hornet invasion - post yours

[toucan-man]

One of the hazards of the satellite obsession is hornets. And it's not just C-band. I've two Ku invasions this year, the one in the photo, and a mess of them on another Primestar dish where the little buggers are dwelling inside the hollow LNBF holder's arm. Luckily this morning it is a sluggish 45° F (that's 7.2° C for our neighbors to the north. And to the east. And the south. And west). The hornets below no longer exist on planet earth, and no humans were harmed in taking this photo!

 

[Tron]

I've thankfully never had a bee problem in my dish farm. There is a first time for everything though.

 

[T4Runner]

Wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, etc...

I'll see your small bungalow and raise you an apartment complex of nests I found in a C band dish I bought last year...

 

[Lone Gunman]

One of the hazards of the satellite obsession is hornets. And it's not just C-band. I've two Ku invasions this year, the one in the photo, and a mess of them on another Primestar dish where the little buggers are dwelling inside the hollow LNBF holder's arm. Luckily this morning it is a sluggish 45° F (that's 7.2° C for our neighbors to the north. And to the east. And the south. And west). The hornets below no longer exist on planet earth, and no humans were harmed in taking this photo!

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Honets? Ah, what you have in that picture are paper wasps, not hornets. Hornets are black and yellow striped and about 3 times larger than a wasp, ie, about 1.25" long and much bigger in diameter.

It's very unusual for wasps to build a nest out in the open like that. Usually they like some kind of cover over it to keep the rain water off.

FYI, hornet nests are usually round with a single entrance hole about 1/2" in diameter at the bottom. Those nests can be larger than a football around here but most I've seen under the eves of my house have been about softball size.

I use that wasp and hornet killer spray that shoots a stream like a water hose that allows you to hit them from 10+ feet away.

 

[toucan-man]

Mere wasps, you're correct. The cover actually was on, but when the temperature dropped I popped it off. I had seen them coming and going for a while. They are harmless at 45 degrees F.

 

[Kraven]

I hate them little bastards. Our "green" state banned all pesticides and what not. Last summer, we could barely use stay in the backyard as those bugs were flying flying from one yard to another (they would suck on my neighbours flowers, fly over my yard to the other vacant house hosting 4 nests in its trees.

This year we were proactive and set up traps and fake nests all over. Saw a few but not as much as last year.

 

[toucan-man]

FYI, hornet nests are usually round with a single entrance hole about 1/2" in diameter at the bottom. Those nests can be larger than a football around here but most I've seen under the eves of my house have been about softball size.

I had always seen those up high. I was out walking in a field once and came across one of those football size nests stuck to the weeds a foot or so off the ground. Shocked me, because I have previously run through the same field without any worry, never gave it a thought. If you run into one of those it's going to be painful and you may not make it through the rest of the day...

 

[Lone Gunman]

I live in the middle of about 6 acres of woods. There's just enough land cleared to allow for the house, parking area and my Wife's small yard, which is a result of additional clearing for the drain fields for the septic tank.

In the spring and fall I usually have the shop door open and at night bell hornets (aka, European Hornets) will fly into the shop. I didn't think those things flew at night but I guess they're attracted to the fluorescent lights. Ennywho, they don't bother me as they fly around those lamps and when I close the shop door they're trapped inside. Funny thing about this though is that the next morning they are dead?? I'll find them laying on the floor, DRT?

It's my understanding that these hornets feed on tree sap and that they have to do that often so when they get shut up inside the shop with no tree sap, they actually starve to death before morning.

Never been stung by one of those but I'd bet it would be really bad, judging from what a yellow jacket sting feels like!

 

[toucan-man]

I live in the middle of about 6 acres of woods. There's just enough land cleared to allow for the house, parking area and my Wife's small yard, which is a result of additional clearing for the drain fields for the septic tank.

In the spring and fall I usually have the shop door open and at night bell hornets (aka, European Hornets) will fly into the shop. I didn't think those things flew at night but I guess they're attracted to the fluorescent lights. Ennywho, they don't bother me as they fly around those lamps and when I close the shop door they're trapped inside. Funny thing about this though is that the next morning they are dead?? I'll find them laying on the floor, DRT?

It's my understanding that these hornets feed on tree sap and that they have to do that often so when they get shut up inside the shop with no tree sap, they actually starve to death before morning.

Cool story.

I like the mud daubers, the ones here look badass, but are so tame you could let the kids play with them. I captured one in a net, put it in the freezer a few moments to slow it down, put it on my flat bed scanner to get an image, then released it. Fair chase, catch and release.

Never been stung by one of those but I'd bet it would be really bad, judging from what a yellow jacket sting feels like!

