I did a brave thing this weekend, my BF who keeps one of my beasties has a shed with two rooms and stalls on the end. The first room is a tool room, shed area, next is the feed room then the stalls. She had a feed bag with some flower stalks she was going to get the seeds off of this fall. Open end up. A few weeks ago hornets decided it was their home, yikes. So this past friday after much planning and unplanning, we dragged the burn barrel over next to the building, built a roaring blaze, I went in the shed with a trash bag and (with shaking hands) slipped it over the top of feed bag/nest, pulled it tight, picked it up and ran outside, flipped it over and dropped it into the flames, where they all perished. I did not get one sting, although my hands were shaking so bad it was hard to drink my (much deserved) bloody Mary.
Later we went and hunted down the escapees with the spray stuff.
Did did I mention my friend is alergic? Or that I was a bit nervous??
Kind of proud of myself.
anyone else have to deal with the nasty things??
They were Bell hornets. (shudder)
You mean those big yellow and brown hornets? Yeah, they’re pretty scary looking!
Fortunately, they’re not very aggressive. Their actual title is European hornet, although I’ve heard people call them bell hornets. They’re not even a true hornet, more like a gigantic wasp. Still creepy, though!
I have them around my place, and have yet to find the nest. When I do, it’s buh-bye nasty critters!
I’m afraid of all stingey-bitey flying insects, and the bigger they are, the more terrified I am of them. Ick!
The bald-faced hornet is the one I’m most afraid of, though. Those things are highly aggressive, and will attack without any real provocation.
EEEK!!!
What are the ones we have that are HUGE and will chase you? Big yellow and brown/black stripes. Kind of like a bee on massive steroids. They freak me out!
Mellsmom, those are the European/Bell hornets. Yep, they’ll chase you if you’re near their nest, but aren’t really aggressive unless you stumble over it by accident.
I just KNOW the ones around my place are somewhere in the massive forsythia behind the barn, but I haven’t been able to spot the nest yet. I will eventually, and then it’s goodbye stinging horrors!
The bald-faced black and white hornets are the really nasty ones though, because they have a BAD attitude.
My friend has already knocked herself out fleeing from these. Yep out cold. Not really funny but 
It was pretty scary getting anything out of there, pitchforks, anything that hit against the wall the bag was leaning on:eek:…
I know everybody will think I’m wierd, but here goes. :rolleyes: Several years ago, European hornets started a hive in one of my large ornamental bird houses on my front porch. I kept meaning to get something to spray to evict them, but just never got around to it. AFter a while, I started watching them come and go, adding layers to their hive. They never bothered me, so I ended up not bothering them either. I spent the summer months just watching the hive develop. It was really quite an extraordinary piece of art - ribbons of beige, yellow and brown. I read that Euro hornets like building hives in birdhouses, but once they start to outgrow them they’ll leave. That’s what happened to mine; they completed their hive and left. (I never got stung - and actually would sit about a foot away from it watching them.) I found where people actually pay $HUNDREDS for an intact European hornet hive. I still have mine - I think it’s cool! Of course if I HAD gotten stung I might have a different sentiment altogether! :dead:
I got stung on the hand by one of these a few years ago. 10 minutes later I started breaking out in hives all over my body, and 10 minutes after that my lymph nodes in my groin, armpits, and neck started swelling and my breath started feeling short. I drove myself to the hospital that was 2 miles away, walked into the ER, and started bawling when I got to the front desk. By this time the hives were huge and swollen and itching like mad. THey didn’t even check me in or ask me my name, they dragged me to a room and shot me up with enough steroids and anti-histamines to stop an elephant. I passed out for about two hours and then once I woke up (thankfully with no hives and no itching), they checked me in and got my insurance info!
Scary stuff. Those suckers are Bad News.
And I’m now an Epi-pen person. 
Seems that Virginia is a haven for wasps and hornets…been on the receiving end of the deal of their angst. One time was on the back porch reading a book and enjoying the sun when a big black wasp flew down my shirt and landed in my um…cleavage!! You would be surprised how quickly one can get a shirt and bra off while running back into the house!! :eek:
Other time, I had a small forgotten pile of old hay in a corner of my yard by one of our trees. I had left Smoke, my Percheron out on the yard with the gates closed so she could crop grass. I went downstairs to answer some emails and work, when I came up an hour or so later I looked out the window to find Smoke pacing, soaking wet with sweat, and for a few minutes could not figure out the reason why. Checking her over carefully once I did get her calmed down enough she had large welts all over her chest, stomach, and legs so I called the vet, he came out and we treated her for colic as well. As I am walking her I realized my fence was down, then a man pulled up and asked if she was my horse, I said yes and he said well she was running on the road and they caught her!! Looking around more carefully, she had tried to jump the fence, ran across the pasture and tried to jump the corner, hitting the round with her chest and sheering it off at the base that was sunk in concrete!!
Long story short, she had stepped on the old hay, deep down in it there was a volleyball size nest of yellow and black ground hornets nesting in it, when she stepped on it then shuffled her hooves, they bubbled out and bit her all over underneath, causing her to panic and run. Smoke spent almost 5 days at the vet’s due to the colic complications, dehydration, cuts, and various other complications due to the stings.
