Hornets are extremely dangerous insects of the same age that live in huge colonies, the main purpose of which is to protect the female and procreate. Nests are often located not far from a person’s home, which forces summer residents and owners of private houses to somehow solve the problems that have arisen . The easiest way in such a situation is to turn to specialists, who will not only tell you how to deal with hornets under the roof, but also use special chemicals to destroy dangerous insect colonies.
Description of insects
Hornets are a large predatory type of wasp that can reach a body length of 5 cm or more. There is a strict hierarchy in their colony. There is a queen that lays eggs, combatants, and workers who spend all their time in the nest caring for the larvae.
Outwardly, hornets look like magnified wasps. They have the same thin waist, striped dark coloration, wings with membranes and a long stinger with poison, which is different from the stings of wasps and bees. Hornets do not have serrations on it, therefore, when attacking their enemies, these insects do not die, but can immediately inject the poison again, thereby causing unbearable pain.
In a calm state, they are mostly peaceful and are not dangerous for humans. But if you irritate them, the insects immediately launch their sharp sting. It is especially dangerous to appear near nests, because hornets will protect their homes, sparing no effort. Even if a person just happens to be in the vicinity of a huge nest, it can be perceived as a danger, after which an attack will be inevitable. The large size of these insects allows them to develop a speed of 40-50 km/h, so it will be impossible to escape from an angry swarm.
Their poison contains the strongest toxin, so the bite is felt as an unbearable severe pain. Scientists note that 8-10 bites will be enough for the death of a healthy person. What can we say about children who have practically no immunity to poison. They often develop anaphylactic shock and have severe swelling. Therefore, if an adult or a child has been stung by a hornet, you should immediately consult a doctor to eliminate the manifestations of allergies.
Hornets are predatory insects that feed on flies, bees, wasps, and even attack other colonies of their relatives. They especially like honey, which they can smell at a distance of up to 4 km. Hornets are extremely dangerous for beekeepers and can quickly destroy the entire apiary. Several large specimens of these insects, having attacked the hive, will destroy dozens and hundreds of bees, trying to get to honey, high-calorie brood and larvae.
The range of the hornet is large, these insects are found even in the north. They are found everywhere in Ukraine. Several of their species are known, and it has been established that the greatest danger to humans is the Japanese variety, one bite of which can often be fatal due to extremely toxic poison.
Appearance on the homestead
Even half a century ago, hornets preferred to settle in thick forests and remote meadows, but today they are increasingly found in cities and rural areas. This is explained by the reduction of the area of forests, the development of cities and numerous landfills, which attract insects with the opportunity to easily find food. In the yard of private houses and cottages, they often arrange nests in attics, balconies, attics and in non-residential sheds. In the southern regions, where the earth warms up already in early spring, insects dig their homes in loose soil.
Despite the fact that hornets are predators, they will never refuse plant food either. Their diet consists of fruits, berries, flower nectar and sugary foods. Adults like to feast on birch sap, so they often fly into groves and thickets. Small honey bees are a special delicacy for such giants. Therefore, hornets often visit apiaries located near their homes. It is known that they not only destroy bees and eat honey, but also collect pollen and larvae, using them as food for their growing young.
The main reasons for the appearance of hornets on the territory of a private house or cottage are the following:
- flowering of fruit trees and ornamental plants;
- a large number of rotting residues;
- untimely removed young pruned tree branches;
- close location of the bee apiary;
- cluttered yard and balcony;
- unkempt summer garden plot;
- the presence of a thicket or a birch grove nearby.
The appearance of huge hornet wasps right next to the house or garden area will not always indicate the location near the nest of these insects. It can often be a scout female just preparing to establish her colony, or a stray individual that can fly up to 10 km from its home. In order not to provoke an attack and excessive aggression of the insect, it is not necessary to try to destroy or expel it.
However, if such visits by hornets are of a regular nature, it is often possible to notice several large individuals in flight at once, then this indicates a large nest located nearby. The only correct decision in a similar situation for a summer resident and owner of a private house will be to turn to professionals. It must be remembered that this is an extremely dangerous insect, which, protecting its nest, will immediately attack anyone who approaches the colony.
