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AIBU?

Hornets. Now, I'm not being unreasonable...

51 replies

Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:00

...but surely they are for existing, and what the bloody hell do I do about them?

We have two hanging around by our back door, they're massive and terrifying and I'm allergic to wasp stings. Is my epi pen proof against these bastards? And how do I kill them without getting close?

I need them gone!

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Wasapea · 22/08/2013 23:03

I feel your pain. I have a bad wasp phobia. Never been stung touch wood so no idea if I'm allergic. Can you squirt spray at them out the window?

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:06

I've got spray stuff, but in my experience it winds up the flies. I can't express how massive and horrid these things are! It's like room 101 with your worst fear made real!

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Sanctimummy · 22/08/2013 23:07

DON'T do this in front of kids.

Spray aerosol, lighter. Instant flame thrower.

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MikeOxard · 22/08/2013 23:08

Eeeeeeeeeeew YANBU. Have you considered moving house?

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:11

It's like we're in the tropics. No insect this large should be allowed in the UK. They're like helicopters with their buzzing. OMG. I'm going to try and kill the one that's got in with the "fly spray, run, try again and run" method. God they're massive!

Wish me luck...

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:20

It's been sprayed ad it's NOT DEAD, but dp has taken it in the dustpan up the garden. It's friend is suspiciously quiet. Is it plotting?

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:26

Oh my good god. The other one is slowly dying behind our kitchen bin. Because of the spray, i should think. Angrily. Seriously, it's about two inches long. I feel a bit sorry for it. But not that much! A bit though,how can I put it out of its misery?

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ThePearShapedToad · 22/08/2013 23:26

Definitely plotting evil revenge. Watch out for a surprise attack around midnight. I hate the yellow and black buzzing things, I KNOW everyone says you shouldn't flap your arms and run around screaming like a small child, but I still do it anyway
Thank your lucky stars you have a dp to deal with them for you. I have to bribe my male friends over with pizza to sort mine out!

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:31

Brave partner has scooped the poorly one and dumped at end of garden with the other. Omg. That was horrible, and may have involved me squealing like a girl! ;)

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:33

They may rally, and come back with friends when they've regrouped!

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RustyBear · 22/08/2013 23:33

I use an old washing up brush for wasps (the one I keep for cleaning the bird feeders) They don't seem to see it coming and get entangled in the bristles long enough for me to dunk them in a jar of water. But your beastie sounds as if it might need a dustpan brush....

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Monty27 · 22/08/2013 23:34

I had one buzzing in my bedroom the other morning. They are scary gits. I coaxed it back out the window in the end. My heart was in my mouth mind

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:36

They're back, that's it, I'm shutting all the windows and going to bed!

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Caff2 · 22/08/2013 23:41

You actually cannot kill them. It's banging, honestly banging, on my window!

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Adikia · 23/08/2013 04:45

urgh, hornets are my worst nightmare, 1 got in my kitchen once so I went to my parents house and refused to leave until my Dad came round to get rid of it!

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Mayanbob · 23/08/2013 05:02

You forgot to apply a shoe to them when they were incapacitated.

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arethereanyleftatall · 23/08/2013 08:10

Whenever you kill a Wasp you need to be super quick. They release a smell at some point during dying and then all their friends come to help.

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MrsMangoBiscuit · 23/08/2013 08:16

Can they still release it if you flatten them as soon as they're stunned, then clean them up with a wet wipe? Touch wood, I've not fallen victim to a revenge attack yet.

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PrincessYoni · 23/08/2013 10:03

I found a hornet in my bedroom last year. i have no idea how it got in as there were no windows open so it must have taken an Alice in Wonderland style potion, squeezed through the trickle vent then expanded...or it may have hitched a lift on me through the door . Anyway, I trapped it in a glass with a piece of cardboard on top and walked it outside.

It was looking at me with its head to one side. It appeared pretty intelligent. I went about 100 yards from my house and released it under a tree where it flew off quite happily. I can't imagine the agony of a hornet sting though. Wasps are bad enough- now they ARE evil feckers.

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PrincessYoni · 23/08/2013 10:13

From Springwatch:

New queens and drones (males) emerge in September and October, but only queens survive the winter. The sheer size of hornets terrifies many an observer, but they are surprisingly unaggressive, the gentle giants of the wasp world. In fact, they are stunning in their own way, with very sophisticated behaviour. But if you think you've seen one, double check to make sure it is not a hornet hoverfly, which lacks long antennae and has much bigger eyes. This is Britain's largest hoverfly and does a great hornet impersonation from a distance.

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Pinupgirl · 23/08/2013 10:13

I have a horror tale for you-getting ready to go out last weekend.Just about to put on my huge red petticoat-was a swing night-and what do I spy disappearing in the layers of chiffon but a huge wasp! I actually screamed.Dh was being a huge arse and wouldt help so had to get it on a bit of card and chuck it out window.I have also had one in my bed-vom.

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Feminine · 23/08/2013 10:21

If you happen to find the nest, pour boiling water down it at night.

We had to do this. Took care of them a treat.

Evil bastards had taken up a spot outside our back door. This was in the US ...they were like flying cocktail sausages!

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Feminine · 23/08/2013 10:22

Oh, feel a bit bad now I've read princessyonispost.

Still, they were not that peaceful in the American Mid-West!

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Feminine · 23/08/2013 10:38

are is so right about the smell.

A very long story...last year we stayed in a cabin in my Dad's garden. We lived there for 8 months. During the Spring, some delightful wasps started to build a nest in the roof. They used insulation and spit! Bit by bit they started to come in side our cabin. At first it was just one or two, on this day, my DH killed one ...out of NOWHERE came another one and stung me very badly on the ankle!

We had no idea (at this time) that we had been sleeping within inches of a giant wasps nest above our bed!

So, one day we noticed a patch of mould on the ceiling. DH decided to clean it off... a MASSIVE mistake! The roof gave way and hundreds of them came flying in. My Brothers took to killing them that evening, the following day was carnage. There were wasps all over the cabin in various stages of death.

The Queen still lived on.

Next day my DAD decided to "get rid of the nest" with the aid of just a broom. I remember watching him poke away in just his shorts, and my sep-mums summer hat!

As the queen died. The rest of them gave up, or flew away.

I admired their work ethic, that nest took ages and was very beautiful.

Just not above my bed.

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LadyFlumpalot · 23/08/2013 10:45

Had one of the fuckers in DS's bedroom last year. Was changing his nappy when I saw it. The only thing I had to hand was the pack of wipes which I slammed down on it. Of course it was woefully inadequate as a weapon so I was stuck with one hand on the wipes (the packet was vibrating with furious buzzing!) and the other hand on a very curious DS to keep him away, yelling for DH. He managed to get it out of tbe window in the end.