bald faced hornets

[John Dirks Jr]

I just had my pest control guy take care of a nest we had in a tree in the back yard. The hole was about 5" in diameter and about 20' off the ground.

As you can see by the picture, these bald faced hornets get pretty big.

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[Jim Katen]

If the ones that size just appeared toward the end of summer, you're looking at a "foundress" or pregnant female. She's much larger than the normal wasps in her nest. At this time of year, she'll be looking for a safe place to while away the winter. In spring, she'll emerge to found a new nest.

You'll find that foundresses are not in the least agressive. She can't afford to piss off anyone who might try to kill her because she carries the next generation of her family.

For the past few years, I've been collecting foundresses and letting them overwinter in a mason jar in my garage refrigerator. In the spring, I've been attempting to get them to build a new nest in a box in the corner of my porch. So far, I have not been successful.

[ghentjr]

If the ones that size just appeared toward the end of summer, you're looking at a "foundress" or pregnant female. She's much larger than the normal wasps in her nest. At this time of year, she'll be looking for a safe place to while away the winter. In spring, she'll emerge to found a new nest.

You'll find that foundresses are not in the least agressive. She can't afford to piss off anyone who might try to kill her because she carries the next generation of her family.

For the past few years, I've been collecting foundresses and letting them overwinter in a mason jar in my garage refrigerator. In the spring, I've been attempting to get them to build a new nest in a box in the corner of my porch. So far, I have not been successful.

And you want them to do that because?

[kurt]

What are the little nasty ones that nest underground?

[John Dirks Jr]

What are the little nasty ones that nest underground?

Where I live, Yellow Jackets nest in the ground. You'll be mowing the lawn and the next thing you know, you're under attack.

I take care of those myself by pouring gasoline in the hole. It's always done the trick.

[John Dirks Jr]

BTW, I normally leave wild life be. In this case, the hornets were swarming around the back door light at night. Not just one or two but as many as a dozen or so. The Mrs. demanded action be taken.

[Scottpat]

What are the little nasty ones that nest underground?

Where I live, Yellow Jackets nest in the ground. You'll be mowing the lawn and the next thing you know, you're under attack.

I take care of those myself by pouring gasoline in the hole. It's always done the trick.

My neighbor did that in an attempt to get rid of moles! But, he thought that it would work better if he also caught the gas on fire... It took about seven minutes for the fire department to get to the house on the other side of his to put the 20' burning Leyland Cypress tree out! Yep, it made for good conversations at the street party on Labor Day!

[hausdok]

Hi,

I always thought the bald face hornets were those wasps with the battleship blue-grey coloring that are aggressive as hell. I've never been able to get closer than 10 ft. to one of their nests without them coming out in force to drive me away. If they aren't bald-faced hornets, what the heck are they?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Les]

Hi,

I always thought the bald face hornets were those wasps with the battleship blue-grey coloring that are aggressive as hell. I've never been able to get closer than 10 ft. to one of their nests without them coming out in force to drive me away. If they aren't bald-faced hornets, what the heck are they?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Duck Dynasty Hornets. Do I have to tell you everything?

[John Dirks Jr]

Hi,

I always thought the bald face hornets were those wasps with the battleship blue-grey coloring that are aggressive as hell. I've never been able to get closer than 10 ft. to one of their nests without them coming out in force to drive me away. If they aren't bald-faced hornets, what the heck are they?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

My pest control guy who has 35 yrs experience says bald faced hornet.

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But they look closer to this > European Hornet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hornet

[John Dirks Jr]

Yup, European Hornet. Here is an image from the internet.

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Here is a pic I took of one at my house.

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[John Kogel]

Now how do you discreetly tell your pest control guy he is wrong? []

BTW, he should know that European wasps will bite humans but rarely sting, or so they say.

We have Yellow Jackets and the black and white wasps, which we just call 'Hornets' here. Then there's Mud wasps, honey bees and bumble bees.

To some people,they're all 'Bees!'. []

[Jim Katen]

What are the little nasty ones that nest underground?

Where I live, Yellow Jackets nest in the ground. You'll be mowing the lawn and the next thing you know, you're under attack.

I take care of those myself by pouring gasoline in the hole. It's always done the trick.

Gasoline works fine, as does kerosene, which is safer.

However, if you really want to try a cool way to do it - and a much more environmentally friendly way - go out there at night, toss a piece of dry ice over the hole, and then place a bucket over the dry ice. The carbon dioxide displaces the air in the nest and suffocates them with no harmful residues or risk of fire.

Or, as Jesse Pinkman would say, "Yo! It's science, bitch!"

[kurt]

I think we're missing an opportunity for explosives. Can't we come up with a solution that involves large explosions?

Dry ice is so scientific and un-American.

Science is for wimps. Real Americans demand explosive solutions.

[Nolan Kienitz]

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[Nolan Kienitz]

OK, OK ... here it is ...

Thanks for the setup Kurt [:-slaphap

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[Jim Katen]

I think we're missing an opportunity for explosives. Can't we come up with a solution that involves large explosions?

Dry ice is so scientific and un-American.

Science is for wimps. Real Americans demand explosive solutions.

I'll grant you that the dry ice thing does have a sort of understated E.U. feel to it. I'll bet its the way that they kill wasp nests in Brussels.

An explosion would certainly be American. The thing is, you'd need a pretty big one. I'm guessing a 1/4 stick of dynamite. Anything less and you'll just end up with a bunch of angry wasps.

(Which, I suppose, is what America is really about anyway. . . )

[kurt]

HAHAHA!

That's pretty good.

[John Dirks Jr]

Gotta get the queen. Precision attack with micro remote control robot.

[John Kogel]

At the gas station where I worked we had the pest control pressure sprayer, a steel tank with an air valve brazed into the lid and a spray wand with a valve on it. I witnessed a stream of pressurized gasoline tearing a hole right thru the core of a paper nest up under the eave of the post office roof. Imagine spraying gasoline into the eaves of a federal building.That was good old 1964. []

[Erby]

There ARE rednecks in other countries too:

[kurt]

#1, Absolutely American. God Bless 'em.

#2 Not American. Science. Guy's a wimp. He even talks like he's trying not to upset the wasps.

#3 Should be Americans. Fire, explosions, huge danger to themselves and everyone around them. Definitely American.

[mlparham]

What are the little nasty ones that nest underground?

Where I live, Yellow Jackets nest in the ground. You'll be mowing the lawn and the next thing you know, you're under attack.

I take care of those myself by pouring gasoline in the hole. It's always done the trick.

Gasoline works fine, as does kerosene, which is safer.

However, if you really want to try a cool way to do it - and a much more environmentally friendly way - go out there at night, toss a piece of dry ice over the hole, and then place a bucket over the dry ice. The carbon dioxide displaces the air in the nest and suffocates them with no harmful residues or risk of fire.

Or, as Jesse Pinkman would say, "Yo! It's science, bitch!"

Sounds good. How do I get my ice maker to spit out some dry ice?