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Thread: Destroying hornets and their nest with household chemicals?

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    Destroying hornets and their nest with household chemicals?

    They're back again this year all the sudden, this time nesting under the concrete slab comprising my front porch. I don't think they've been there long but there sure are a lot of them. I have gotten several stings from the nasty little buggers since I discovered them yesterday.

    Last night while they were quiet and mostly in their hole under or beside the concrete (not quite ready to pull the grass up to precisely locate them), except for one in my shirt that stung me in the back, I poured about 3 gallons of soapy, boiling vinegar-and-water in, on and around their hole. It quieted them down considerably, but no idea how much damage was done to the nest. It did not fully destroyed them or the nest, as they still come and go but with a lot more social distancing.

    Keeping in mind that this is outdoors in full open air, here's my question: Since the hole and underground area are still damp from the vinegar bomb I dropped in, if I now, a day later, pour in say, a quart or two of dilute bleach, which will combine with the vinegar-moistened earth to form highly toxic chlorine gas, shouldn't this fumigate the nest and destroy them all? Seems it should.

    Also, are there any consequences in doing this to vegetation about which I should be aware? It seems this might do the job and also break down pretty fast with no lasting effects. Any chemists/soil scientists here?

    If this worked, it would be the cat's pajamas ... and I'm glad I don't have any pets here now that would make the situation somewhat urgent, I think.

    Any ideas about this or about hornets generally are welcome, albeit I'm in the middle of the stream already. In recent years, I have had -- and destroyed -- a lot of them, but this is the first time I've ever been stung.

    Please no smart-ass "what a dumb $#@!" replies because I already know that.

    Thanks in advance.

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    Calypso Jones's Avatar Banned
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    Are you sure you're dealing with hornets and not ground bees?

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    I would avoid the chlorine gas thing. Too many points of failure and not worth the risk to health.

    If you keep hitting them with water, flooding them out, they will eventually go. Just put the hose in and leave it for 10 minutes every day for 3 or so days.

    You could go straight up poison which may be quicker. Just spray a ton in the entrance and it will work it's way in.
    I find your lack of faith...disturbing...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Calypso Jones View Post
    Are you sure you're dealing with hornets and not ground bees?
    They don't look like bees, but like wasps. Also, I know they have paper nests. Something under an inch long, not particularly aggressive but can be provoked to attack. I don't know. Sting is mild but effect lasts for days. Some swelling, skin texture is changing -- getting gritty, might be dying, and hot to the touch. Color is classic black and yellow, I'd say like their larger relatives.
    I will call them nuisance bees.

    I read that chlorine gas is over twice as heavy as air, so that should mean that it will travel easily down and throughout their burrow and/or stay there. Rah!
    Last edited by Lummy; 09-04-2020 at 03:55 PM.

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    Another job for Diatomaceous Earth?

    https://www.diatomaceousearth.com/bl...-hornet-killer

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    Or, if you can locate the entrance, pour molten metal down it, and when it cools and hardens, dig it up and sell it on e-bay as modern art.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lummy View Post
    They don't look like bees, but like wasps. Also, I know they have paper nests. Something under an inch long, not particularly aggressive but can be provoked to attack. I don't know. Sting is mild but effect lasts for days. Some swelling, skin texture is changing -- getting gritty, might be dying, and hot to the touch. Color is classic black and yellow, I'd say like their larger relatives.
    I will call them nuisance bees.

    I read that chlorine gas is over twice as heavy as air, so that should mean that it will travel easily down and throughout their burrow and/or stay there. Rah!
    I'm no bee expert but that sound like ground bees. If you had hornets you'd be screaming and calling pest control.

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    I use seven maybe 8. I also have a bee guy come in once a year. KrudKutter will kill those little suckers too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Calypso Jones View Post
    I'm no bee expert but that sound like ground bees. If you had hornets you'd be screaming and calling pest control.
    I believe paper nests distinguish wasps from bees. Wasps are paper nest makers, bees are not. I'm not an expert, however.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Private Pickle View Post
    I would avoid the chlorine gas thing. Too many points of failure and not worth the risk to health.

    If you keep hitting them with water, flooding them out, they will eventually go. Just put the hose in and leave it for 10 minutes every day for 3 or so days.

    You could go straight up poison which may be quicker. Just spray a ton in the entrance and it will work it's way in.

    Yeah, I know you can go through a lot of wasp spray trying to kill them. I hope to avoid that. Thanks though.

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