Hornets Nest?

[anna_66]

Hard to believe but we just seen this in one of our trees. Is it a hornets nest? And if so how do we get rid of it?

[Karen]

It is a wasps nest, Is it very near the house or any areas people frequent? Wasps are important pollinators, so you don't want to kill them unless you have to. If you need to, as winter is coming, you can wait until winter sets in, then cut the branch the nest is on, and drop it into a bag or box - they are cold-blooded, so dormant in freezing temperatures - then you can bring it to someplace else - woods or somewhere unihabited, and dump it out. If it needs killing, you can buy spray to do so, but do it early or late in the day when temperatures are coolest, so the wasps will be less active. They are fiercely territorial, so you want to catch them at their most sluggish, and when most everyone is in the nest.

[Grace]

I would wait awhile longer, then do as Karen suggests. They get real sluggish in the cold.

I think they abandon these nests over a winter. We found a similar one in a large bush one year - after the leaves had fallen. It was empty by then.

I found this -

Old wasp nests

Wasp nests found during winter or early spring are old nests from the previous summer. There are no live wasps in the nest; they have already left the nest or died inside it. The nest can be safely removed and disposed of if desired. Old nests are not reused by wasps, so there is no risk if one is left. However scavengers, such as carpet beetles, are attracted to an old nest and may become a nuisance if the nest is in your home.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Is it a hornets nest?

And if so, how do we get rid of it?

1) Hornet or Wasp - whichever - they STING and I'm alergic to 'em!

2) Verrrrrrrrrrry Carefully!!

Your nest would take about TWO Cans of industrial strength Wasp & Hornet Spray -
administered from about 30 feet ... and then I'd go sit in the car for
half an hour before I'd check for 'survivors'.

I used to service two-way radios - and base stations were often mounted on poles
or towers - outside. Waspies just LOVED to nest under or inside the cabinets.
I could knock an attacking Wasp out of the air at 20 feet with a good
shot of Wasp Spray! (Just Before I'd turn tail and RUN for the car!)

[Catty1]

Hornets are very territorial - if they are the same as wasps.

You can buy fake hornets nests at hardware stores. Hang it up...and if they think there are other there, they will leave and build elsewhere.

Wikianswers: All hornets are wasps; some wasps are hornets.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_th...p_and_a_hornet

This one includes instructions on a DIY fake nest:
http://www.iheartpaws.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8300

[anna_66]

Thanks for the advice!

[Barbara]

Some years ago we had a hornet's nest outside at the house. They were not aggressive at all. Obviously they sting when attacked. When we noticed the nest we first were very worried but then decided to let them live. They were spending all summer outside flying in and out and we got used to them. Nevertheless we made sure the spring after that they didn't build in the same place again.

[Pam]

Yep that looks just like the hornet's nest that was in Robyn's tree in the front yard. My grandson climbed up, thinking (from the ground) that it was a bird's nest. He called her to come and see it. By the time she got there he had already climbed the tree and he was crying as he had been stung several times.

I think her hubby sprayed it at night and then, after they were all dead, clipped the limb off and put it in the trash.