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Now it's Giant Hornets!

Started by scgargoyle, July 06, 2012, 11:45:07 AM

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scgargoyle

Nothing like trying to build a house in the woods to find all that Mother Nature can throw at you. I thought the mice were a problem, but since then, I've had flooding, record heat, and now, Giant Hornets. I don't know what they are, but they look like a huge yellow jacket. They are nesting in a hollow tree right next to lumber that I need to use soon.

Wasp spray only works if you really soak them with it. Other bug sprays don't seem to have any effect. Conventional wisdom says to spray them at night, but they are always active, even in the middle of the night. The best I've been able to do is drive my van up close and shoot wasp spray out the window. That doesn't do anything to all the hornets in the tree though.

Any ideas on how to eradicate them? I thought of gasoline and a match, but i can't safely get close enough to the tree. The stinger is a good 1/4" long, so a large-scale attack would be painful at best, and possibly (probably) dangerous.
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

Texas Ranger

Malathion mix with a wetting agent in a pump up sprayer, soak the nest and they disappear, YMMV..
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Ron Wenrich

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

submarinesailor

I got stung by one of them when I was a young man.  God oh mighty did it hurt.  Not only that, but the string was right on the cheek of my backside. ::) ::) ::) Right though my blue jeans. :o :o :o  I still remember the pain 50 years later. >:( >:( >:(

Bruce

Den Socling

That fact sheet really makes them sound scary.  :o

beenthere

The string was up the creek?   :P ::) ::)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

clww

Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

Cedarman

By cracky, that would make the cheeks pucker up just thinking about it.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

Claybraker

The thing about aerosol wasp sprays is they really don't have much goody in them. The carrier penetrates the wings and keeps them from flying, but they don't have much pesticide.

I've had good success with Sevin dust, and something called a "Dustin Miser" that puts out a fog of dust. On ground nests, I stick it over the hole and give it a few good cranks. A day or two later, the nest is dead. Pretty handy tool to have in the garden, also.

rockman

Go to an auto parts store and get a couple cans of Brake parts cleaner. This stuff will kill them on contact, and it shoots a long way with the red tube attached. If you can spray the area of the tree where the nest is, they will move on, plus it's fun to shoot them out of the air and watch them crash to the ground.

Kevin
kioti ck-20 loader backhoe, box blade, disk, log arch
Husqvarna 455 rancher
Lincoln Ranger 10,000 welder

thurlow

Way back when ('50s and '60s), we usta put up a lot of small square bales of hay...........in barn lofts, old empty tenant houses, etc.  There were wasp nests everywhere;  we always kept a pump-up sprayer with diesel in it in the truck;  the diesel mist was death on any insect......
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

Ron Wenrich

I remember many years back I had some cicada killers at my place.  They were stripping the bark off the lilac bushes.  They were bigger than giant hornets, but it took a lot to rile them up.  When I was mowing around them, one finally came after me and stung me in my calf.  It felt like an ice pick to the leg. 

I found that they were nesting under the tin roof on the house.  I put a ladder up, then would bang on the roof.  A few would come on out and I'd swat them with a fly swatter.  Then I'd hussle down the ladder and stomp on them.   Killed about 100.  Low tech and no chemicals.  And I was a lot younger. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

5quarter

Ron...we've got a few of those around here. tyrannasaurus rex of the insect world.  ;)
What is this leisure time of which you speak?
Blue Harbor Refinishing

Chuck White

If the entrance hole in the tree is small enough, try using some of that expanding foam insulation, just seal them in.

Later you can make a very small hole and spray wasp spray into the hole and they can't get out to sting you.

The ones that are already out should move on as soon as they realize that they can't get back in!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

scgargoyle

They start getting cranky when you're 10' from the nest, so it's gonna be hard to get anything inside the tree. What I need is a remote control robot so I can get to them! The wasp spray supposedly shoots 27', but 10' is more like it. My pump-up sprayer is about the same- pretty wimpy. Although I wouldn't be able to actually hit them, I wonder if something noxious like diesel or gas would drive them out.

On another forum, it was suggested to put out poisoned hamburger meat, with Frontline mixed in.
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

WDH

Gas or diesel will nuke them.  They are just not "approved" insecticides  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Claybraker

You can fight them with conventional weapons, but that could take years and cost millions of lives.

Maybe a Super Soaker with diesel? I've never tried it, but it should have both the range and payload capacity. It goes without saying, we're gonna want pictures.

scgargoyle

I was able to get the van up next to the tree by using a little 'front bumper forestry', and dumped 2 quarts of 'non-approved' insecticide right on 'em. An hour later, they are still swarming around the tree, and look angry...... We'll say what their disposition is tomorrow.
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

WDH

Sherman said, "War is Hell"  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

SPIKER

I go for the brake clean and or the propane weed burner for ground hornets & Yellow Jackets.   Amazingly you can walk right up to a yellow jacket nest with the flame half on at them blowing some smoke and burnt grass at the entrance and they totally ignore you.  (Well Ive gone and done it 10+ times without a sting or getting them too wound up.)   I have just the standard weed burner ver from HF with the ignitor on it.   worst thing has been getting hit by the ignitor in the hand when the holder rotated and I didnt notice it lol. :o :D   

Ive not run into one of them buggers yet that I know of so maybe they are a bit different.   I would also use a longer pipe and some compressed air (propane tank would work) and attach the pump up sprayer w chainsaw gas, (oil keeps it from evaporating too fast and sticks to them.) but either & brake cleaner seems to kill on contact with all bugs.

Mark
I'm looking for help all the shrinks have given up on me :o

JohnW

I'd say fire.  Burn the whole tree down.  Just be careful you don't get swarmed or burned.

I've had good luck with gasoline on digger bees.  I can fight my way in with hornet spray and dose the nest with a quart or two of gas, leaving a trail for lighting.  Then the gas will just burn like a lamp, and they will be gone.

Your bees sound worse, not to nention that trees aren't quite as easy to attack as the ground.

scgargoyle

Actually, the tree shouldn't even be there. It was one of three that I have asked my contractor to take down, and he hasn't gotten around to it. Something is slowly killing the red oaks around here, and I have several that are on the way out.

I haven't figured out how to light the 'insecticide' safely. One, my van is inches away. Secondly, with triple digit temperatures and no rain, even a small fire is not a good idea right now.
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

WDH

A few hornets are not worth seeing half of South Carolina burn  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

scgargoyle

The activity level is way down now, but there are still some hornets coming and going. Seems to be a lot less of them; they either died or moved on. Right after I dosed them, they were flying around the tree like crazy, but not wanting to go in. Maybe one more treatment......
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

sandhills

Brakekleen 'em!  Knocks right out of the air.

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