Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is a grayish baseball size hornet's nest this month under the eaves of my porch roof.
What is the safest way to remove it without getting stung?
One neighbor suggests using smoke. Another one says do it at night when they're asleep. Still another one recommends using an insecticide - even though this person is generally against insecticide and believes in gardening organically ("this the one exception" she exclaims).
What about going out there at night when they are all on the nest. Have an assistant, some scissors and a bucket with a lid. Snip off the stalk of the nest and let it drop into the bucket. Quickly put on the lid. Take it way out in the woods and dump it out. They won't be able to see you at night. Run. I have done this myself.
I have a home that is a magnet for wasps, hornets and carpenter bees.
When they decide to build a nest under one of our overhangs, we immediately take out a can of our wasp and hornet jet spray killer (we buy it by the case), wait until after midnight, aim, totally saturate the nest and then go back into the house. In the morning they are all be dead and laying in a pile on the ground under the nest.
We leave the nest for a day or two after just to be sure that they are all dead and then use a rake (and ladder if necessary) to knock it down. Once it's on the ground, we use a large shovel to remove it to the burn pit.
There is really no 'nice' way to discourage these unwanted insects. At our home, we terminate with extreme prejudice.
I have a nest larger than that on the ceiling of my front porch. It looks like half of a football. I went out the other night with a can of Spectracide® Carpenter Bee and Ground-Nesting Yellowjacket Killer Foaming Aerosol and sprayed it. I thought I had waited too long, and it had gotten too large, but I sprayed about half of the can and the next morning there were about 30 dead hornets on the porch and no signs of any in the nest.
I've used other brands and they all seem to do the job. You can stand back a good distance and it shoots the contents around 12 to 15 feet.
I still have to get a step ladder and get it off the porch ceiling. Hopefully, no other hornets have moved in.
Even with the chemicals; dress for the occasion. Wear a heavy, hooded sweat shirt. Wear goggles, gloves (if possible; because of using the spray can of insecticide), long (heavy) pants and high work shoes/boots. The idea is Murphy's Law - just in case something goes wrong.
When possible; I like to drive up to the nest in a vehicle and spray out the window. I can always close the window and minimize my exposure.
One problem with hornets is that they are very persistent - if they can identify the threat to the hive. They will chase you for a long ways.
Clark whatever you do make sure to protect yourself proper against stings.Wear protective thick close,cover for your head and thick gloves. Either you can sedate them in the late evening with smoke or special spray ( as mentioned by other posters ) and afterwards dump the nest in a large tin and close lid or a large bag.My personal advice get someone to do it who knows how to deal with them. Good luck Clark !
As others have said, I would do it at night when they're the least active. Get the spray that sprays up to 20 feet. You should still wear protective heavy clothing, and what ever you do, don't shine a light at the nest when you're spraying it, they will fly toward it.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,874 posts, read 81,948,355 times
Reputation: 58349
I have had this happen a couple of times, in a tall tree. I used my tallest stepladder to get as close as I could and in the evening, when they were all home, sprayed an entire can of the stuff that goes 25', then got off the ladder and ran into the house. The next morning I used a large rock (3-4 tries) to knock it to the ground and ran in case there were any still alive. There were not, so I burned it. When I had a nest in my water meter box, I got a large pot of boiling water and poured it through a funnel into the hole the meter readers use to lift the cover. Then I ran when I saw several "guards" coming toward me from nearby.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Good luck Clark !
