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A Hornet in the house!

I've never been stung by anything in my life. My approach is to open a window and engage said insect in a discussion about Blue Note or Impulse matrix numbers. To date I have never been the first to fly...
 
Tony L said:
I've never been stung by anything in my life. My approach is to open a window and engage said insect in a discussion about Blue Note or Impulse matrix numbers. To date I have never been the first to fly...
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have you never accidentally stepped on a bee in the garden/grass as a kid?
 
Fascinating creatures, hornets. We have a large nest of them up in our thatched roof, and they come and go quite happily without bothering us. Hornets are very docile, and will only sting if sorely provoked, or if their nest is under immediate threat. They sometimes come into the house, but they can be gently ushered back out with little effort and no real risk. It's only the females that sting anyway, but if, like me, hornet sexing isn't part of your current skillset, best not to go out of your way to antagonise them.

In very hot weather, groups of hornets visit our pond to suck up water, which they then take back to the nest and spray into the entrance to cool the nest down.

I've never understood some people's desire to kill such creatures, just sheer ignorance I suppose, they've every right to be left in peace.
 
Rob998 said:
Your captives are letting off pheromones to signal their distress at being incarcerated in a Henry. More of their mates will rock up to assist in their repatriation. They might be pissed off at being unable to achieve said goal.

If you are too wary to release them in the dark, take Henry outside, remove your bung, and retreat indoors. They may or may not be intelligent enough to find their way out via the hose, but if they have a similar IQ to their wasp cousins, who can't recognise a wide open window, I fear you may have to assist their escape in the morning.
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My Henry has its own native pheromones comprising highly concentrated wet labrador. Mere hornet pheromones wouldn't stand a chance of penetrating to the outside world.

George, don't be such a pussy. We get hornets every summer, if they worry you just catch them in a glass and pop them outside in the morning. We had one once that had been trapped in a bedroom for a day or two and was just about all in. My daughter revived it with little drops of honey, which it lapped up with increasing enthusiasm until its strength was restored, whereupon it tipped its cap and flew out of the window.
 
I have recently moved to rural derbyshire, near to Ashbourne and there has been some huge hornets around here - they have are about an inch an half long and have orange bodies! I had one in the cottage and just use a tupper ware tub with a lid to trap it, take it outside and release it safely. It depends how scared you are of these things. I have no fear at all of them and have been stung by wasps, bees etc. I wouldn't want to get stung by a hornet but equally i'm not frightened by the idea either. My neighbours have had more visit them but they chose to kill them with some kind of spray, but I just can't do that and feel it is unnecessary...

Having had a conservatory at my previous home i got quite accustomed to trapping and releasing wasps, bees, butterflies, moths and occasionaly a dragon fly. The latter was amazing as it just gripped my finger, like it was a branch, while I walked it outside and let it go. Those things close up look incredibly 'alien', they really are something

ATB

Gingerbeard
 
George, this thread has officially given me the heebiejeebies. Next time I come to your place it will be in the depths of winter, ok...? ;)
 
We had a wasp nest in a bird box, I did use spray/foam to kill them. We had young kids at the time & they can get very aggressive in late summer. They don't bother me personally
 
JonR said:
George, this thread has officially given me the heebiejeebies. Next time I come to your place it will be in the depths of winter, ok...? ;)
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Dear Jon,

Were you the JonR off the Naim Forum years ago?

I reckon that statistically the chances of another invasion by Hornets is tiny on any given day, even here is the wilds. I emptied the Henry this morning, and the experience obviously was too much for them. I identified them as the British variant of the European Hornet, so that is as expected in Herefordshire, away from the South Coast. The colours are almost entirely yellow [and dark brown or nearly black] with similarities to common wasp colours rather than the redder European variant or the Asian.

On the other hand I am allergic to wasps or bees [don't know which] and am very careful with any stringing or biting insect. The risk is much larger if you are prone to an allergic reaction. Hence being a "wuss" or "pussy" to quote from some replies above. The idea of peeving a Hornet while try to catch it and making it angry does not appeal to me. So I used the long pipe on the vacuum cleaner. Interesting to note that had I been in Germany I would have broken the law in doing so. Mind you farmers are no longer allowed to shoot crows playing on wheat in the UK, so we live in strange times. How long before rat poison is banned?

Best wishes from George
 
we like Hornets here. We have a captive army of Hornets here, and they are being trained to be constantly angry and at a peak of condition. Every so often we stir them up to promote more anger. Eventually when the are ready we are going to unleash them for the fight of their lives against the captive honey badger
 
George J said:
Mind you farmers are no longer allowed to shoot crows playing on wheat in the UK, so we live in strange times.
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Farmers are still allowed to shoot and kill any species defined as vermin, including crows. The imposition of licensing for this activity was swiftly rescinded by Michael Gove. I'm unclear as to why farmers are so bothered by crows. I've asked my nephew who is one and participates in this pursuit and he didn't really provide a satisfactory answer. Current support for it seems to be based around infrequent and uncorroborated reports of Welsh lambs being attacked.
 
gintonic said:
we like Hornets here. We have a captive army of Hornets here, and they are being trained to be constantly angry and at a peak of condition. Every so often we stir them up to promote more anger. Eventually when the are ready we are going to unleash them for the fight of their lives against the captive honey badger
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Honey badgers are bastards. One broke into our tent in the Okavango Delta and stole all my Muesli and shat on my mates holdall.
 
foxwelljsly said:
Honey badgers are bastards. One broke into our tent in the Okavango Delta and stole all my Muesli and shat on my mates holdall.
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yes they dont appear to have the nicest of manners. They are formidably aggressive so should make a great competition for the angry hornets when they get released
 
Dear Gintonic,

Please do not get me wrong. There is no way I would do anything against a Hornet if it were outside and minding its own business, but if it comes in my dwelling and flies straight at me, then I'll do what it takes to eliminate the threat.

I have not killed a wasp for decades. Just as for a bird that flies in, open the windows fully and persuade it to fly away.

But once you have had an allergic reaction to a sting, you become much more careful.

Best wishes from George
 
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