Attempting to get rid of hornets on your own is always a risky and uneasy endeavor as hornets will strike to protect their home when they sense a potential attack. Whether you are eliminating a lone hornet or multiple hornets, protecting yourself from an attack is critical in avoiding harm. It is recommended you wear a face covering, long sleeve shirt, eye protection, and gloves. Not protecting yourself puts you at risk for excruciating pain, redness, and inflammation should you suffer a sting. The easiest method for you to avoid such risks may be one of the following six best ways to get rid of hornets.
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Use a Flyswatter to Get Rid of Hornets
If you have a reoccurring pest problem, it is best to keep a flyswatter handy. However, be sure to proceed with caution, as hornets are fast and can sting you when threatened or agitated. Furthermore, squashing a lone hornet releases a chemical that other hornets seek out. After eliminating a lone hornet, it is important to scope out your property for nests.
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Use Insecticide for Hornet Removal
Encountering a lone hornet is a great indication that there is a nest in the surrounding area. Be it your porch, patio, or backyard playground, hornets like to build their nests in the elevated corners of outdoor structures on residential properties. Using store-bought insecticide is a great way to eliminate hornets from a safe distance. It is important to make sure insecticide sprays a stream of insect-killing chemicals from a distance of 15 feet or more.
The safest time of day to spray insecticide is two hours following sunset because hornets are less active after sunlight. Wait at least 48 hours before attempting to make sure the nest is empty. Once you see that it is empty, knock it down from the tree branch or use soil to cover it up if the nest has fallen to the ground.
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Use Light to Draw Hornets Away
If you don’t want to spray chemicals all over your yard, you can try tricking the hornets away from their nest. Hornets are attracted to light, so an easy technique to get rid of them is to use light sources to draw them away so you can take out their nest. The key to using light sources, however, is to use it in the opposite direction of where you are coming from. So position the light on one side of your yard facing the nest while you approach the nest from the opposite direction. Hornets will follow the direction of the light which will keep you safe. Furthermore, using this technique will keep hornets unsure about where you are coming from as they are unable to see at night.
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Bait the Hornets Away from Their Nest
Instead of working in the dark to get rid of hornets, you can try using bait as a solution to your hornet problem. Leave out fruit, meat, syrup, or fruit juice and detect which route they take to fly away. Observe their movement from a safe and distant location, preferably from inside your home. While they are feasting, you can attempt to safely remove their nest from your property.
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Destroy and Dispose of a Hornet’s Nest
The very first step in the destruction and disposal of a hornet’s nest is to safeguard yourself from potential attacks. In addition, you will want to use hedge trimmers with an extended handle to sever the nest’s branch from a safe distance. Be ready to catch the nest in an open bag once it’s detached. Spray the inside of a bag with insecticide so any lingering hornets are disarmed once the nest falls inside the bag. After the branch with the nest has fallen inside the bag, close it right away and burn it.
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Hire Professional Hornet Removal Services
Hornets are irritable and aggressive pests, so there is really no easy way to deal with them on your own that doesn’t put you in harm’s way. By far, the absolute easiest way to get rid of hornets is to hire a pest removal expert who has the training and tools necessary to handle the dangerous pests. A professional will know the appropriate measures to take in locating where the hornets are coming from, devising a plan for their removal, and permanently ridding your property of them.
Critter Control: The Best Way to Get Rid of Hornets
If you are dealing with nuisance hornets near or around your residence, our experienced technicians at Critter Control® of Orlando are ready to help. We offer the very best in immediate hornet removal. Our licensed and trained experts will visit your home to examine entry points and strategize and execute an efficient hornet elimination plan that works with your schedule and budget and ensures they do not come back.