A paper wasp got me a few years back, on the elbow. Not much of a sting, but the next day it hurt like hell. It's why I was cautious with my Primestar infestation.

 

[Corrado]

I find these every year and remove them before the summer.

 

[Magic Static]

I have 'em bad here. Mostly Western Yellowjackets and Common Yellowjackets. But in the past couple of years there have been Bald-faced Hornets, and they are huge . The hornets love my plum tree.
I finally set out traps in addition to locating and destroying nests and suitable habitats. I filled a lot of nooks and crannies with foam insulation. But they will build a nest inside a 1" tube, places you'd think they couldn't turn around in. They did wipe out the spider infestation I had in the lawn last year though You can research which of the little B's you have at www.whytrap.com

 

[king3pj]

Not dish related but I looked up while checking the mail after work today to see this huge nest just a few feet away. It's pretty hard to see in the pictures but this thing is easily bigger than a basketball. I was surprised to find that it is very active too since it has been getting into the low 40s the last few nights with highs in the low 60s.


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[turbosat]

King3 I wouldnt want to mess with that one, if that is a hornet nest it is monstrous. What toucan had was called guinea wasp (or so it is called that down here). They are quite mean. When I was in KY working for the park service we found one of those big round hornet nests in a dead tree, over the Green River at Mammoth Cave NP. Since we were in a boat at the time, it made me nervous passing by it-some of my co-workers were wanting to throw something at it, apparently not knowing what it was! Luckily I talked them out of that.

 

[king3pj]

King3 I wouldnt want to mess with that one, if that is a hornet nest it is monstrous. What toucan had was called guinea wasp (or so it is called that down here). They are quite mean. When I was in KY working for the park service we found one of those big round hornet nests in a dead tree, over the Green River at Mammoth Cave NP. Since we were in a boat at the time, it made me nervous passing by it-some of my co-workers were wanting to throw something at it, apparently not knowing what it was! Luckily I talked them out of that.

Believe me. I want nothing to do with that nest. The problem is that it is only about 2 feet above head level and I would he scared to pass under it to cut the grass without taking care of it. I also live in a subdivision with tons of small kids who cut through my yard all the time. That tree is just a few feet from my mailbox and the road so I'm scared of someone getting attacked.

I'm a little skeptical that a standard can of wasp/hornet spray will take that nest out without me getting swarmed. As big as that nest is it looks like there is only one small hole near the bottom so just about all the spray would end up on the exterior of the nest. I'm planning to try to spray an entire can on one of the colder nights coming up and then run like hell. I just hope that is enough to kill the whole nest.

 

[beavs2112]

Not dish related but I looked up while checking the mail after work today to see this huge nest just a few feet away. It's pretty hard to see in the pictures but this thing is easily bigger than a basketball. I was surprised to find that it is very active too since it has been getting into the low 40s the last few nights with highs in the low 60s.


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We have a winner I'm shuddering with fear just looking at the pics

 

[primestar31]

I use a rag tied to the top of a long pvc pipe (or multiple sections joined together to reach the high ones) then soaked in gasoline and a bit of oil to make smoke. Light it up, and hold it under the paper wasp nest and torch them. The smoke suffocates them, and the fire burns them up. I've done this multiple times over the years, and I've never been stung doing it. Also works great for tent caterpillars.

 

[KJ6EO]

I'm too new to have any Satellite Wasp stories yet. But I do have a Wasp story to tell. Some Paper Wasps (we call them Yellow Jacket Wasps) out here, built a small nest on the patio roof just outside my patio door. There were about 6 or 7 of them on the nest. I thought, well ... they're not bothering me, so I'll just leave them alone as long as they leave me alone. BIG MISTAKE. One hot summer day I came out of the patio door and one of those dudes nailed me right in the center of my back. Man ... that sting packed a wallop! It felt like someone heated up the tip of an Ice Pick and jabbed it into my back. The area swelled up to the size of a silver dollar and throbbed for days. After I cared for my wound, I surveyed the house, located all their nests, and killed them all.

 

[Tron]

The telephone and cable installers around here carry a commercial product that shoots poison like a fire extinguisher. They often find nasty nests when they open weather-proof enclosures.

 

[Magic Static]

I use vegetable oil in a spray bottle. Stops them quickly without toxic chemicals that you don't want to inhale or get on your skin anyway. But for big balls like in that tree, professional treatment would be the way to go.

 

[king3pj]

I use vegetable oil in a spray bottle. Stops them quickly without toxic chemicals that you don't want to inhale or get on your skin anyway. But for big balls like in that tree, professional treatment would be the way to go.

Yeah, after talking to a co-worker who ended up in the hospital trying to take out a nest like this I think I am going to call a professional. I wasn't too excited by the thought of doing this myself anyways.