Hornets Nest?

[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.