Hornet Spray
- Thread starter Rob
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I have had good luck with this stuff:
http://www.amazon.com/61119-Hornet-Yellow-Scorpion-14-Ounce/dp/B000UVHCVO
You can find it locally, that is for reference. It is best if there is a smallish area they enter/exit the nest at and you saturate that area first. You can hit a small spot without having to get too close but if they are out and swarming it is not what you want because it only sprays a stream. If they are out and swarming, I wait until they are calmer.
Oh yeah, the can is accurate about killing them immediately. If you hit them, they drop and it doesn't take long to saturate the nest.
http://www.amazon.com/61119-Hornet-Yellow-Scorpion-14-Ounce/dp/B000UVHCVO
You can find it locally, that is for reference. It is best if there is a smallish area they enter/exit the nest at and you saturate that area first. You can hit a small spot without having to get too close but if they are out and swarming it is not what you want because it only sprays a stream. If they are out and swarming, I wait until they are calmer.
Oh yeah, the can is accurate about killing them immediately. If you hit them, they drop and it doesn't take long to saturate the nest.
Hornets/wasps/yellow jackets are more active during the day, but less so at dawn/dusk, so most will be in the hive i.e. that's the best time for attack I prefer dusk. Most borgs carry hornet/wasp spray that will usually jet a stream of insecticide ~10ft. that's the stuff you want if you're going to take out a hive. Is the nest exposed or inside the tree? If it's in the tree you'll want to identify the major entrance/exit routes. The basic strategy is to unload the entire contents of the can fast and furiously saturating the nest and anyone who tries to escape. Be close enough so that you don't miss or waste any, but not so close as to see the whites of their eyes. Bring a spare can or two. Long sleeves/pants are recommended. Also, wear some running shoes in case you have to retreat!
The alternative is gasoline, which is quite effective, but probably not a good idea unless you're out for vengeance!
Good luck! (it's actually not that bad to do)
Sam
The alternative is gasoline, which is quite effective, but probably not a good idea unless you're out for vengeance!
Good luck! (it's actually not that bad to do)
Sam
I have had good success with Sevin Dust. You can put it in a squeeze bottle and put a amount around the opening. Like Sam said, this is best applied at dawn or dusk. It will take about three days, but the entire hive will be killed. The idea is that they carry it into the nest and they pass it to each member when they groom each other. Also, this generally does not stir up the nest. I have even applied this during the daylight on a hornet's nest without being stung. I have also used this method on yellowjackets (with nests in the ground as well as one in the soffit of my house). Good luck.
Steve H.
Steve H.
Spray after dark to make sure you kill more of them. How big is the opening and can you get within arms reach to spray something directly in to the opening? There is a foaming wasp spray designed for killing in hard to reach places. I used the foaming spray to take out a wasp nest in the soffits at the peak of the gable without needing to first open it up. (It also helps to have beekeeping equipment to prevent stings)
Opening is up in a tree, no reaching it. I sprayed it during the day, they were angry, but didn't come after me. Ran out of spray so will have to get more and spray it at night, when I get back to town. These hornets are active at night, we have 20 or so around our front porch lights when we leave them on.
I never try to reach it except with the stream of spray. Those cans do empty quick (they have to in order to get that velocity/range), but one usually does the trick if I am able to spray where it is soaking the nest and not just running down the side of the tree.
If all else fails, you could try putting a decoy light out that is between your porch and the tree to keep them away from your door. A bug zapper could also be an entertaining way of reducing the number of wasps near your porch. Just don't leave it on after you go to bed because those wasps might be hardy enough to get caught and zap until they burn.
Get a couple cans of Bengal brand foam spray. This stuff works.
Ken
Ken
Before you nuke them consider peaceful coexistence as an alternative. The European hornet is actually a beneficial insect that eats other more objectionable critters like yellow jackets. They are not aggressive unless the nest is disturbed in some way and they can both bite and sting multiple times. The nest will die off naturally and be abandoned with winter temperatures so you'll be safe to remove the tree then without awakening a sleeping giant. If you decide to leave the tree that dead nest will not be used again next year because building a new nest is an essential part of their life cycle beginning next spring.
http://windstar.org/uncategorized/european-hornets-are-a-fall-pest/
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/european-hornet
Also for your enjoyment this video is informative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZyIHZ-W5kA
With all due respect, IMO it isn't a very prudent alternative in today's litigious society:
http://classweb.gmu.edu/jkozlows/lawarts/10OCT90.pdf
Got an extra 3 million lying around just in case? Out in the back yard would a different situation, but while I think some judgments are excessive, I think that knowingly leaving a hornet nest near your front door is negligence.
