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How to Get Rid of Hornets

November 21st, 2009 by admin
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How to Kill the Hornets and Save the Nest

Many people collect hornet's nests and even display them in their home. The best time to gather a nest for display is in late autumn or winter because the hornets that used to live there have now all died. The nests are often destroyed quickly by nature, so if you want one, it is best to collect it as early as possible. One way to remove a nest without destroying it is to slip a large plastic bag around it as gently as possible. You will want to do it rapidly and you should try not to disturb the nest in any way. The best time to do this is in the middle of the night when it is the coldest because the hornets will be least active. Once you have got the nest in the bag, tie it shut. If it is attached to a tree branch, you will want to tie it above the tree branch, and then cut the branch off. Once you have secured the nest in a closed bag, place the bag in the freezer. All the hornets will die from the cold. You can then enjoy the nest without fear of being stung.

More Ways to Get Rid of Hornet’s Nests

Hornet nests only have one opening. If you are going to use a chemical to kill the hornets in the nest, you need to spray it into this opening. Do it late at night when most of the hornets will be in the nest and they will be less active. You want to be very careful not to break any part of the nest, because this will give the hornets room to escape. They are very protective of their nest and will become aggressive. They also have an alarm pheromone which means if one hornet is killed, even if it is just somewhat close to the nest, it can let the others know that there is danger and then the whole nest might be triggered to attack. For this reason, it is often best for you to hire a professional pest control person who will destroy the nest while wearing protective clothing. It is important that the whole life cycle is disrupted. For instance, if you were to simply cut the nest down, the hornets would just rebuild it. Therefore, any time you wish to eradicate a group of hornets, you need to destroy the whole population and their nest. In some countries, it is illegal to destroy a hornet’s nest because they are locally endangered. In Germany, you can be fined up to 50,000 Euros for killing a hornet or destroying a nest.

Hornet Stings

There are people who are allergic to hornet stings just as there are people who are allergic to bee stings. Being stung by a nest of hornets can even be fatal to a person who is not allergic to their venom. Unlike bees, hornets can sting multiple times without dying, and can also bite, and alert the entire nest of potential danger. Hornet stings are generally considered more painful than wasp or bee stings. This is why it is usually a good idea to let the professionals deal with hornets.

How Not to Get Stung

If you do happen to see a nest, there are few things you can do to avoid being stung:
  • Do not disturb the nest in anyway.
  • Do not make any loud noises.
  • Stay back from the nest.
  • Do not bother a hornet who is trying to go to its nest.
  • Do not disturb the air by moving your hands or arms around.
  • Do not breathe on the nest or on a hornet.
  • Never kill a hornet near its nest.
  • Do not break a hornet’s nest. It is much safer in one piece.
  • Do not attempt to remove a hornet’s nest in the middle of the day. Wait until it is cooler outside.

What to Do if You Get Stung by a Hornet

If you do happen to get stung by a hornet, don’t panic. Slowly move away from the nest. Your goal should be to remove yourself from the situation without alerting any more hornets of your presence. There are some people who are allergic to hornets and it’s hard to know whether you are allergic until you have had a reaction to a sting. If you experience hives, a rash, or swelling all over your body, have trouble breathing or swallowing, feel dizzy or if you faint after being stung, you are most likely having an allergic reaction (For allergy treatments, how to get rid of allergies) . This is a very serious medical condition and needs to be treated right away. Someone needs to drive you to the hospital. If no one is available, call 911 or your local emergency number. If you are having a severe reaction, the most important thing to do is to stay calm. If you are able to swallow, take some Benadryl. If you feel dizzy, lie down with your feet elevated above your heart. If you have had an allergic reaction before, you might have been given an epinephrine pen. If so, you will want to administer a dose right away. Always seek medical treatment if you get stung by a hornet and you are allergic, even if your symptoms are not severe. For most people, a hornet sting will cause pain, swelling and itching, but is not life-threatening. First, you’ll want to remove the stinger if it has become lodged in your skin. You can do this by rubbing gauze across the site or by using a credit card to scrape it out. Do not squeeze it, or try to pull it out with tweezers because this can cause more venom to be expelled.

