Hornets nest: what it looks like and how to get rid of it

A hornet nest in a summer cottage always poses a certain source of danger. It is believed that to guarantee peaceful coexistence between humans and hornets, one should not approach their nest closer than 50 meters. But in most summer cottages this condition is simply impossible to fulfill, which means that it is still advisable to remove the hornets’ nest, and the sooner the better.

In the photo there is a hornets nest above the entrance to the utility room. In this case, access to such a room is always associated with health risks:

In general, hornets guard their nest very diligently and, when there are signs of danger, they become more active (this should be kept in mind when you try to remove it). However, at a great distance from the nest, the hornet may well seem like a relatively peace-loving insect, since it will always prefer to fly away in case of danger.

Thus, when settling in summer cottages, these large insects at a minimum cause significant inconvenience to their owners. It often happens that a person has to experience a hornet bite.

Hornet stings are very painful. In most cases, they lead to severe swelling and prolonged throbbing pain. But that's not all: in some cases, when the victim has an increased sensitivity to insect stings, a hornet attack can lead to the development of severe, rapidly spreading, life-threatening allergy symptoms. If a person is not provided with qualified medical assistance in a timely manner, then an encounter with a hornet can result in anaphylactic shock and even death (in rare cases).

This problem is very relevant for residents of Primorye and the countries of Southeast Asia, where the Asian giant hornet lives.

However, its ordinary European counterparts can also be very dangerous.

Beekeepers especially often have to think about how to destroy a hornet nest. The fact is that, in addition to the inconvenience caused to ordinary summer residents and gardeners, these insects greatly harm beekeeping: they prey on bees, which they feed, including their larvae, thereby seriously reducing the number of honey-bearing colonies. Sometimes, swooping in en masse, a relatively small squad of hornets can destroy a bee colony of thousands in just a few hours.

The photo below shows Japanese huge hornets attacking a beehive:

Important!
Due to constant persecution by humans and thoughtless destruction of homes, hornets have become rare in many regions of our country, and in some places they are even listed in the Red Book. Therefore, hornet nests should be destroyed only when they create serious problems for economic activity or pose a threat to human health.

How dangerous is a hornet?

The main danger of the hornet lies in its rapid attacks, often in multiple bites, sometimes accompanied by serious allergic reactions.

Being a predator, the insect nevertheless produces a flower product, which, during the ripening process, becomes very similar to classic honey. It is quite edible, healthy and even tasty. Thus, it cannot be said that hornets do not make honey at all, but its amount is so insignificant that there is no need to talk seriously about hornet honey.

Adult

What to do if bitten

First of all, you need to have an antiseptic, an antihistamine, and a compress. First, you should drink a drug that neutralizes the effect of histamines in the body’s blood (comes with the poison).

Suprastin is best suited - this remedy makes it possible to relieve swelling and reduce the intensity of allergic symptoms. The affected area on the skin should be treated with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.

After such manipulations have been performed, apply a cold compress to the affected area of the victim - this will reduce the rate of spread of the poison through the blood. With proper preparation for the process of destroying a hornet's nest (thick, covered clothing, gloves, a beekeeper's mask with a net), the likelihood of being attacked by stinging insects is reduced to a minimum.

How do hornets build nests?

It is always the queen who lays the nest and builds the first comb. With the arrival of worker bees, she delegates this responsibility to them.

The building material is tree bark, which the hornets carefully chew with their strong jaws to a pulpy state. From the resulting material, insects build their home, constructing it layer by layer, from top to bottom. A fairly powerful protective wall, up to 8 mm thick, is made around the nest, forming a dense light gray cocoon with vent holes.

Under natural conditions, hornets build their nests in tree hollows or earthen burrows. Having become neighbors of a person, they choose some secluded place, protected from wind, rain and sunlight: an attic, a chimney, a barn, etc.

Having invested a lot of effort into the construction of their house, the hornets use it for only one year. The following spring, the queen who has survived the winter begins building a new home from scratch.

Construction process

The way the hive construction process is carried out surprises everyone - the insects put in a lot of work, discipline and self-organization. They try to make their own home as comfortable and durable as possible, capable of protecting them from hot and cold weather conditions.

The choice of material that serves as the basis of the nest is also interesting - they use wood and bark. They especially fell in love with birch, which is why their buildings have a lighter shade than those of wasps or bees. They carefully chew pieces of wood, moistening them with saliva - the resulting material allows them to sculpt honeycombs, walls, partitions and shells.

The choice of a place for construction is made by the queen, who begins the construction of the future house. Initially, she begins to sculpt the first ball of cells, where she lays eggs. After about a week, the eggs hatch into larvae, which after 14 days turn into pupae. After another two weeks, the nests are replenished with young workers, continuing the construction of housing.

The number of insects that will develop in the season also depends on the level of productivity of the new generation. After the worker hornets fly out, eggs of future females and males are laid. Since emergence begins at the sexually mature stage, swarming occurs immediately after this.

How many hornets live in a nest?

The number of hornets in a nest depends on many factors and ranges from 400 to 600 individuals, although there are cases when the number of insects in one nest reached 1000.

Hornet larvae emerge from eggs laid by the female on the 5th...7th day. Their development lasts 10-15 days, ending at the pupal stage. After 1.5-2 weeks, a young individual emerges from the pupa. The colony reaches its maximum by the end of summer - beginning of autumn.

"House"

Traps

Various types of insect traps have become very popular; stores offer a wide range of similar products.

But you can make them yourself without much difficulty:

Take a plastic bottle with a volume of at least 1.5 liters and cut off the top neck.
Pour aromatic bait into the prepared container, which will attract the wasp family - jam, honey, beer are suitable for this - it is best to mix these ingredients.
Insert the top of the bottle into the main part, so that the neck faces the bottom. But don't forget to remove the cover.
As an additional measure, lubricate the neck with oil.

