# How do I get rid of a hornets nest (w/o getting stung, again)?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 12, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658 "2002-07-12T17:18:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2002, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/41 "2002-07-15T09:56:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by galt \*
> \*\*The car idea is good, but I don’t think you can trust that everything is well-sealed. If you don’t mind looking like a complete lunatic, you could build yourself a little bee assault enclosure out of a refrigerator box with a clear plastic window cut in it at eye level, plus foot-holes (maybe sealed with a pair of hip waders), and one big hole in the side with a giant rubber glove attached to it, so you can stick your hand out and hold the hose spray nozzle. The bees will think they’re being attacked by a 60’s scifi robot.
>
> Don’t forget an emergency exit in case you have a hull breach and have to run.
>
> Send pictures. 🙂 \*\*
And people wonder how I could possibly spend so much time on “that stupid message board.” Thanks, galt. This is becoming quite a saga, I’ll be sad to see it over.
---
### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2002, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/42 "2002-07-15T10:06:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by galt \*
> \*\*The car idea is good, but I don’t think you can trust that everything is well-sealed. If you don’t mind looking like a complete lunatic, you could build yourself a little bee assault enclosure out of a refrigerator box with a clear plastic window cut in it at eye level, plus foot-holes (maybe sealed with a pair of hip waders), and one big hole in the side with a giant rubber glove attached to it, so you can stick your hand out and hold the hose spray nozzle. The bees will think they’re being attacked by a 60’s scifi robot.
>
> Don’t forget an emergency exit in case you have a hull breach and have to run.
>
> Send pictures. 🙂 \*\*
And people wonder how I could possibly spend so much time on “that stupid message board.” Thanks, galt. This is becoming quite a saga, I’ll be sad to see it over.
---
### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/43 "2002-07-16T01:36:33Z")
I tryed the same plan as yesterday. This time the bug bomb worked. The nest got pretty foamed up and I could see a few hornets drop out. I took a stick and crushed the nest, it fell to the ground and I crushed it some more then walked through my gate
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### Author:  [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/44 "2002-07-16T10:31:55Z")
Congratulations!
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/45 "2002-07-16T10:53:50Z")
I’m interested to know the details of the insect vermin you have destroyed, **k2dave** ; you referred to them as Hornets, but it sounds more like yellowjackets or something similar (not that they are any nicer to deal with); I had hornets in my garden (I live in the UK) last summer and they damn near frightened me to death; they were (like the insect **mkmiller99** describes) about the size of my thumb and very active and agressive\*.
Could you describe one of them for us?
_[sup]I’m sorry entomologists, but bitter experience means that I simply **refuse** _\* to believe that hornets and wasps are benign[/sup]
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### Author:  [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/46 "2002-07-16T13:23:25Z")
Hornets nests are very easy to distinguish as they form a paper ball with a single hole in the bottom, while yellow jackets live underground.
[http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/hornnest.htm](http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/hornnest.htm)
---
### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/47 "2002-07-16T21:11:12Z")
**dirty1** ’s link shows almost exactly what the hive looked like. So much so that I had to take a closer look to make sure it wasn’t the one I destroyed. The nest was pretty much a paper ball w/ some honeycome structure inside. If you need or want further info I will be glad to share.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/48 "2002-07-16T21:53:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by dirty1 \*
> **yellow jackets live underground.**
Are you sure this is always the case; we have them over here in the UK (-same species - _Vespula Vulgaris_ - they are just known as ‘wasps’ here) and they will nest anywhere that is dry and undisturbed, often this will be underground in a vacated rabbit hole or similar, but they are frequently found nesting in sheds, attics and hedges and hollow trees too.
What did the actual insects look like **k2dave**?
Oh and just to back up my seemingly unreasonable statement above about wasps being vicious bastards; my young son was stung on the back of the leg by one this afternoon; there was no provocation, it just landed on him and stung him. Bloody insects.
---
### Author:  [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/49 "2002-07-16T22:11:16Z")
\*\* Mangetout \*\* , I’ve been stung without provaction too. In the fall they start getting agressive and sting without reason - or so it seems. Maybe I was too close to the nest, however I didn’t now of any nests in the vicinity. Anyway, I heard of another way to kill yellow jackets, the ground nesters. First, find all the entrance/exit holes to the nest. Then get some glass bowls and put them over the holes. The light shines in and doesn’t alarm them (so hopefully they won’t swarm out and get ya) but they are trapped and will die.