Home remedies to help relieve pain and swelling:

  • Take an over the counter medication, such as Tylenol or aspirin (For more uses of aspirin, read 15 surprising uses for aspirin).
  • Apply an ice pack.
  • Soak a cotton ball in bleach and rub it on the site. Don’t get it near your eyes or mouth, or on your clothing.
  • Run a tea bag under warm water and then place it on the site for about a minute.
  • Rub a rhubarb leaf on the sting site.
  • Hornet sting sites are alkali, so treating them with an acid has been reported to stop the stinging. Lemon juice or vinegar (Want know other uses of vinegar, read how to make household uses for vinegar) poured over the site may relieve the pain.
  • Rub the juice of a clove of garlic (For more garlic uses, see 10 unusual uses for garlic) or meat tenderizer over the sting.
  • A fresh slice of onion placed over the site should make the swelling go down.
  • Smokeless tobacco placed on the skin and covered with a paper towel should stop the pain.
  • Try toothpaste smeared onto the area where you were stung.
Other than allergies, there is really no reason to fear hornets, as they are one of the more peaceful insects around. They are quite helpful when it comes to getting rid of other bugs, and if you can avoid them, they are likely to avoid you as well. If you found this article interest, you may also be interested in learning how to get rid of carpenter bees.

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    1. Olivia phan Says:
      September 11th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

      Today my baby sister got stung by a wasp 10 times! I was pretty freaked out because I didn’t know what to do. So I went online and found many different ways to help. One was you could put tender meat on it and then put water on it.

    2. slick Says:
      August 18th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

      gonna try something tonight my dad told me. i have one in a cedar tree close to home. he said take a long pole and attatch oil soaked rags. then light and burn ‘em out. at dark they wont come out and you kill everyone of them.

    3. frustrated Says:
      August 18th, 2009 at 10:15 am

      Had a wasp nest under my eavestroph (in the facia) at the corner of my house (a good 1 foot overhang). Couldn’t see how big, but there was a large amound of traffic going in and out. I used the foam sprays several times, no luck. They were going in through a dime size gap in the metal, and also between the brick house and where the metal facia meet as there was a gap just big enough for them to crawl up through.

      I got this insulating puddy from a local hardware store (HD)for $2. Apparently its for conduit piping. Its grey, very workable, and the bugs / rodents don’t like it. Anyways, its just like playdough and you make it whatever shape you want. I rolled thing strips for the long gaps between the brick and facial and pressed it up in, and made a dime size plug and wedged it up in the hole. Once plugged up, I found a few smaller holes just big enough for the foam injector to fit up against and sprayed more foam up inside the facia to kill off some that are trapped inside.

      Trick is to do it when its dark. Not dusk! Not almost dark, but dark! You’ll know when the time is right as there is virtually no hornet traffic!

      The stuff is great to use, its tacky so it really sticks well, and you can work it and force it into gaps and it will take the shape nicely.

      The next day Ive seen a few hornets that werent in the nest trying to return. They seem frustrated, are hanging around the area a bit, but they can’t get in (OR OUT) They don’t seem to want to chew through or have anything to do with this stuff.

      Try it…let me know how it works!

    4. Felecia Says:
      August 18th, 2009 at 8:32 am

      So what is the answer to the orginial question? Which was, how do I get rid of hornets that have a nest INSIDE my vinyl siding next to my front door? I have the same problem.

    5. Carole Says:
      August 11th, 2009 at 9:51 am

      I was trimming a yew shrub with scissors, when I was stung twice by what I now know from my exterminator is hornets. There’s a very large nest in the yew. A home remedy that worked for me is making a paste with a bit of water and Adolph’s meat tenderizer. I’ve had mine for many years and it still worked! Keep some on hand.

    6. LIZ Says:
      July 29th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

      MY NEIGHBOR HAS A HUGE HORNETS NEST RIGHT OUTSIDE HER FRONT DOOR. SHE HAD A HANGING PLANTER THERE AND NEVER NOTICED IT UNTIL SHE TOOK THE PLANT DOWN. SHE HAS TRIED TO SPRAY IN THE HOLE BUT NOT SO SURE THAT IS A GOOD IDEA. ALSO WAS TOLD TO DO IT AT NIGHT. WE JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. NEED YOUR HELP???

