and the swimming pool at certain times of the day seeking water, as the sun starts to go down you can see by their speed they are slowing down, so I spray anything I see in the evening. They never bother the dog or me, but go after my mom and my DH if they are outside..They even swarmed the inside of a tractor cab last wekend as they were grading out by our pasture..Call someone to get them!!! Sure in a month of sundays, nobody wants to be bothered...
kadesma, flyswater and spay can in hand:LOL:
 
Years ago when we had 5 Field Trial Beagles and went to the California and Oregon Trials we had a member we called Slim. ( he was a tall and thin man about 70 ish at the time.) Ol Slim wore a cowboy hat and every time we would come across a Hornets nest he would wrap his hat around it, squeeze and stomp on the hat and then dump it on an ant hill.."let them clean up the mess" he would say.

RIP Slim....
 
I'm so sorry you went through that! Looks like you should have come here first for advice! Night is always best for dealing with bees of any sort! I'm surprised nobody recommended smoke which I've heard is most effective.

I knew a Judge who owned a gread deal of land which he lumbered and he would set out a dish of very finely ground hamburger - the bees (yellow jackets at least are carniverous) and when the bees would take a piece of the hamburger they would be weighted down and fly very slowly so he would follow them to their nests and pour gasoline down them at night and burn them out. Sounds good to me as I'm allergic to them! Don't recommend this but it's the story he told me!

At one of my birthday parties the other kids were teasing the yellow jackets by putting a fly swatter over the nest and pouring pop down the hole - unfortunately for me they then removed the fly swatter and pushed me and I ended up sitting on it! OUCH!:mad:
 
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Oh golly Linda, that must have hurt something awful...Kids can be little stinkers sometimes:LOL: I've never been stung by a wasp or yellow jacket, only a bee and I didn't even realize it til it started to itch..A little meat tenderizer and water to make a paste and I was fine...My son on the other hand blows up like a balloon if stung..Poor kid was really a mess when one got him between the eyes!!

kadesma
 
When I said they swarmed the house and came in under the screens? That was at 2 a.m. Needless to say, they didn't calm down much at night. A particularly aggressive breed of hornets. I think they're called bald-faced hornets, large black & white creatures. Two places I called would have nothing to do with them. Husband is severely allergic. A local guy did the trick. They were not much less active at night, especially during this heat wave we had last week. Believe me, I have that foam spray, and used it to get rid of them when they swarmed the house (now I need to wash all my windows). I was a sight, with my arm sticking out the door, spraying a few hundred hornets as they were trying to get in the house at 2 a.m. To be honest with you, the best $125 I've spent this week. We were under seige. I've never been stung by a bee/hornet/yellow jacket/wasp in my life, and wasn't about to start with a few thousand hornets. The guy who killed the nest for us only got stung once, and did it at noon, because this breed just isn't that much calmer at night, especially when it is hot.
 
Claire, I'm glad that's all over for you! I hate hornets!! One of our neighbors has a hornets nest about the same size yours was in the pitch of their roof, right over the attic vent. One of them was leaning out of an upstairs window spraying it with hornet killer the other day. I don't know if they ever got rid of them, but the nest is still up there.
 
Part of the problem was that the nest was in the hedge rather than in a tree. All the exterminators had equipment to kill a nest that was 10' or more above the ground, and this was 2' above the ground. Of course it didn't help that Jerry almost died from an attack from that nest, and my yard guy has medical problems. It is gone, and I am happy. This week I plan on using the foam and really spraying the living daylights out of the hedge. Not fun. Thanks for the moral support!!!
 
Claire, I am glad that things are going better for you. I came home today and my hornets nest was gone. Thank heaven for the exterminator guy. I know for sure that I am going to be definitely more diligent in looking out for nests in my yard from now on. Be safe and take care.

SC :)
 
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