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/50 "2002-07-17T00:13:33Z")
kind of like this
[http://www.costumedcharacters.com/bee.jpg](http://www.costumedcharacters.com/bee.jpg)
no really something like
[http://www.northantsbees.fsnet.co.uk/images/hornet.jpg](http://www.northantsbees.fsnet.co.uk/images/hornet.jpg)
and
[http://www.northantsbees.fsnet.co.uk/images/wasp.jpg](http://www.northantsbees.fsnet.co.uk/images/wasp.jpg)
It didn’t have the distinctive markings of
[ ](http://www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/yelojack.jpg)
Also the discription didn’t say that yellowjackets build these paper hives - more like they will use any crack that they can find.
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/51 "2002-07-17T00:26:44Z")
somehow [http://www.northantsbees.fsnet.co.uk/images/wasp.jpg](http://www.northantsbees.fsnet.co.uk/images/wasp.jpg)
doesn’t link to what I saw at 1st - It is more like the 1st one - a little more black but w/o as many repeating stripes as the 2nd one.
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/52 "2002-07-17T00:34:28Z")
Dudes, be careful! Multiple stings from anything are no joke!
This probably goes without saying, but if you want to play kill-the-critter yourself, 1. reconsider the use of volatile chemicals near your house/ bee assault vehicle/ old growth forsest; 2. get the kids and kitty cats locked away and warn your neighbors, lest they be stung by bees/ wasps/ hornets/ yellow jackets that, so far as they know, were “unprovoked.”
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/53 "2002-07-17T01:11:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Mangetout \*
> they were (like the insect **mkmiller99** describes) about the size of my thumb and very active and agressive_.
I think you might be talking about the [Cicada Killer](http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef004ci2.htm). I used to see these monsters all the time growing up in St. Louis. They had a rust-colored front half of their body, a traditional bumble-bee costume yellow-and-black-striped back half of their body, were the size of an **adult thumb** , and scared the crap out of you when they flew by, b/c they sounded like a diesel engine. I never was stung by one, probably b/c I gave them the widest berth possible.
One of the many reasons I moved to San Francisco - hardly any bugs!! Woo Hoo!!
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### Author:  [@EmbarrassingDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmbarrassingDad)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/54 "2002-07-17T03:11:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*
> \*\*Are you sure this is always the case; we have them over here in the UK (-same species - _Vespula Vulgaris_ - they are just known as ‘wasps’ here) and they will nest anywhere that is dry and undisturbed, often this will be underground in a vacated rabbit hole or similar, but they are frequently found nesting in sheds, attics and hedges and hollow trees too.
> \*\*
I guess not:
[http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/yellowjackets.htm](http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/yellowjackets.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> They usually nest in the ground, but will nest also in railroad ties, wall voids, and other above ground locations.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/55 "2002-07-17T07:38:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Dooku \*
> \*\*
>
> I think you might be talking about the [Cicada Killer[/url\*\*
Certainly looks similar, but what we have in the UK is [url=“[http://www.uksafari.com/hornets.htm](http://www.uksafari.com/hornets.htm)”]this]([http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef004ci2.htm](http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef004ci2.htm)) (I notice this page trots out the party line “They have an **unwarranted** reputation for being aggressive” :rolleyes:)
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/56 "2002-07-17T07:39:44Z")
[fixed link](http://www.uksafari.com/hornets.htm)
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/57 "2002-07-17T21:28:36Z")
Ok they look a little different dead in a pile on the ground then chasing after me. Today I did get a good look and they do indead look like the yellowjackets shown here:
[ ](http://www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/yelojack.jpg)
but yellowjackets don’t build paper hives so I figured:
1 hornets built the hive and sold it to some yellowjackets
2 yellowjackets have a skill that before now man has never seen
3 Hi Opal
4 some yellowjackets and hornets got together and produced hellojackets which have skills of both.
5 they were skinny bumble bees
no really what is going on here
hornet = paper hive
yellow jacket = no paper hive
I got a paper hive
yellowjacket = stripe and dot pattern
hornet = more of a dot pattern
I got a stripe and dot pattern
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/58 "2002-07-17T21:53:41Z")
Yellowjackets do indeed construct their nests from paper;
Initially, the queen contructs a small roughly cone-shaped cluster of about a dozen cells from chewed wood pulp and lays eggs that will grow into the first workers, when they mature, they set to work on the nest proper, which is usually roughly spherical, again, made from chewed wood pulp and may be up to the size of a basketball, containing multiple horizontal layers of paper ‘comb’ connected by a central stalk.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/59 "2002-07-17T22:04:24Z")
[Here](http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosecurity/stowaways/images/dia_nest.jpg) is quite a good photograph of a nest (that has been opened up).
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-rid-of-a-hornets-nest-w-o-getting-stung-again/118658/60 "2002-07-17T22:10:59Z")
It has it appered 3 honneycone layers in it. 2 were together (top of one was attached to the bottom of the other. and a 3rd single layer. Mine didn’t have any black and white tile floor though - perhaps it was on order. Also this nest was lighter in color - more gray then brown but that could just be local variation.
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