    7. Aimee Bailey Says:
      July 26th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

      to everyone that has been stung by bees or fireants. buy you a bottle of TEA TREE OIL! It comes from the melaleuca tree and the stuff is miracalous!!! I use it on any kinda bites especially bees stings and fireants and even chigger bites. it works the bites will not swell when you put this tea tree oil on them. its totally natural and comes from a tree. so its not harmful, but its not the best smelling stuff out there. but hey im willing to stink for a while if it helps!! you buy it from walmart or health food store same thing around 6.00 a bottle.

    8. Kimberly Says:
      April 26th, 2009 at 12:33 pm

      Maybe this will help someone - but i have found that the instant you get stung take some tobacco(if you have any) wet it and stick it on the bite. It is a very common thing to do where i am from and a lot people recommend it. It helps draw out some of the venom and/or soreness i believe.

    9. giancarlo Says:
      August 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

      today i saw one it was very sad cause it couldent fly but it didnt sting me and my mom.

    10. Cindy Says:
      July 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm

      I got stung 2 days ago I could not id the insect as it was on the side of my neck and I kept trying to make it fall so it wouldn’t go down my clothing, don’t know what it was but it felt like a knife was cutting my neck over and over. Now I had a red swollen area and felt like there was something in the area, I did some surgery on it and was able to get out bits of a stinger small and black now there is a hole there and is very painful. I have bacitracin on it and a bandaide any ideas to relieve the pain?

    11. D Norman Says:
      July 18th, 2008 at 6:10 pm

      How do I get rid of hornets that have a nest INSIDE my vinyl siding next to my front door?

      Donna

    12. michelle Says:
      July 10th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

      this is not a tip but, what do you do if you get stung by a hornet. If you don’t have like any popular medicene. Or there is a hornet nest right on top for our roof, and we hit it and ran back inside, and unfortinatily as we were hitting it one of us got stung on the wrist. SO what do wse do? It really hurts. BADLY!

    13. Terisa Says:
      April 17th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

      Meestewrp - I am allergic. You can come and get mine if you want them that badly. :)

    14. Doris Says:
      February 25th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

      This is not a tip but a serious question. I have many bluebird houses @ my ranch in Eastern Kansas. Usually I have more hornets than bluebirds. Can anyone help me get rid of them? Thanks

    15. ziyad Says:
      November 30th, 2007 at 11:29 am

      from experience if you get stung by a BEE, the first thing you should do is to cut one piece of fresh garlic and wipe the infected place. this will not cause any infection or swollen and the stinger will be out immediatly. this had been tried and results were succesful 100%

    16. Shirley Says:
      September 6th, 2007 at 11:02 pm

      I was stung by a hornet a day ago and could not remove the stinger, my hand is very sore and swollen. I was stung on the little finger knuckle. It is black where the stinger and swollen,red, purple and seems somewhat infected. It is very sore. Is there something I can use to draw the stinger out? I am using a natural antibiotics and also made a paste of soda but nothing seems to be working as yet .

      Can you advise what to do?

      Thankyou
      Shirley

    17. Christina O'Shaughnessy Says:
      August 4th, 2007 at 5:50 pm

      My neighbours are insisting that I get the Professionals in to remove a nest.

      I have no problem with the nest; although, when the hornets get into my apartment, it sounds scary, and frightens my cats.

      Any advice welcome on how I can remove my neighbours without disturbing the hornets?

      CO’S
      near Geneva, Switzerland

    18. Meesterp Says:
      January 23rd, 2007 at 12:18 pm

      I want my hornets back!
      I hope we get hornets this year. They wipe out the mosquitos. Each year when we had hornet nests we had a comfy scene in our back yard garden and pool area. One hornet nest was no more that 25 feet from the steps into the pool. No stings and hardly a dang skeeter either.
      The next two years we have had enough problems with mosquitos and some other small biting insects. I’ve watched the hornets eat them and would like to have them back. Any suggestions?

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