Hornets will fly into such a ready-made trap, after which they will not be able to get out. And if some of the individuals are able to get to the neck, they will still not be able to get out, since it will have a slippery coating.

Traps are prohibited from being used in only one case - when a bee apiary is located near the site.

Methods for destroying nests

There are quite a few ways to destroy hornet nests. But the main thing, when starting Operation Liquidation, is to take care of personal protective equipment.

One of the accessible and effective ways to destroy a hornet nest is a bucket of diluted kerosene or boiling water . The discovered cocoon is immersed in it without disturbing it. The liquid should completely cover the socket. After 24 hours, all its inhabitants die, and the cocoon itself most often ends up in a bucket.
Aerosols to combat flying insects help solve the problem of destroying hornets within a few minutes. You need to work in a protective suit with a respirator. To consolidate the result, you can re-process.
Insecticidal preparations in powder form have proven themselves well in cases where the nest is located in a hollow tree. The poison is left inside, and some time later, when the hornets become lethargic or die, the entrance to the hollow is sealed with foam or gypsum mortar.
also treat polyurethane foam If all entrances and exits are properly sealed, the insects inside the nest will simply die of starvation.
A quick and effective way to destroy even a huge hornet nest is to use smoke bombs . Experts advise using a sulfur bomb after placing it in a metal container.
Fire is the most radical way to get rid of dangerous insects. The hornets' nest is doused with flammable liquid and set on fire. Compliance with fire safety measures is mandatory.
A hive that is built in the ground or in an old stump can be destroyed using a large amount of boiling water .
In cases where the cocoon is in a hard-to-reach place, bait and poison . First you need to accustom the insects to eating in the same place using bait, and then start adding poisonous substances there. Working hornets will not only poison themselves, but will also poison the queen and their other relatives by bringing poisoned food to the nest.

Smoke bomb

If you manage to find a nest that has just begun to form, you can destroy it by placing a rag soaked in ammonia . The queen will die and new hornets simply will not appear.
A life hack with a vacuum cleaner is also perfect. The end of the suction hose is placed inside the nest, and all the insects end up in the bag or container of the vacuum cleaner. It is better to shake them out after two days, making sure that the insects are dead.

On a note! It is recommended to destroy hornets in the evening or even at night, when the entire family is assembled and its activity is minimal. It is advisable not to use a bright light source.

Insects flying out of the hive

During autumn the house becomes empty. This is influenced by a number of nuances:

after the start of swarming, males die very quickly;
cold and frost kill worker hornets and the queen, and fertilized individuals move to warm places;
in the fall, the female produces a special enzyme that prevents her from freezing in a state of suspended animation in winter;
choose a temporary home - a hollow, a tree, an outbuilding;
The hornet does not settle in an old nest; the construction of a new house always begins.

Calling specialists

This method is the safest, since employees will independently carry out the work with a high level of efficiency.

This option has some features that need to be taken into account:

Now there are many companies that specialize in pest control, but you should not choose the first one you come across, you need to compare the presented options according to the criteria of pricing policy and customer reviews,
Before work, important aspects need to be discussed, including a guarantee that the hornets will not reappear - such information must be included in a written contract,
This problem most often occurs in suburban areas, which also affects the cost of the service.

If you want to destroy a nest and fight hornets, consider whether there is a real threat to people living in the area or bees in the apiary. Since an insect of this species benefits nature, and some of the species are listed in the Red Book as endangered.

The origin of the name “hornet”

Why is the hornet called that? It is known that the roots of the word “hornet” come from the Latin phrase “vespa crabro”, which literally translates as hornet wasp. The common hornet is a subspecies of a large wasp that lives throughout Europe. There are also Asian hornets, which are larger in size than ordinary ones. People call hornets by different names: “flying corsairs”, “pirates” and so on. In the 19th century, biologists divided one genus of hornets, Vespa, into two different genera - vespula, which includes only wasps, and vespa, which only includes hornets.

Providing first aid for a bite

If a person does suffer from a hornet bite, it is necessary to take action as quickly as possible in order to prevent possible complications of the victim’s condition.

First aid must be provided in the following order:

Suck out the poison from the affected area on the skin - this procedure must be carried out immediately, since effectiveness is possible only within a short time from the moment of attack until the poison spreads through the blood. Of course, this will not prevent all consequences and will not eliminate the risk of allergies, but it will significantly reduce the intensity.
Apply ice or something cold to the bitten area - this action will reduce pain and prevent swelling from growing.
Do not touch the affected area, as any rubbing or scratching of the wound will help stimulate blood circulation, which maximizes the rate of spread of the poison throughout the body, and there is also a risk of infection, which will only worsen the victim’s condition. Do not try to find the sting, since the hornet, due to its smooth surface, will not leave it in the wound (unlike a bee).
Disinfect the affected area of the skin using any available method - you can use hydrogen peroxide, medical alcohol or other disinfectants. The bite should be treated with the utmost care, excluding any pressure.
Apply wet sugar to the bite area, having previously wrapped it with a bandage or towel - this action makes it possible to draw out a certain amount of poisonous components that have not yet had time to disperse throughout the human body. Remove the bandage after 10 minutes - this period is enough to draw out the possible amount of poison.
Take a swab, pre-moisten it with citric acid/vinegar and apply it to the affected area - the procedure will reduce the inflammatory process and reduce the intensity of the allergic reaction. This is done due to the fact that toxic substances contain alkali, and acid can destroy the structure.
If there are pronounced consequences of the attack, severe discomfort and no improvement in the condition for several days, this is a serious reason to seek urgent help from a specialist to receive professional medical care.