Hornets Nest

[sals54]

While checking the headlights on my Wagon, I found a rather unsettling surprise. Beware if you live in Hornet Country.

[Invalid User Name]

Yipes! I found the same thing inside the AC on my travel trailer. You would be surprised how fast an old man can get off a travel trailer.

[JDP]

Sal, answer your phone, they are trying to pick up the coupe and your e-mail is not working.

[Chris Pile]

That DID NOT happen overnight.

[studeclunker]

Yeah, that's several years worth of colonies. Count your blessings Sal that those are Paper Wasps and not Hornets. Had it been Hornets, you would have likely been stung a lot more, even before you got that headlight rim off! It might be wise to spray the other side first.

I had a friend who was pruning an old apple tree last year, clearing out the centre, and wasn't careful. He took a branch off without thoroughly examining it. The branch contained a real hornet's nest about the size of a beach ball! The poor fellow ended up in the hospital. The nest was the largest I've ever seen.

They're selling fake hornet's nests at the garden centres here. They're like the chineese party lanterns, just coloured like the bug's house. Aparently, these little devils are rather territorial. Paper Wasps, on the other hand are not. Thus, if one hangs one of these fake nests up, it will keep the little bad guys (hornets that is) from coming back. Well... that's the theory anyway.

[65cruiser]

I would have sh*t myself.

[Jeff_H]

Years ago a friend gave me a set of studebaker keys he found wired under the hood of a '55 sedan. At the time, I had no keys for my car so I made the trek out to the yard with the keys and the approximate location of the car described to me. Found the car and proceeded to remove all the matching locks from it.... When I reached under/behind the dash with a wire cutters to get the ignition switch a couple of hornets or maybe yellowjackets (I am not a bug scientist and it was 15yrs ago) came out and started buzzing around. I backed out and then I noticed the nest under there through the hole where the long gone radio went. Fortunately, I had my trusty can of WD40 with and proceeded to soak the nest and generally fog the area long enough to snip those wires and snag the switch out.

I've been stung by hornets a couple of times. They are active in these parts in late summer and I've had them try building nests in the walls of my house when they can find a crack in the siding to get in. Hurts like the dickens and the time I got nailed on the back of my head it used to itch there in dry weather for years after.

[COMMANDERPINK1]

Im out replacing the heater core in a 63 Lark I just sold and I was reaching up in the cowling that the fresh air comes thru and was grabbing leaves and twigs and such. the last thing I pulled out of there was a very laarge size wasp nest. I dropped that thing and jumped to my feet so fast!! When the my hair settled back down I noticed the nest had been vacated. Whoa close one

Tom

[edpjr]

These are baby wasps and hornets. Try dealing with the Japanese (cicada killer) type. They are about two inches in length and extremely territorial. If they set up shop on your property, they expect you to move out under pain of excruciating sting. Insect experts rate the pain of a stings from 1-5 with 5 being the worst. A scorpion is a 3. A *** Hornet, Pepsis Wasp and Bullet ant are 5's. I had a nest of Japs in a tree on my land one time that required multiple attacks (at night) with a shotgun followed up by a big bug zapper to finish off the strays. The zapper killed 56 of the devils in one night. Many were still alive after multiple shocks. You have to soak these things in hornet spray to even have an effect, but oddly enough, spray brake cleaner will kill them on contact.

[Bob Andrews]

Common around here. Seems their favorite place is inside the external rear view mirrors. I like carb cleaner or Bra-kleen. Both cheap, dry fast, and kill them all instantly.

[58PackardWagon]

Just sold three 57/58 Packard parts cars. One of them was loaded with wasps, mostly around the gas filer tube. They were flying around like crazy when loading it on the trailer. Those beasts are relentless when bothered.

[comatus]

The most comical sight on this planet must be a 200 pound man, on a ladder, encountering a 1/8 ounce wasp. Unless you're the guy.

I was re-siding the second story of my back garage, and crowbarred off a section of "beaverboard" to reveal the space between the joists completely filled with what might have been a gargantuan dead chicken. Being a fool, I actually poked it before considering that those clever little devils had been raiding the neighbors' henhouse for feather down, and cementing it together to form a light and perfectly insulated nest. Honestly, I had never seen such a thing before. I obviously lived to tell about it, but that's a tale for another post.

[Pat Dilling]

Sal, I found a couple nests in my Conestoga, one under the hood was active. I nailed it with spray and killed all that were in it. There was at least one that escaped and continued to hang around the car for several days. I am not sure if it is gone yet. Glad to know they are the less aggressive variety, still don't want them around.

[sals54]

These are not the small paper wasp variety. These are yellow jackets which are quite animated when disturbed. I've been stung a couple of times only to find out that I get quiet a reaction to them. I kill every nest I find. Off the shelf hornet spray does the trick very well.... and from a nice distance.

[Nelsen Motorsports]

Ya, I was stung by a hornet a few weeks ago. I went to move a tarp under the house and inside the balled up tarp was a nest. It almost looked like a cloud of the things came out, but I came out with only one sting, but it swelled and got all funny looking for a few days. That nest is now dead.