You are making me extra glad I burned them!!
I found a ground nest of yellowjackets next to my front door a few days back. They are no more, thanks to some Sevin dust dumped down the entrance after dark.
Here’s a few words of wisdom from UK on dealing with the critters.
Last year I had epic problems with those smaller yellow and black every aggressive hornets. They were building nests everywhere and would fly out and attack if you were anywhere near where a nest might be concealed. Got stung a few times because I didn’t even know where all the nests were.
Finally got sick of the little bass turds…went and bought 8 cans of foaming wasp spray and already had a lot of brake cleaner. Spent one day doing recon on where all the nests were (7 in my tractor alone!) wearing a home made anti-hornet suit. (looked like a complete moron too) That night about an hour after sunset went back out with flashlight and many cans of spray and wiped them all out. There were nests in the forks and other areas of my tractor (and bucket, under seat, etc) so by the time I finished killing those my entire tractor looked like one big ball of foam, LOL!
Little sonsabitches…I usually live and let live but those things were nasty mean!
And will admit to cackling maniacally the night I turned into a hornet serial killer. (well, also was flailing arms and running in circles too…not that any chased me but just in case, ya know?)
I will admit to screaming like a little girl and doing the heebie Jeebie dance when we were ‘recovering’ and a leaf brushed my arm:lol:
Whoever said these were not the aggressive kind needs an introduction. I still jump and twitch when I go in that room. Walking across the wooden floor got them flying around, much less trying to get anything off of the wall anywhere near it.
Now I look for potential hornet/wasp/yellow jacket homes, and destroy if possible.
Harvey, I didn’t say they weren’t aggressive, just that they’re less aggressive than bald-faced hornets.
If you’re anywhere near their nest, yes, they’re going to be aggressive. If you encounter one or two just out flying around, they tend to leave you alone. A bald-faced hornet will actively attack, whether or not you’re around their nest.
I’ll take a humongous European hornet over a bald-faced hornet any day! Both give me the serious heebie-jeebies, but if I have to get up close and personal with a single hornet, my choice will be the European.
Many years ago, DH decided to do some bush hogging in the front field and I was pulling weeds around behind the house. A little while later, DH comes RUNNING (mind you, this man never runs) by me - I ask “whats wrong”, he says “BEES!” “Where’s the tractor??” DH yells " the bees have it!!" :lol:
Turns out he decided to bush hog a clump of honeysuckle with a hidden hornets nest - bad idea. Had to wait about an hour till dark for them to calm down so he could go rescue the tractor, which was still running all this time!
My vet used to breed his Belgium Draft stallion outside behind the barn and said one of those Bell hornets stung the stallion right as he was finished breeding a mare and it hurt that big horse enough to drop him on the ground! If Bob can’t take a sting, then I will go out of my way to avoid getting attacked!
Last year I found a huge nest of the bald faced glued to the side of the barn. I called an exterminator … ONLY $300 to remove the rest. Forget that!
SO,…I put the horses in the big barn, opened the gate and drove my little Saturn Ion into the pasture, right next to where the nest was … opened my window just enough to get the sprayer out, then WHOOOOOSH. First can… then WHOOOOOSH, second can. Then, I floored it … :lol:
Needless to say, they are gone and I am here. Better living through chemistry!!! :lol:
[QUOTE=arabhorse2;4223183]
Harvey, I didn’t say they weren’t aggressive, just that they’re less aggressive than bald-faced hornets.
If you’re anywhere near their nest, yes, they’re going to be aggressive. If you encounter one or two just out flying around, they tend to leave you alone. A bald-faced hornet will actively attack, whether or not you’re around their nest.
I’ll take a humongous European hornet over a bald-faced hornet any day! Both give me the serious heebie-jeebies, but if I have to get up close and personal with a single hornet, my choice will be the European.[/QUOTE]
Sorry I missunderstood, I still get shaky when I think about it, my friend is also an eppy stick carrier.
I choose NONE:winkgrin:
OM that was brilliant!
A few years ago one of my mares stepped in a ground hornet’s nest and got very badly stung all over her face and neck. The next day - she lucked out - HA! :no: and found, and stepped in another one. She has permanent nerve damage in her face and has trouble eating certain kinds of feeds to this day. She cannot chew carrots! I have to buy her shredded carrots for when she is at the repro facility. When I get her home, I will shred them myself in a food processor. The shredded carrots are very expensive, but she is worth it. She is a great broodmare, but can never be ridden as she has severe wind restriction, still, if she exerts herself too much and winds up rasping and gasping for breath.
When this first happened, she was very swollen, her right ear and right eyelid were paralyzed and she couldn’t lift her ear or blink her eye. She still has trouble chewing and because she couldn’t chew or swallow properly - or control her tongue - she develope what the vet said was the worst gutteral pouch infection he’d ever seen.
I H A T E yellowjackets!!!
That is awful, I’m so sorry for your mare.
A barn that I used to keep my horse at also sold used horse trailers. I was showing my mom some of the trailers that I liked. Obviously one of these trailers hadn’t been used in a long time. I opend that tack room door and a MAD hive of hornets cames right at me and my mother. We ran to our car and they were all still flying around like mad. We both got stung several times as we retreated, it was so miserable.:no:
