We have an older barn in which we house some of Deb’s goats. It was built with a double wall construction, so that between the stalls there is a wall facing each stall and a gap in which the support beams are found. Over the years, of course, the boards have weathered and in one stall a chink fell out between two boards, leaving a convenient entrance for a hornet nest between the walls.
The hornets and goats do not bother each other and the hornets do not bother me, so I left it alone for a while. Unfortunately, both Deb and daughter are developing allergic reactions to stings and I can’t guarantee that neither will be stung, so I figured I’d better eliminate the nest.
I have read instructions for getting rid of ground-dwelling yellow jackets that suggested placing a jar over the entrance on the premise that they would not be able to leave the nest, but would not know to dig an alternative exit away from the mouth of the jar, and so would dehydrate/starve.
Since my nest is down inside the wall behind a narrow opening and I cannot get a clear view of the nest to spray it, I figured I would do something similar. I found a small sheet of plexiglas and went out in the 51° F night and fixed it over the opening. They can see daylight, but not enter or leave.
(Big build up. Yeah, I do have a question.)
This afternoon I was checking on the situation and found about a dozen hornets flying up and down the wall looking for an entrance.
I am pretty sure that they did not find a different exit to use (I checked that pretty closely before I wasted my time closing up the first one, and a second look found no hornets entering or leaving the wall at any other point.)
So, do hornets that are too far from the nest simply sit out all night, returning the next day? Do hornets get “visits” from other nests? (I find that improbable, but figured I should ask.) Where are the hornets from outside the nest coming from and will my barring their entrance mean that they will eventually die off or go away, or do I need to try to kill them for any reason?
(After the frosts of October or November, I could simply open the wall and handle this, but Ohio Septembers are pretty warm and I fear putting this off for another eight weeks while Deb and daughter try to avoid any contact with our buddies.)