Dissuading hornets?

[Daniël Bos]

Hello,

 

Hornets appear to have chosen my shed to build a nest. There's only about half a dozen of them now.

Is there anything I can do to get them to move on?

I don't want to kill them, but the shed is in constant use.

[Stubby]

Teach them how to use a mower .....

[Daniël Bos]

I would, but I'm a scythe man and even the biggest one can't quite reach to hold it properly.

[sandspider]

I used some citronella oil to move on a small swarm of wasps that were looking to make a nest by my back door... (Not sure if it worked or if they just changed their minds though!) Think they don't like disturbance either, so keep opening the shed door?

 

I accept no responsibility if they sting you!

[bluebedouin]

Keep knocking the nest down as they build it.Spray peppermint oil or eucalyptus oil around the shed.

[Anno]

Hornets are usually cool, gentle giants and will leave you to go about your day to day...

 

Never stayed in a property in Normandy yet without a nest and never been bitten, and as for wasps? horrid things, hit them with spoons, tool of the devil etc.

 

(Maybe I shouldn't be an ecologist...)

[slack ma girdle]

Hello,

 

Hornets appear to have chosen my shed to build a nest. There's only about half a dozen of them now.

Is there anything I can do to get them to move on?

I don't want to kill them, but the shed is in constant use.

Keep talking to them whist you are in their location, and they will get used to you being around and ignore you.

Some of nature's finest creatures .

Let's see some photos

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Arbtalk mobile app

[Mick Dempsey]

Hornets are usually cool, gentle giants and will leave you to go about your day to day...

 

Never stayed in a property in Normandy yet without a nest and never been bitten, and as for wasps? horrid things, hit them with spoons, tool of the devil etc.

 

(Maybe I shouldn't be an ecologist...)

 

My groundhog would disagree, he was stung by a European hornet. Very painful.

 

I was going to change the autocorrect from groundhog to groundie, but I like it!

[Daniël Bos]

I got stung on the spine in my sleep a while ago. It smarts a bit, but not really much worse than a wasp. Put vinegar on it straight away, their (and wasps') sting is alkaline and the vinegar neutralises it.

 

Anyways, thanks for the suggestions folks!

We tried spraying euc and mint oils, made the place smell a bit but hasn't made any difference to the hornets.

 

I'd have preferred to leave them, but the best was about a foot above head height in the toilet, a place of sanctuary and safety.

 

So, got the smoker out, filled the building with smoke (all the hornets started buzzing manically at this stage, presumably a ventilation thing?), left it for a bit, more smoke, then came back to an empty nest and removed it. There was no larvae in it yet, but all the cells had eggs in. Hopefully they'll regroup and try again elsewhere.

 

I've left a smoldering smoker in the space, migth leave it overnight to stop then coming back to the same place.

 

 

[sloth]

Impressive creatures. I spent half an hour with a coffee earlier watching a gaggle of leaf cutter bees snipping away at my willow and fuchsia to line the bamboo bug hotel holes that my kids put in the garden last year - the simplest of things can make a day so much nicer...