Bald Faced hornets - United Exterminating Company

The bald faced hornet - Dolichovespula maculata, (the new name) has been revised from Vespula maculata, and is actually a larger yellow jacket, and not a true hornet. Bald faced hornets make those large, almost round nests you can see in trees after the leaves have fallen in winter. In the summer, nests are often hidden by vegetation. When winter comes, they abandon the nest, usually by the first frost. They will build a new one, probably somewhere else, next spring.

The paper-like covering of the nest is made from chewed up wood, cardboard or paper that the workers will form into the outside nest covering. Nests can also be colorful as wasps will gather nest materials from different sources.

Nests are generally aerial and they will attach their nests to trees, bushes or sometimes even the side of a structure. Nests that are high in the trees should be left alone.

On this nest, close to the ground and reachable, we opted to use our trusty bulb duster, loaded with diazinon dust. A quick "poof" directly into the entrance hole was all it took. Immediately after injecting the dust, we step aside, (QUICKLY!) and let the dust do it's work. Diazinon dust takes several hours to work it's magic, so we leave and return the next day to remove the nest. Normally, it takes less than an ounce of the dust to do the job. What happens if we miss? Not much, we just return the next night and try again. Mostly, we get these on the first shot. Do we use a special "bee suit?" Naaaah, that's only for pansies.... Being macho, we do it the old-fashioned way - quickly - without a bee suit.

We undertook this job at night, of course, arriving just after dark to do the deed. Most of the hornets will be back in the nest at dark, although some members may be caught out at dark and will often spend the night under a leaf somewhere, or in some other protected location, making their way back to the nest at first light.

The next day, we just clipped the branch of the tree and dropped it into a shopping bag for the trip home.

Slicing open the outer paper-like covering, you can see in this next sequence of pictures, how the hornets construct the inner portion of the nest. The hornets collect wood pulp by scraping unfinished wood with their mouths, chewing the wood into a wet pulp and constructing the outer cover. As the inside cell structures get larger, they will remove inside layers and add it to the outside covering, continually making the nest larger.

A bald faced hornet nest, (which is a social insect) may have anywhere from a hundred, to as many as seven hundred (or more) female workers but only one queen. The queen is the mother of all the members of a single colony. There is only one queen to a nest, and she is the one that starts the nest in the beginning. The inside of the nest consists of layers of cells, shaped like a pie plate, with each layer slightly smaller than the previous layer, and with each cell containing a developing larva. The queen lays an egg in each cubicle, and the larvae (or grubs) will hatch within about two or three weeks (depending on food supply and temperature) to become worker hornets. Hornets are predacious insects, which means they eat other insects. For this reason, they are beneficial insects and if they are up and out of the way, you might just as well leave them alone. They will also feed on ripe fruit, or even tree sap. Though mostly diurnal, they will also occasionally fly at night. Their nest will last only the current season, and will be vacant after the first hard freeze or a couple of frosts. After that, you can safely knock the nest down.

STINGS
Unlike bees, the poison of wasps and hornets is not really intended for use against us. Wasps and hornets are mainly hunters of insects, while bees collect nectar, to make honey. With large amounts of honey in an average honey bee nest, the main purpose of a bee sting is to defend the nest and the colony against any attack, from mice and other animals, right up to humans. A honey bee loses the stinger mechanism (and the poison sac) with a single sting. In fact, the poison sac will continue to pump venom even after it is ripped from the bee, pumping even more venom after the bee is gone. Therefore, bee stings can often cause a more severe reaction because of the amount of venom.

Wasps (and hornets) can sting repeatedly but will pump much less venom with each sting than a bee will. However, because wasp venom is different than a honey bee's venom, a wasp sting can definitely be more painful. Wasps and hornets generally use their sting to kill their prey. Even though they will attempt to sting repeatedly, and although it is generally more painful, they do not inject their entire poison sac. For this reason, medically, humans usually have more to fear with the sting of the bee than the hornet. Science has discovered that the hornet sting contains acetylcholine, which is reported to stimulate pain nerves more than the stings of other wasps and bees. So the sting of a hornet can be a bit more painful. Got that?

Personally, I find the sting of a paper wasp to be the worst for me. Other people might have a different reaction.

When you are near a nest, rapid air movements, blocking flight paths, and jostling or breathing on the nests can initiate an attack by all of the colony immediately.

Cooling the area is soothing, the same as for bee stings. In exceptional cases, hornet stings, like any other insect stings, can induce an allergic reaction, experts say this results from an overactive immune system. Considerable swelling and redness in the affected areas are sometimes the result. In the case of a reaction such as this, you should always see a doctor to be on the safe side.

Wanna try it yourself? Sure, no problem. First of all, you must do it at night. When it's COMPLETELY dark. Get all set up beforehand, know where the nest hole is, make sure you can reach right up to it, set up a ladder (if you need it) in the daytime, leave it there until zero hour when you'll be doing it.

Pick up some "wasp freeze" from your local hardware store, pick up the biggest and the cheapest. Might be a good idea to pick up TWO cans. Make sure you know how the can works. Practice with it, know how the fluid comes out, how strong it comes out and how it shoots, sometimes these cans come "short-filled," you don't want any surprises.

At night, take your time to set up yourself to get the right shot. There will always be a few hornets on the nest set up as guards. Have someone help you by holding a flashlight so you'll be able to see what you're doing. Shoot the outside of the nest, quickly, then move right in and get the spray right inside the hole. I know the directions may say you can do this from 15 feet away, but don't believe it - you have to get the spray DIRECTLY into the hole.

After shooting the hole and the nest, move away from the area IMMEDIATELY! Have your compatriot turn off the light. Wasps (and hornets) will fly directly at lights, remember that, use the flashlight sparingly.

The next day, after observing that the nest has NO ACTIVITY, you can cut the nest down. Before you do it, shoot the nest AGAIN, to take care of any hornets that spent the night out, (there are always a few) or any new ones that have hatched overnight and survived your first attack. Put the nest into a sealed plastic trash bag and dispose of the bag and contents. That's all there is to it. Good luck!

But then, I get goosebumps almost every time I do these jobs, even after all these years, so if you think you should call a Pro, see if any of the IPCO guys are near you. Just click on "IPCO Member List."