What Goes on in Those Hornet Nests, Anyway?
This highly territorial army of guardians can smell you and feel your vibrations from over 50 feet away, and the scouts will be sent out to measure any impending danger.
Should they find that you are too close for their comfort, a special endorphin will be emitted to the remainder of the worker hornets.
Once this defense is triggered, you will be forced to leave the area.
You will most likely be able to outrun them, for most species of hornets can only fly 6 miles per hour, but young children or those with physical disabilities are highly susceptible to such attacks.
Hornet nests are a rather big problem for most people, and the removal of them must be done carefully and with perfect timing to avoid a painful and stressful collision between human and hornet.
Hornet nests are usually inactive during the late night hours, so if you plan to get after the ones that you have found, it is best that you plan your attack under cover of darkness.
Wait until the sun has been down for at least 3 hours before you attempt to handle this issue, as any stray workers will be back by then.
It is not recommended that you wait until the early morning, either, as some workers exit at the first glimmer of daybreak and could come back to find a destroyed nest.
This can cause an attack.
The inner workings of hornet nests are rather intricate, and can go very deep beyond the outer layer of combs that may be visible to you.
There may be many larvae deep within the hive who are being nourished by the queen who initiated the nest to begin with, and you will need a powerful poison to get to the middle and destroy these inner hornets.
There are very powerful and useful sprays that will do the job, but be sure that you are prepared to completely saturate the hornet nests.
Hornet nests are usually created during the early spring, but they may weather the winter in dormancy and become active again as the earth warms.
They can be found in dark, cool places, and hornets love to attach to and build in hardy surfaces such as wood and holes in concrete.
Be sure that you wear long sleeves and pants, and tuck the bottoms of your pants into your socks for added protection.
It is always better to be safe than sorry, and if you are at all allergic to bee strings you will do best to leave the killing of the hornet nests to someone who isn't.