Bald Faced hornets - United Exterminating Company

Whatever. In the trade, we call 'em BFHs...

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. And, no, we're not crazy, just experienced.

A bald faced hornet nest, (hornets are a social insect) could have anywhere from a hundred, to as many as seven hundred (or even more) female workers, but there's only one queen at a time. The queen is the mother of all the members of that single nest. There is only one queen to a nest, and she is the one that starts the nest in the beginning, usually early in the spring. Most people don't notice the nests until they get bigger and more noticeable.

The inside of the nest consists of layers of cells, shaped kinda like a pie plate, with each layer slightly smaller than the previous layer, and with each of the cells 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.

The hornets will constantly make their nest bigger and bigger, to accommodate ever increasing combs and cells. You'll see them roam all over the nest, keeping everything in order and repairing any problem areas. They will tear down the old walls of the nest and to create new ones. They can be very busy, and quite fascinating to watch.

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 completely alone - they'll actually help you!

The hornets also feed on ripe fruit, or even tree sap. These insects are always arround drops from fruit trees. Though mostly diurnal, they will also occasionally fly at night. They are attracted to lights, and you will always see them flying around outside lighting. The nest you see this year will only last the current season, and will be vacated after the first hard freeze or even a couple of mild frosts. After that, you can safely knock the nest down. If you can't, don't worry about it - it's very fragile and without the workers tending to it, it will usually disintegrate over the winter.

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. Try not to let this happen....

WHAT HAPPENS TO ME WHEN I GET STUNG
I get stung all the time. I hate it too. Actually, the hornets are not too bad, unless they get you in a tender area, such as on your face. When they get me on the face, it does swell up enough for people to notice. It is uncomfortable too, and it stings for awhile - depending on how good of a hit they get on you. My last eye-hit, the swelling was obvious for a couple of days. The "sting" part goes away pretty quickly, although it will DEFINITELY bother you for the rest of the day. And they WILL aim for your eyes, BTW. If they hit you in other places it's not as bad, but getting stung anywhere is not my idea of fun.

The hornets, yellow jackets and paper wasps all have the same kind of sting; a sharp sting sensation, followed by swelling and itching, as days go by. It's a real pain, to coin a phrase....

Honeybee stings are not half that bad. And they usuall only sting when you really bother them, or in defense of their nest. Follow these directions for a bee sting. Excellent advice from the University of Michigan Health System.

Wanna try it yourself? Sure, no problem. First of all, best time to do it would be 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. That way the hornets will be used to its presence when you come out to do the deed and you won't trip over your own equipment in the dark.

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 at least 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," and you definitely don't want any surprises....

NIGHTTIME COMES....
At night, take your time to set yourself up to get the right shot. There will always be a few hornets on the nest set up as guards. It may help to have someone help you by holding a flashlight so you'll be able to see what you're doing.

DO IT THIS WAY
Shoot the outside of the nest, quickly, in a sort of circular motion, then move right in and get the spray right inside the hole. Give it a good 5 or 10 second shot. That should be plenty.

And 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, or you run the risk of an invalid treatment and (perhaps) a slew of angry hornets.

After shooting the both hole and the nest, move away from the area IMMEDIATELY! Have your compatriot IMMEDIATELY turn off the light. Wasps (and hornets) will fly directly at lights, remember that, use the flashlight sparingly. WATCH OUT FOR THAT LADDER! Don't fall over it and get stung like happened to me one time.

REMOVING THE NEST
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, right into the hole, 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! (It really isn't that hard....)

Now, if you DON'T want to do it yourself, and you want US to do it - and that's definitely understandable - we generally service the area on this map. Just give us a call or email us from our contact page.

Or you can fill out this form and we will reply by email, with a quotation tailored to your personal requirements. Please include your phone number if you wish us to call you.

WHAT WE GENERALLY DO
For our hornet treatments, that commonly means about three stops. The first one, to determine exactly where the nest is, and plan our procedure. The second visit is when we will actually treat the nest. (Sometimes the treatment has to be done at night. The third visit, a day or two later, is to remove the nest. Sometimes we can do it all in the daytime, depending on the situation. If it takes more than the three stops, we don't charge any extra.

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO QUOTE YOU A PRICE
We will need to know the EXACT location of the nest, how high off the ground it is, and if anyone has attempted treatment, and when that treatment was performed, and what was used.

But then again, I get goosebumps almost every time I do these jobs, even after all these years. So if I'm not near you, and you think you should call a Pro, see if any of the IPCO guys are near you. Just click on "IPCO Member List." Tell any of them that "John from United" sent you, for excellent personal service.

You can also check on my Good Guys Page for someone that might be near to you.