Subject: Bald faced hornet nest
Geographic location of the bug: Washington D.C. Metro area, USA
Date: 05/19/2018
Time: 07:57 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: A couple weeks ago I was surprised when I noticed a “beehive” (I know they’re not bees) newly under construction right to the side of my garage. I was really surprised because it’s being built ON the siding! I was able to find out it’s a bald faced hornets nest. Now I need to figure out what to do about it. From what I’ve researched it should only be the Queen in there right now…which would explain why I’ve only ever seen one hornet on it. I don’t wanna kill her like everyone keeps telling me to but I do need to remove it. What is the best way to do so where I’m not gonna get killed by this thing or kill her?!
*I may have a slight irrational fear of all things “bee”.
The first pic I included is of the nest about three days ago. The second pic is just to show where on the house the nest is located.
How you want your letter signed: Christine O.
Hi Christine,
We can see by the images you provided that this Bald Faced Hornet nest is positioned so it is near the entrance to your home. Hornets are social wasps that will defend the nest. While we acknowledge your quandary regarding this matter, alas we do not provide extermination advice. We would advise you to act before the queen Bald Faced Hornet’s first brood become adults as the workers will help her to defend the nest.
I found a hornet nest last fall that has a tube connected to the bottom of the nest. The nest is about three to four inches with a two to three inch long tube on the bottom. I have lived my whole life working in the forest industry and living on a farm and have never seen one of these before. I am 65 years old and live in Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. I have the nest it was hanging off the branch of a flowering vine. I cut the vine on both sides and it is complete with no damage. I could take a picture of it though I may have took one before I removed it and brought it inside the house