I call this tree Nervous Nellie.. it's always the first to loose it's leaves at the sign of any cool weather. As you can tell, it's leaves are barely hanging on...
I came home today from the store and looked up and Nervous Nellie has a visitor..
I don't know if it's a hornets nest, wasp nest or what kind of nest, but something lives in there.
I called the pest control and he said to just monitor it (like I'm going to stand out there and watch it.. NOT!) but to see if any bees go in and out.. and then he'd come and "smoke them out", but leave the nest...seems to me that it'd be better to knock it down...
Has anyone else had something like this before?

Yup. That's a Bald Hornets nest. They are nasty little insects. They attack with no provocation. I would definitely have a professional come take it away. Best to do it when it is cold and they are kinda dormant. Plug the hole, cover with a plastic bag and cut it down.

Good luck.

you definitely don't want to knock it down. have you ever heard the expression "stirrin' up a hornet's nest?" you'd be attacked by a swarm before it hit the ground. :shock:

it will probably be expensive, but that's a job for a professional.

I would definatly call somebody that is a professional for that job. Hornets are nasty! Hope you can get rid of it soon! :) Good luck!

No wonder Nellie is nervous! Leave this to the pros for sure. Definitley hornets!!

I would definitely call someone professional to take care of this one. Those buggers are nasty!

I wouldn't touch it. Hornets are nasty and mean. Let a pro take care of it.

12 gauge shot gun and run like the wind

Billy

Now you sound like my husband. LOL That is something him and his buddies would do. :lol: :lol: :lol:

LOL ... Uh I think I would call the proffesionals back and tell them to come get it :wink: Leave the gun in the closet :shock:

Women: Call a professional
Men: Where's the shotgun, dynamite or sling shot.....
:lol: :roll: :lol: :roll:

yikes :shock:

How cold is it where u live? waid 4 a cold freze. Remove the nest pop it in a bucket slap on a cover and put it in an area where there are no people....some bees revive after they warm up. We need bees for life to survive and we do have a shortage because of bacteria. calling a local wildlife person is the best idea pest control makes money by destroying things...period :D

Do bees live in something like that?

There was a documentary about the date (fruit/tree/plant) that needs wasps (or hornets?) for the fertilization process.

Most creatures do have a useful purpose -

Mice, for one thing Great food for owls, coyotes, foxes, and wolves. I just don't want to share my living quarters with them.

As long as they aren't causing you problems right now, leave it alone. Those things really pack a wallop! Have you seen them going in and out of the nest?

According to an article here:
http://www.pestproducts.com/hornets.htm#Baldfaced Hornet Control
the nest may already be abandoned, since workers do not over-winter.

As far as I know, hornets don't pollinate anything, but prey on other insects.

LOL!! looks justs like what was in the attic at the cabin this year. Only there were dozens of them. :0 It felt like we were crawling into VanHellsing's cave. We had to spray and close the door and wait. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it. I got stung by one of those devils. It put me in the hospital! Those hornets don't need to be provoked, they just sting the heck out of you for no good reason. Good luck!

Yup. That sounds about right. LOL :lol: :lol: :lol:

If it is cold enough they will go to sleep. Then you can do something about it.

Yep, it's hornets.. wanna know how I know? The little buggers built one of their paper nests under MY seat in our dune buggy this spring.
I saw them swarming but later found out that it was hornets. I did lots of reading on them and info said they would die out in winter and not return to that nest. We killed ours with hornet spray but you should do it at dark when they are all inside but.. and it's a big one.. don't use a flashlight or they will come out after you.. they follow the light .. My roommate put on heavy layer of clothes then put his motorcycle rainsuit over it, we taped the ankles and wrists over his boots and gloves and he wore his full faced helmet, so they couldn't get to him if they came out... OMG was it funny!!! He looked like a big blue Pillsbury Dough Boy with all of the layers on.. but it did get rid of them.
I would try to preserve the nest and just kill the critters as those things are worth a good bit of money on e-bay... hundreds last one I saw.. decorators pay big for them.
Good luck

My husband is a professional bug man.....He says that they sting over and over again.....They will put you in the hospital. CALL a Professional! It is cheaper than medical bills.....

We had one of those hornet nests in a maple tree that was almost 3 feet long. A few years ago they decided it was much better to build one right on our house outside our bedroom window. We used some hornet spray to rid the nest of them and then knocked it down but it left stains on the siding. :cry:

I'm with Knot Sew - I think it's better to get a wildlife expert to come and relocate the nest if possible and if you have a problem with it being there. We had a hornets nest in our chimney last summer and I was concerned for the children so I did some research. They are not as agressive or nasty as you might think. They WILL sting repeatedly but only if provoked and if they don't have the option to fly away. Sadly, we had to destroy the ones nesting in our chimney when winter came because the flue was blocked and we couldn't use the fire. Up until then it stayed. Occasionally, we had one in the room, but I just opened a window and gently shooed it outside. If the nest had been outside, I would have let it alone.

I feel we are too keen to destroy wildlife without any thought to the ecosystem - every creature has a place and a role to play. And it's important to educate children in this and not make them afraid or feel that they have to kill everything that moves. They have to learn respect yes, but not fear or hatred. Just my opinion. :D

Ummm, maybe you have a different variety in France, but the black and white beasts I have encountered will not hesitate stinging. And it hurts. A LOT!!!! I would never want to get close enough to them to shoo them anywhere!

When I raised chickens, it was not unusual to see one of them grab a horsefly out of the air as both were flying. I doubt if there is anything they are scared of.

Ours are black and yellow so perhaps they are different. They're the same ones as in the UK. And you're absolutely right about the chickens - they'll even eat snakes. They are brave birds! :D

this is what my DH does...waits til dark, then ties a plastic bag around it and saws it off. He swears they are all in there after dark. works for him :roll: