Non Valk.......Hornets in Ground Nest

[DIGGER]

Went to my deer lease yesterday and my stand has a Hornets nest under it.    Man when I opened the door to the ground stand they came pouring out from underneath the stand in a cloud and I made a run to my truck and got in it before they could get me.....lucky me.....but now is the problem of getting rid of them.   Anybody got a sure way of killing out the under ground nest without getting stung?  Sure glad I didn't take my granddaughter to that stand in the dark this coming Saturday morning as this is opening season for kids.

[Houdini]

Anybody got a sure way of killing out the under ground nest without getting stung?

Stop by WallyWorld or where ever you shop and buy a can of RAID or whatever hornet and wasp spray they have on the shelf.  Most of those products will spray over 20' so you can stand back and blast 'em.  I'd spray around the edge of the stand so they have to crawl through the residue if you don't knock 'em down with the spray.  If you can see the nest drench it once it's safe enough to get close.

[DIGGER]

Looked it up on the internet since I posted this and it said to go at night when they are dormant and pour soapy water down the hole......says it will kill them quickly. ....says they breath through their skin and it soap will suffocate them.    Sounds like a good ecological solution to me.  Think I'll try that this weekend.  Thanks for your input though.    I'll make it Plan B.

[GeoffreyB]

I thought we had the same problem last year, ended up being just a bee-hive!  However, I did do quite a bit of Google research on the subject of Ground Hornets.

Whatever action you take - do it at dusk, shortly thereafter, or in the morning before sunrise.  Most hornets will be inactive and in the nest then.  

Since you can't get to their main entry point in the ground (presuming it's under the floorboards), a simple kill isn't easy (usually involves an inverted bucket and drowning them in the ground nest).  You may need to first poison the snot out of their current and possible other entry/exit points (you'll see a LOT of that traffic just before sunset).  Once they're a bit more "confined" by this, usually a poisoning or drowning technique will work - again, it'll be a challenge if you can't directly access the hole in the ground that they enter/exit the hive.  If you've got easy access to running water, I'd suggest a flooding under the floor.

Best of luck.

[DIGGER]

what ever I use that has ANY SMELL will probably linger for a while.    Even soap will leave a smell that will proabably keep the deer away.   

maybe 5 gallon can of diesel?      Should evaporate in a couple days.?

[hubcapsc]

what ever I use that has ANY SMELL will probably linger for a while.    Even soap will leave a smell that will proabably keep the deer away.   

maybe 5 gallon can of diesel?      Should evaporate in a couple days.?

This works, don't know if it will work for you: put a clear glass bowl over the hole. Their "dig out"
instinct won't kick in because light will still be streaming in. It takes a week or two. What happens
under the bowl after a few days or a week is not for the fainthearted...

-Mike

[Jess from VA]

Do it in the pitch dark to get them all (not dusk), otherwise a bunch will be around for several more days or a week looking for payback.  With enough survivors, they will often make a new nest very close to the old nest.  I used a headband LED light so my hands were free to work.

Instead of soapy water use gasoline, about a quart.  And cover the hole with a rock (have it with you already), and then run, even at night. 

Next time I went back, I'd take of can of that long distance hornet/wasp spray with me just in case.

Had the same experience with a ground nest this summer, and I didn't make it to the house before OUCH  DAGNABIT!  And my first ever allergic skin reaction to a sting (not breathing).  My arm stiffened/swelled worse each of three days, and  a week to disappear.

[R J]

We had a BIG bee nest at the farm one time.

Dad & Grandpa poured kerosene down it and then tossed a match in.

There wasn't a big whoom, but it did burn them out.

[DIGGER]

We had a BIG bee nest at the farm one time.

Dad & Grandpa poured kerosene down it and then tossed a match in.

There wasn't a big whoom, but it did burn them out.

I'm sure that would work but NO FIRES.....manoman.....you get that hill country cedar to burning you got a major problem.  I've decided on diesel....5 gallon can of it....at night.     gonna cost about $20 in fuel but I've got a lot of money invested in this hunting season and now I can't use that stand. 

[Disco]

Not to mention any water-, plant-, or animal-related concerns regarding pouring diesel directly onto/into the ground  ???, but I'd bet you're going to smell its aroma for a lot longer than you will soap or even a distillate-borne poison designed specifically to kill your targets.  Diesel is not going to evaporate.

[Jess from VA]

Depending on the size of the nest, I'm betting 5gal will never fit in the hole.  Stop pouring when it is full and cover.  Reason I used gasoline was the vapor kills instantly... one quart and covered with a rock and done.

[Old Geezer Richard]

  Hey Digger , try this .... fill up a standard bucket with sugar water , vinegar and 1 drop of dish soap to break up the surface tension and the thirsty Hornets will drown themselves  ..... There's something in the acetic acid (vinegar ) that don't agree with the Hornets AND scrape off the surface where the nest used to be , be sure to spray the place where the nest used to be with vinegar because the odor they leave behind will attract them back to the same old nesting spot  ..... If you can hang it off the steps close to their nest or on the groung right under the deer blind  ..... Here in Texas me and my dad would always 1ST THING TO DO IS look for WASPS , HORNETS , TARANTLA KILLERS , SPIDERS AND OWLS in our deer blinds every year before we decided to make ourselves at home in the blind ...... Just my .02 cents , Thanks the Geezer   

[Pappy!]

Had the exact same scenario up at our lease in Alabama. One of the legs of the ladder was cracked and in need of repair so on the required work day a few of us were going around making repairs. They nailed a bunch of us because we were standing directly on it before we realized it. Not Fun!!
Took about a quart of gasoline in a wide open container and poured it on the nest and ran...after about a minute we went back and lit it. Problem solved and no lingering smell....pretty impressive too!

[DIGGER]

GOT 5 GALLONS OF DIESEL SET ASIDE FOR SATURDAY NIGHT......WILL GIVE REPORT LATER.

[..]

Few years ago mowing the grass and I got zapped a coupla times by some yellow jackets.

Determined for revenge I waited until dusk and armed with a gas container, a long pole with rage draped at one end I approached the little buggers domicile.


Soaking the rag I firmly inserted it into the main hole I'd found. Once the rag was firmly in place I stepped a few paces back looking for other holes. None to be seen I returned to the main hole and put a few glugs of gas onto the rag. This quickly drained into the nest.


Now for the coup de grace.


Striking a couple of matches I flicked the flare of flame at the rag.


Contact!  


And the ground under the pine straw bed lifted about 6 inches with a mighty WHOOMP and spurts of flame erupted from various crevices and holes like a mini Apocalyse Now scene.  


HA HA you think.  


Oh No I reply. I had the garden hose at the ready.  


No more problems from that nest.  

[RainMaker]

I once tried to wipe out an ant bed with the same method.  However, I mostly succeeded in burning the back yard.  My neighbor started spraying to keep the fence from catching fire.

After that, I mostly use insecticide.

[DIGGER]

Well, Saturday night at about 11pm me and another guy drove to the bee stand and I sprayed wasp and hornet killer into the hole for a whole can then covered up the hole.    then I set off a bug bomb inside the stand.      Hopefully I'll get to get back in that stand.

Grandson got his first deer.   He is 7 yrs old and shot a 9 pt buck.    He was about 50 yrds broadside when I gave him the go ahead.......he nailed him with a Weatherby 223 right behind the shoulder.....he ran about 30 yds and went down.     


Ill try to send a pic later.