Hangin' with the Hornets

They're at it again, those pesky bald-faced hornets or yellow jackets, or whatever they are. Just two months ago, I wrote about them and their ability to build nests in inconvenient places. This time, the problem with it is less the proximity to people, but more the ability to effectively get rid of it in an efficient fashion. See what I mean?This nest of pests currently hangs from the lamp of a non-functional outside light. It was installed years ago, back in the day when we found those things useful. We eventually reached the point where we enjoyed the darkness more than the occasional convenience of a giant night light. That happened to coincide with the light deciding it didn't want to turn on anymore. Since we don't use the light, or that matter even think about it, we didn't notice the new residents until yesterday, when Paul happened to spot it.

This thing is about twenty feet off the ground. It appears to completely fill the space between the socket and the glass. That's one solid nest, and I'm afraid that the little apartments in this complex are totally and fully occupied. Those little neighbors must be the ones who have been visiting our table at pizza night, without a reservation, I might add. Last week, Greg found a nest about 100 yards back behind the bread oven, and I thought that it was the source of our newest visitors. Now I realize that they were a whole lot closer.

So far, they've been polite, not causing any trouble of the stinging nature. Still, I don't trust them. With the size of that hive, it's only a matter of time before someone gets a little miffed, and starts to cause problems. They didn't like me taking photos from afar, as I was. Heck, I'm not the paparazzi or anything, but they acted like I was trying to steal their secret building techniques.


This means the hive has to go, but the date and method are yet to be determined. We've learned that a can of hornet spray will reach up to twenty feet. But the idea of using a real powerful stream of water is under consideration. I'd hate to have the can falter or run out on us, mid-stream. That would be a lot of angry hornets to face.