Nest search
When looking for a hornet’s nest, you should take into account the possible risk, it will not be superfluous to prepare protective clothing and always keep your phone handy for a possible emergency call. This insect remains active almost 24 hours a day, so there is simply no safe time for such searches. Ideally, you should look for hornets with the onset of cold weather, when most of them die.
A hornet’s nest, especially a large colony, will make a characteristic hum, reminiscent of an airplane. The summer resident should inspect nearby trees, poles, the facade of the house, all residential and non-residential buildings, including garages, attics and sheds. Most often, such a nest can be detected precisely by sound, since insects like to settle under the floor or in the thickness of the wall and it is extremely difficult to notice them.
Ways to destroy hornets
Most homeowners, having found such a colony of hornets in their yard or in the country, would like to get rid of the dangerous neighborhood. But trying to smoke huge wasps on your own is extremely dangerous. Unlike other stinging insects, hornets remain active for most of the day. They are especially active and dangerous in the spring, when they build a new home without rest. Any danger at this time will instantly turn into an attack of the entire swarm.
It should be remembered that standard methods of combating hornets do not work. These insects are not afraid of fumigation, it is extremely difficult to poison them with various insecticides and even more so not to scare them with extracts of citrus peels, aromatic oils or various fragrant herbs. Hornet nests can reach half a meter in girth, so removing or trying to put a plastic bag on such a huge ball will be problematic.
You can remove hornets using the following actions:
- the strongest insecticides;
- burning or drowning the nest.
As a preventive measure, summer residents and gardeners often make traps with baits that attract these insects, which like to feast on sweet molasses or honey. Such traps are made from plastic bottles, inside which honey or water mixed with sugar is poured as bait. Boric acid or other various insecticides are often mixed into the bait. However, it is problematic to destroy these huge insects in this way.
On sale you can find smoke grenades designed to fight wasps and hornets. Usually, such insecticides are used by professionals who, with the help of similar means, destroy nests in open spaces and indoors. When trying to smoke out hornets with such smoke bombs, it is necessary to isolate all pets, wear protective clothing and install insecticide sprays as close as possible to the nest.
It is easiest to get rid of hornets in winter, when only one female remains in their nest, plunged into a deep sleep. Often these insects make nests in the same place for many years. Adult workers fly away and die with the onset of cold weather, and the queen mother either remains in her old nest or also hides, but then returns to a comfortable place to live.
Using the services of professionals
When a hornet’s nest appears in the yard, it is easiest to contact professionals who will solve this problem guaranteed and as quickly as possible. They use powerful insecticides, treat nests with them and can destroy not only colonies located in a prominent place, but also insects that live inside the walls, under the floor or in the roof of a private house.
The following insecticides are often used:
- Aktara.
- Sail.
- Sanuzan.
- Raptor.
- Fossien.
When the nest is open, professionals often burn it with special blow torches and other similar devices. Such work should be carried out exclusively by a specialist who will be able to destroy the queen of hornets, the entire nest and offspring, while killing the maximum possible number of adults. After the death of their queen, the insects will fly away and will not cause any trouble to the homeowner.
The cost of services for the destruction of hornets is not too high, while the prices will depend on the distance of the country house or private house from the big city, the location of the nest and the size of the colony. It is easiest and cheapest to deal with these insects if their dwelling is located on a tree or in easily accessible places. It will be much more difficult and expensive to destroy a hornet’s nest located under the floor or inside the roof of a private house. You should not save on the services of professionals. This is an extremely dangerous insect, so trying to get rid of such a colony on your own is not recommended.
Preventive measures
It is much easier to prevent the appearance of hornets on the site or in a private house than to try to get rid of a large and dangerous nest. Often, females ready for fertilization are delayed in a human dwelling precisely because of the presence of a large amount of readily available food. These are open compost pits, uncollected garbage, not disposed of properly and rotten food.
The homeowner will need to regularly repair his house, preventing the formation of holes and cracks in the walls, facade and roof. If a colony of wasps and hornets lived under the roof or in the barn last year, in winter, such abandoned nests should be destroyed without fail and the places should be treated with insecticides and other powerful chemicals.
Hornets can also cause problems to summer residents, but it is almost impossible to solve these difficulties. Unfortunately, they are attracted by the smell of honey, and small bees simply cannot fight them, dying by the hundreds from the actions of these insatiable predators.