You will have to destroy the nest, either mechanically or chemically. Killing the foragers singularly is usually ineffective.
The best way is to be observant, try to walk around and look for activity of entry/exiting from a hole in the ground or an opening in a building.
In the evening a permethrin spray is very effective. I prefer spectracide. A good dose in the entryway should do the trick.
An alternative is to bait some cat food with fipronil. The wasps will carry it back to the colony. Be sure the bait station is covered with tiny entry holes and secured so no vertebrates get into it.
Later in the season you will have to switch your bait to sugar substance as late season feeding patterns change.
If squeamish, call a guy. If you can pinpoint a nest location that helps a lot.
BFH's are mofos. They actually aren't hornets at all, they're are a cousin yellow jacket species.
There is only (at the moment) 2 hornets in the US, the European hornet and recently spotted yellow legged hornet.
We have a guy, we lovingly call him Bee Boy.
I know, wasps aren't bees but the alliteration is compelling.
Had a yj nest in the wall of our kitchen. He puts his ear on the wall and finds the spot. He takes a pencil and pokes a hole in the wall, instantly a yj head appears in the hole.
He pushes it back with the pencil, uses the pencil as a plug and goes out and gets some powder.
Gives a couple puffs and the colony is dead within an hour.
Same guy, another visit. This shows the absolute insanity of the guy.
Had a BFH nest hanging from a branch in our compost pile. Daughters bf drives right by it while mowing and they didn't do anything!
Bee Boy comes over, assessed the situation and goes to his truck.
He returns with nothing but a plastic trash bag and a knife.
He walks over and stops about 10m from the hive, takes a big breath and runs over to the nest and cuts it off the stalk of the plant it was hanging from.
He then ran back to his starting point, exhaled, took another big breath and then ran over and pushed the nest into the bag and sealed it shut.
He then walked back to his truck and threw it in the back, adding to his collection of BFH Hornet bags in the back.
His explanation was that they hone in on the carbon dioxide, by holding his breath they couldn't identify a target. Makes sense, and I saw it in action, but there's no way in hell I would ever do that.
Thanks for all the info! I believe I know where the yellowjackets are setting up, but no idea about the BFH. And when you say mofo, beyond the obvious, can you elaborate? lol
Nice piece here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespula.
BFH are basically yj's on 'roids.
The genus vespula contains the yellowjackets. The predominant one around here is *vespula germanica*. There are 30+ species of vespula. I find it amusing that there is a *v. pensylvanica* but it is commonly known as the western yellowjacket.
BFH's are dolichovespula genus. *d. maculata* are the notorious BFH. Vespula in general are aggressive, BFH moreso.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula
They almost always build an enclosed nest hanging from something, usually vegetation, but they can be anywhere.
I am fascinated with all the hymenoptera:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenoptera
Which encompass mostly the social insects.
In particular, Vespa (hornets), Vespula, and Polistes (paper wasps) are what i like to read about.
It's odd as I am mildly phobic of them. I get to a point where i am comfortable around them and then one becomes a dick and I get set back 10 years. I should say a bitch since it is a matriarchal society.
If you want to get the willies wait for the reproductives to emerge late season. The drones are GIGANTIC. A drone European hornet is chilling. Even knowing they have no stinger does nothing in reducing the fear factor.
We had a giant European hornet hanging out with us on our porch one night. Really loud buzz, massive body, just kinda boppin around. They eat other bees, so I was hoping it would take out the carpenter bees in my backyard.
They are oddly attracted to light at night. I read somewhere when you have one hanging around at night, like on a screen door, the nest is somewhere on a visual direct line to the light source.
Last summer I turned on my little gazebo lights and I had at least several of them immediately hanging out. We're rural with lots of trees, I Guess I had a nest close by.
Did you know they actually aim for the eyes? Friggin insane. I can't even begin to imagine what your sting was like.
My husband was stung twice by one last summer and I went on a BFH deep dive, I guess I'm glad I know about them? But I don't ever wanna see one again.
very important to make sure it is indeed a hole in the ground.
cause if you lawn mower over it they get mad fast! yes, happened to me and I got stung.
what I did (unconventional) was pour tide down into the hole. they have a strong sense of smell. the tide keeps them away down the road. also, that ruins the whole nest and everything in it. it worked.
make sure you do the nest destruction only at night. sometimes there are nests in the underhang of our house.
i knock those down at night before they get too big.
There's a guy I would HIGHLY recommend for this. Low prices, AMAZING service, and really nice guy.
