Hornets!

[marlinman93]

We've had so much warm weather this year that hornets and wasps have been a huge issue! I've been attacked and stung on two occasions while working outside around the place this summer.
Today I was out back cutting back a lilac bush that's turned into a tree, and my wife came out to bring me a drink of water. Just as she handed me the glass, she suddenly started screaming and hornets swarmed both of us! We dropped everything and ran into the house but the hornets had gotten under her top and were stinging her. I only got stung a few times, but she got stung about 8 times on her back and stomach.
After putting something on our stings, I went and got the spray and headed back out to figure out what she'd stepped on. About 6 ft. from where I was working away was a hole in the ground. She must have stepped right on it when she brought me the water! We've got a friend who owns a pest control company, so called him and asked him to come over and check the yard and house for more hornet nests. I'm tired of getting stung this year, so hope he can locate and exterminate these angry pests!

[Blaine]

It's good to keep lots of Benadryl around to ward off allergic reactions.

[fordwannabe]

This is gonna sound dumb..... but it works. If you have any tobacco around the house cigarettes,pipe,cigar,chew, doesn’t matter plop some in you mouth, get it good and wet then apply to the sting dang near instant relief. Try it. Oh yeah the other part is to douse the beasties with gas and have a hornet roast. Evil little critters

[.45colt]

Cutting grass years ago I ran over a nest with the trim mower. got stung sixteen times on My leg. My neighbor Lady saw Me doing the war dance and put a wet mix of baking soda and water on them. every year we usually get them some where ,two years ago was a nest in back of the house and luckily I found it before getting stung. watched them for a while and they were flying to another one about 150' away. both the size of a kids basketball. Good reason to take a walk around the place with a cold one . .

[jdad]

I'm a commercial pest inspector and this is going to be a bad year for us in the Pac NW. There wasn't a normal deep freeze this last winter, to kill off a lot of the hibernating queens. We actually sell wasp/hornet/yellow jacket trapping programs. Traps are put out at the end of March to trap as many queens as possible before they can establish colonies. Pheromones are changed monthly

The yellow jackets (ground dwellers) have been foaming out of the ground lately and it's not even September when they get really aggressive. What we treat them with has a 6 month residual, so whatever hatches or returns is killed.

Yesterday I supervised the removal of 2 bald faced hornet nests that were 20' apart above a sidewalk. One was about the size of a beach ball and the other about the size of a basketball. Bald faced hornets actually feast upon yellow jackets, so they have some redeeming qualities.

The heat doesn't help here either.

[wvfarrier]

i posted this up a couple weeks ago. bald face hornets...mean as a stepped on rattler.

[gamekeeper]

Before I retired I spent 30 years in local government pest control. One of my customers, a charming lady, died 15 minutes after being stung just once on the elbow. I hate them so I'm still zapping the little buggers for friends and neighbours, destroyed a wasp nest in a roof this morning.

[GunnyMack]

I remember many moons ago Dad and I stopped by a friends farm one day. I was about 6 or 7, anyhow the Friend's son suddenly appeared with a 12 ga double of some flavor, went around the side of the house and put both barrels into a paper wasp nest about 20' up. Now I knew the meaning of MAD AS A HORNET! Surprisingly the nest wasn't all that damaged, couple new skylights but I'm sure those were repaired fairly quick.