Bald-Faced Hornets

(Hornets nest, the size of a basketball, made of masticated wood, stripped from fences and decks right in my neighborhood)

You know it's scary when the Hornet Exterminator is nervous.

Tom, our friendly neighborhood exterminator, expertly wields a can of poison and a 10-foot pole with deadly accuracy. (you know the phrase...wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole??)

He knows the consequences of slight lapses in concentration or judgment, and puts on his game face before meeting his foe.....a swarm of angry, desperately territorial hornets, with 1/4 inch stingers. He admits his heart races before he tackles this particular species.

As I reflect on this from the safety of my house, behind the closed windows, I realize how dangerous this situation might have been. The nest is large, about the size of a basketball, and hangs in a rhododendron bush about a foot off the ground. My two large dogs play, wrestle and run through those very bushes every day. Frankly, I think it's miraculous they haven't accidentally knocked it down.

Tom agreed, and said that this type of hornet is highly aggressive and will swarm out of the nest to attack anything that disturbs it. With 1/4 inch stingers. Yikes.

Apparently, this season has been particularly favorable to wasps and hornets, who thrive in the warm weather, and exterminators have been working tirelessly to eradicate them. If you see a lot of them flying in your yard, take a few minutes to watch where they are heading. Any small opening under the eaves of the house, in the vegetation of the yard, or under the siding, is free game for these insects.

I recommend Eagle Pest Eliminators