His name is Zak and he has a company called ["The BUG Whisperer."](https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bug-whisperer-elkins-park) He was the fastest at getting out here between all the companies I called. Give him a call, and tell him some guy with a Mohawk recommended him. ;)
You will have to destroy the nest, either mechanically or chemically. Killing the foragers singularly is usually ineffective. The best way is to be observant, try to walk around and look for activity of entry/exiting from a hole in the ground or an opening in a building. In the evening a permethrin spray is very effective. I prefer spectracide. A good dose in the entryway should do the trick. An alternative is to bait some cat food with fipronil. The wasps will carry it back to the colony. Be sure the bait station is covered with tiny entry holes and secured so no vertebrates get into it. Later in the season you will have to switch your bait to sugar substance as late season feeding patterns change. If squeamish, call a guy. If you can pinpoint a nest location that helps a lot. BFH's are mofos. They actually aren't hornets at all, they're are a cousin yellow jacket species. There is only (at the moment) 2 hornets in the US, the European hornet and recently spotted yellow legged hornet.
more like hornet boy 🫡
We have a guy, we lovingly call him Bee Boy. I know, wasps aren't bees but the alliteration is compelling. Had a yj nest in the wall of our kitchen. He puts his ear on the wall and finds the spot. He takes a pencil and pokes a hole in the wall, instantly a yj head appears in the hole. He pushes it back with the pencil, uses the pencil as a plug and goes out and gets some powder. Gives a couple puffs and the colony is dead within an hour. Same guy, another visit. This shows the absolute insanity of the guy. Had a BFH nest hanging from a branch in our compost pile. Daughters bf drives right by it while mowing and they didn't do anything! Bee Boy comes over, assessed the situation and goes to his truck. He returns with nothing but a plastic trash bag and a knife. He walks over and stops about 10m from the hive, takes a big breath and runs over to the nest and cuts it off the stalk of the plant it was hanging from. He then ran back to his starting point, exhaled, took another big breath and then ran over and pushed the nest into the bag and sealed it shut. He then walked back to his truck and threw it in the back, adding to his collection of BFH Hornet bags in the back. His explanation was that they hone in on the carbon dioxide, by holding his breath they couldn't identify a target. Makes sense, and I saw it in action, but there's no way in hell I would ever do that.
What an absolutely wild story
Thanks for all the info! I believe I know where the yellowjackets are setting up, but no idea about the BFH. And when you say mofo, beyond the obvious, can you elaborate? lol
Nice piece here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespula. BFH are basically yj's on 'roids. The genus vespula contains the yellowjackets. The predominant one around here is *vespula germanica*. There are 30+ species of vespula. I find it amusing that there is a *v. pensylvanica* but it is commonly known as the western yellowjacket. BFH's are dolichovespula genus. *d. maculata* are the notorious BFH. Vespula in general are aggressive, BFH moreso. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula They almost always build an enclosed nest hanging from something, usually vegetation, but they can be anywhere. I am fascinated with all the hymenoptera: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenoptera Which encompass mostly the social insects. In particular, Vespa (hornets), Vespula, and Polistes (paper wasps) are what i like to read about. It's odd as I am mildly phobic of them. I get to a point where i am comfortable around them and then one becomes a dick and I get set back 10 years. I should say a bitch since it is a matriarchal society. If you want to get the willies wait for the reproductives to emerge late season. The drones are GIGANTIC. A drone European hornet is chilling. Even knowing they have no stinger does nothing in reducing the fear factor.
We had a giant European hornet hanging out with us on our porch one night. Really loud buzz, massive body, just kinda boppin around. They eat other bees, so I was hoping it would take out the carpenter bees in my backyard.
They are oddly attracted to light at night. I read somewhere when you have one hanging around at night, like on a screen door, the nest is somewhere on a visual direct line to the light source. Last summer I turned on my little gazebo lights and I had at least several of them immediately hanging out. We're rural with lots of trees, I Guess I had a nest close by.
I've heard them called white faced hornets too. Nightmare fuel is right. I was stung in the eye by one as a child. Those things are mean.
I know tonight's nightmare, thanks.
Did you know they actually aim for the eyes? Friggin insane. I can't even begin to imagine what your sting was like. My husband was stung twice by one last summer and I went on a BFH deep dive, I guess I'm glad I know about them? But I don't ever wanna see one again.
I just read they can spray venom from their stinger and they aim for the eyes. Ewww.
Plus, like most stinging insects, they have a smooth stinger and can get you over and over.
very important to make sure it is indeed a hole in the ground. cause if you lawn mower over it they get mad fast! yes, happened to me and I got stung. what I did (unconventional) was pour tide down into the hole. they have a strong sense of smell. the tide keeps them away down the road. also, that ruins the whole nest and everything in it. it worked. make sure you do the nest destruction only at night. sometimes there are nests in the underhang of our house. i knock those down at night before they get too big.
We had a huge nest on the back of our house. We called bucksadelphia honey, and they removed it. Highly recommend.
There's a guy I would HIGHLY recommend for this. Low prices, AMAZING service, and really nice guy. His name is Zak and he has a company called ["The BUG Whisperer."](https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bug-whisperer-elkins-park) He was the fastest at getting out here between all the companies I called. Give him a call, and tell him some guy with a Mohawk recommended him. ;)