Knowledge is your best friend here too. Maybe you have a thriving local population of cicadas in your area so it becomes a smorgasbord for these innocuous creatures. Read on and save a few $ in the process. :thumbs_up The cicadas are actually more destructive to your local landscape than these critters.
http://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/cicada-killer/
Rob, given the position in the tree, I'd suggest using something to blow Sevin dust up there after dark. A long tube of some sort with compressed air if you can get the tube loaded with Sevin.
I've found sprays to be rather ineffective unless you can hit directly or spray within the nest.
Rich
I've found sprays to be rather ineffective unless you can hit directly or spray within the nest.
Rich
That's an interesting read and I take your point about a litigious society. I'm not a lawyer so this is just my +/- $0.02. Neither the European hornets nor the Cicada Killers are aggressive critters that are what we generically classify as "hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets to be exterminated with a vengeance". Even beneficial honey bees are not aggressive, but start swatting at them and sure enough they're gonna fight back.
That's why it is important to understand the life cycle and behavior of these perceived threats to human health and the environment before we bring in the big guns.
BTW, the case law cited above ultimately went in favor of both defendants upon appeal so their was no $3 million judgment awarded to the plaintiffs despite the initial findings of an apparently misinformed and emotional jury. That's dangerous and typical of a jury trial, but cooler and better informed judges prevailed. That being said it wasn't without $ costs to the defendants so it's a roll of the dice.
For the hornets, sevin can be bought in a liquid form in a container that hooks to the end of the water hose. Hit them in late evening but early enough that you can see well enough. I had good luck with it on a nest of ground bees that attacked every time I went within 10' of it with the riding lawn mower. (You know, those big ones that "don't sting". Found out they do and its quite painful). Beats me how they know to nail you right in the middle of your back!!. Was able to stand off about 15' and soak the opening with a coarse spray, so they thought it was rain. They were gone in 2 days. Also works on yellow jacket nests.
That said, I only nuke the critters that are a threat because of their location. Lots of the "dangerous" bugs control the population of the "pest" bugs.
Go
That said, I only nuke the critters that are a threat because of their location. Lots of the "dangerous" bugs control the population of the "pest" bugs.
Go
Have done the same thing on my lawnmower a few years ago. Full throttle, high gear, and skedaddle! Whatever we call them they're a PITA. The tractor ground vibration or noise nearby really agitates them into full attack mode.
http://www.thebeehunter.com/types-of-bees.html
Of course the decision is up to you, what you use... and the risks are yours to decide if you want to take. I watched my brother in law use a can of starting fluid - it worked really well, it froze the hornets to death... along with their nest eggs. The starting fluid evaporated quickly too. I suspect anything that's not highly flammable like starting fluid is but still creates a instant freeze would work just as well. My bother in law, like me - is not into chemical pesticides that tend to linger for long times in the environment.
Another thing that I know that works is Seven dust. It may not work instantly but will over time. My neighbor dusted his veggie garden with Seven one day, and for weeks afterwards I found dead honey bees, yellow jackets, hornets, wasps and various other kind of flying insects dead in the flowers of all three of my veggie gardens. I don't understand the logic behind his dusting his garden with seven, bees pollinate the flowers - so the plants produce vegetables, but hey I'm not that smart either... Every since the "mass killing" a month and half ago I've had to spray my vegetables regularly with blossom set in order for them to start producing again. The neighbors garden has long since died since he failed to keep it watered during the long hot spell. I lost a good 3 weeks of veggie production due to the mass killing and the bees have not returned yet
Time to move to the county I know... not WWing related and highly opinionated, delete if needed - thx
The advantage to using the sevin liquid is that it isn't carried all over by the wind, like the dust, and can be targeted to a relatively small area. Definitely not something to use around flowering plants that are drawing the pollinator insects. Thought it might be effective without being contaminating for this use.
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