New Neighbors Move in (Bald Faced Hornets)

[kmk1012]

I've had a tangle in the past with Bald Faced Hornets and lost big time. I ran over 1/4 mile to the nearest pickup to escape the attack, only had 42 extra nipples by then, LOL. Well today my 15 year old daughter was doing dog poop duty and got attacked here at home. I went armed with two cans of spray, which was very ineffective BTW. These things are nasty mean. Anyone have to deal with these, any ideas here? We live rural, about 200 yards from a river but surrounded by farmland. I bought and hung some W.H.Y. traps tonight but need to mow my lawn tomorrow and they were VERY active in the lawn. I could not locate the nest(s).

Read More

 

[Provincial]

It sounds to me like the hornets were angry about her "stealing" their food (dog poop) and were trying to drive her off.

Normally, hornets don't see us as targets unless you mess with their nest. For well over 50 years we have had a bald-faced hornet nest somewhere in a large Black Walnut tree. We have never found it, probably because it is in a cavity from a broken-off limb way above the ground. The hornets hunt on the lawn around it, and have never attacked us when we mow. We have used walk-behind, riding, and tractor-mounted mowers over the years, so it isn't just the type of mower.

I suggest that you do your mowing early in the morning, before they get very active.

In my experience, you cannot control wasps or hornets without finding the nest and destroying it. You can kill every one you see, and the nest will never feel the loss! They can pump out new "workers" faster than you can kill them.

One way to find the nest is to put out something like rotten meat and watch them as they return to the nest. You may have to station observers along the flight path to keep them in sight.

According to the Internet: "Nests are usually located in bushes and shrubbery - at least 3 feet off the ground - and in trees as high as 60 feet or more, and are sometimes found under the eaves of buildings and other man-made, protected locations. They are a grey color and in Pennsylvania can reach up to 24 inches in height and 18 inches across."

I saw a Bald-faced Hornet Wednesday. It landed near me to rest as it was taking its kill (a Yellow Jacket) back to the nest. If those things weighed a couple of pounds, we'd be in real danger!

 

[P7M13]

Ha, I had those suckers at my first house in Salem. Their nest was underground, and if you stepped on the nest opening, they came after you like a fans rush at a Who concert.
See if your daughter can remember where she was when she was mobbed. Then watch the area for a while and you should notice the column of pestilence flying about.
If you can still get them, diazinon crystals eliminated the nest in my yard.