I have a set of two wooden steps resting on concrete outside a door. The structure is completely enclosed, but with lots of cracks where hornets can get in and out.
I am afraid to try to remove any of the boards to gain access because they are very aggressive.
In a previous post I was asked for pictures. You can see them at:
Dust where they go in and out with a little sevin dust. They will take it into the nest. It may take a week but this is abou the easiest way to get rid of them. If you can gently blow a little under the steps with a vacuum cleaner that good too.
Jimmie
Looks like enough openings to hit with the canned wasp spray. Just squirt in. It will knock down any hornets exposed immediately with little danger to you. If you can find nest opening, one shot may be enough to do them all in.
I've had success with that on yellow jacket nests when they get behind the siding. They get some of that Sevin on them and contaminate their nest with it.
David
How difficult would it be to move the steps as a unit? I can't tell if they're attached to the house.
IME I have never seen such a situation where the hornets were not nesting in the ground under the porch slab, entering between there and foundation.
Your best option might be to throw a tarp over the steps, stuff it into the perimeter cracks then introduce an insecticidal dust.
I like Delta Dust
A bulb duster is my preferred method of dust application.
I always liked to have a minimum of 3 cans of spray, and a backup shooter. Plus, you might want to test the sprayers in the store before purchase, just give it a little squirt. I attacked a nest once, pulled the trigger and got nothing, and got the same from my backup.
You've got a job on your hands. -----
- gpsman
Go out at night Cover it with plastic Spray with a can of wasp spray
You are right to try to be VERY careful because hornets can be very aggressive.
Looking at the pictures, you may have a few different options.
Here's a link with some information, although it doesn't quite describe your situation. But it does talk about doing it at night, being careful with using any flashlight and how to do that, etc.
You may have some advantages based on the photos. If it's a screen door, you may be able to spray through the screen from the inside and be completely protected while you spray.
I see the tube through the door that you used to pour ammonia down onto the steps etc. Ammonia etc. won't work. You need a chemical pesticide spray. One of the best is any brand of hornet spray as others have suggested. The hornet spray does stun them and knock them down when it hits them.
If it is possible to spray through the screen from the inside, I would do that first -- at night, in the dark, with no lights on inside the room where the door is. I would start with hornet spray. You may have a problem with the spray splashing back on you as it hits the screen. Another option may be to take the screen out, then either spray though the slats in the outside door or maybe (at night) open the door, spray quickly down onto the steps and cracks, then close the door quickly before they can get to you.
Or, you can do it from the outside -- at night. Get two cans of hornet spray -- one for each hand. Cover up well, including maybe some kind of veil over your head. Slowly sneak up fairly close to the steps, and don't stomp around creating vibrations. Spray the steps where you know they go in and out and along other cracks and crevices, and then leave the area.
I did this at night for a ground level nest of hornets. It worked fine. They can't really figure out what to do fast enough to really get you at night, especially if you don't have a flashlight in your hand. They don't know where you are.
snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:
Do some looking after dark and figure out where the nest is. Then flood it from the top with a solution of malathion or sevin mixed per label directions.
You may be confusing yellow jackets with the other members of the hornet family. The ones I see build a big paper mache nest in a tree of other above ground places. This is one that was built in the base of an unused gas grill (the one I killed)
Maybe. I was a PCO, not a entomologist, so they're all effectively wasps/hornets to me.
That's a good'n.
- gpsman
once you solve this problem drill some convenient holes in the base in case you get new tenants in the future.
one time they moved into my hollw metal raining.
at night i sealed the access holes with many wraps of elecvtric tape, they pushed at it for a couple days.
they had stung me repeatedly:(
Dust where they go in and out with a little sevin dust. They will take it into the nest. It may take a week but this is abou the easiest way to get rid of them. If you can gently blow a little under the steps with a vacuum cleaner that good too.
Jimmie
Buy a couple of cans of Wasp and Hornet spray..(NOT the foam) Put on a hooded sweatshirt(put the hood up),gloves , eye protection and jeans or heavy pants..Gently tie a 20 foot piece of rope to the steps..Pull the steps out where you can get at the back of them where they are open so you can see the nest..Get a helper if you think it's to heavy for you...Run like hell to the car or other safe area till they calm down...Usually an hour or so...From inside the house you probably can see the nest or where they are swarming..Use binoculars if needed....Wait till dark then comence the chemical attack wearing the clohing already mentioned..Use a flashlight to identify the nest..TURN IT OFF BEFORE SPRAYING...Spray again the next night if needed...Put steps back...Good Luck....
Call me crazy, but I'd duct tape up all of the cracks and seal them in there for awhile.
Jon
Great photos, thank you. Very helpful.
I'd be tempted to go out about 11 PM, and give a yank on the railing. Pull away from the house. See if you can get the entire set of stairs to flip up on end.
Then, you can do the hornet spray routine. Spray right onto the nest.
And how would you "yank on the railing" and "pull away from the house" exactly? That's some damned heavy wood with a minimum of leverage available to human bone-and-muscle torque. Unless you're saying you're another Conan...
The Ranger
"The Ranger" wrote in news:ZIWdndR-B_YQodnXnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@posted.rawbandwidth:
How about tie a rope on it then to a vehicle. Slowly pull it away from the house at night. Next night when hopefully they are settled again serve them cocktails.
Put warning sign on inside of door not to go out or tape on exit latch while steps are away.
Without being there, I don't know how heavy the wood is. I have a metal steps thing outside my back door. And, I flip it over with a yank on the metal railing. My front steps, same deal. No railing, so I have to slide em out, and pull on the top step.
So, did you try anything yet? Or, maybe you did and you're in the E.R. right now and won't have access to a computer until you get out and the swelling goes down.
Thanks for all of the suggestions.
No, I'm not > snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:
Sounds like the Sevin treatment worked. If you continue to see no further activity, I don't see any point in trying to take one or two of the steps off. The stairs look good in the pictures, so you may not want to damage them by trying to take them apart. And, since there is no activity, you could always just do a secondary treatment now in all of the crevices etc., now that it is safe to do so.
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