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gerry
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Hi all we have large hornets buzzing about in our orchard ,presumably after the forming apples etc,it is difficult to go over to the garden as they are so dangerous ,any ideas as to what to do or how long they might last thanks in advance Gerry
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Hornets love to nest in the trunks of old apple trees. But don't go looking for the nest by sticking you head in the trunk whatever you do. Maybe watch from a distance at dawn or dusk and find where they are, then get a professional to get rid of the nest. The locals will know who to call.
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Hornets are not agressive unless you attack them so don't - best thing is just steer clear of them but don't panic - they're not that dangerous unless you have a nest there in which case you would need professional help. Are you sure they're hornets - like wasps but 2 or 3 times the size? I only say that because some people confuse large black bees for hornets just because they're big!!!

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Hornets are actually peaceful creatures - it's just the large size and loud buzzing that scares people.  They are protective of their nest site, so it is not wise to get within 3-4 metres of it because that is when they get a bit miffed.  We had two nests in the end wall of our house last year which only constituted a nuisance when we were woken up virtually every morning by a hornet or two buzzing around the bedroom at dawn.  We just open a window and encouraged them to leave.  The consolation is, I am told, they will not nest in the same site twice.

However, if you are worried (have young children, inquisitive pets, or are allergic to any kind of sting or bite) then you could try calling the Pompiers to help rid you of the nest, although more and more now, the Pompiers are not coming out to deal with them (this rule varies in different regions I am told).  Your local Marie should be able to advise you on the best way to deal with it.

At a safe distance though, they are fascinating creatures to observe.

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A question for you,Chris.

Why is it that most people are chary (is that right?) of various natural living things and accord them all the wrong attributes?

For example, wolves were demonised: I grew up on tales of wolves chasing and eating Russian horse drawn sleigh riders! And wolves attacking and eating American Western settlers. 

Is it, do you think the old rural equivalent of alien abduction, conspiracy theories and ghosts?

Well, let's face it, they had little else to do except beer and sex than scare each other's panteloons off![Www]

For example, I was always taught to treat bumble bees as one of nature's wonders: and honey bees too, of course. However bumblies were accorded a sort of special status. And I was assured, they could not sting! Which, of course is incorrect.

In a reverse sense, foxes are now being regarded as one removed from household pets: whereas they are nasty killers who will decimate a henhouse just for the fun, it seems.

Most interested in your expansion, here.

 

 

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Hi Chris I am only going by what the locals said ,I was told they could sting and a very quick hospital visit would be needed.They could possibly be in the top of my barn but I know your knowledge far outweighs mine so any advice will help.
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Gerry: according to the earlier article (link above) and this:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=European+Hornet+Venom+Toxicity&meta=

Apparently, the European Hornet sting is less by volume than a bee's.

Additionally, unless the stingee has a severe allergy to Wasp Venom (which trips an instant Anaphylactic Shock), then single stings are nothing to be concerned with.

However, a specific defence attack (because the next has been threatened) is another matter.

 

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I have lived in close proximity to frelons for the last 12 years, I have them nest in both trees and the ground on my land and can with no fear what so ever get really close up to their nests, but then I'm calm, quiet and slow moving when I do this. They fly around me all the time when I'm outside, often they will fly around inspecting me but all they are really doing is mapping an object. They will only sting when they "feel" that either they or their nest are under threat, which I reckon is a fairly normal reaction for many species. I'm not suggesting that anyone else should approach their nests as I realise that there is some risk in this, but adult people can make up their own minds, but never, never flap or panic, it's the worst thing possible.

As far as all the other various myths are concerned, the blunt truth is that relatively few people actually have much knowledge of the natural world of which we are all a part, they get their information tossed at them from other people who are equally ill informed, base their judgements on this "information" and circumstantial evidence and the whole thing is some kind of perpetual self renewing mental library of falsehoods. Ask yourself one question, "What do you actually know from your own direct experience?".

One little thing, the fox is a scapegoat, it's just a game of lets blame the fox, there are far more serious predators than the fox, but human nature is such that we all need something convenient to blame, saves thinking too much and creates an excuse to go out and kill something.

Chris

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Hello Gerry

 

We had a large-ish colony of hornets last summer which were always around our house and fruit garden. We worked outside all day and every day but didn't feel threatened. Our movements were not always slow and deliberate as we working, but with the exception of when 4 pear trees close to the house had ripe fruit, there wasn't a moment of worry. It appeared as though there was a flight path to the favoured tree of the day, and it was better not to stand in it, plus during the afternoon the hornets appeared to become drunken and less predictable, at that point we worked elsewhere.

Apart from losing most of the pear crop, they were quite interesting to observe as we had only ever seen the rare one or two in our whole lives. We still don't know where the nest was, but in April this year saw a few in a different part of the property.

A question for you Chris. How far from a nest will the hornet travel for food?

Hope this reasures you a little as we were both brought up in London so do not have a countryside background, but we are both quite calm too.

Jamie

 

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Thanks for that, Chris.

How and why is the fox unfairly demonised, then?

I was recently watching a prog on town foxes and one guy was showing the camera his prize chickens: all killed (heads ripped off), by one marauding fox.

 

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I don't know exactly how far a frelon will travel from the nest, Jamie, but it must be at least a radius of a kilometer, probably more.

I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but I don't want to get bogged down in another fox debate, everyone's heard a story, knows for certain, seen the dead bodies etc etc. What I will say, and then I'm going to leave it, is that foxes are not guilty of all the "crimes" that they are accused of, there is a wealth of serious information and research on the subject, not just hearsay and the odd bit of TV.

Chris

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I agree with Chris.  There could be huge debates on this subject, but a fox is not the only killer.  The programme on  TV mentioned was horrible.  Not just because the man had lost his prize chicks, but also the way in which that particular situation was handled.

I have friends here in France who have recently had their hen house raided, but the evidence of no feathers and the eggs completely disappearing tell me that the culprit could well have been a pine martin.  They have re-inforced their henhouse to make it safer and no more chicks have gone missing in the last couple of weeks.

The answer is to make sure your chicks are safe at night and remember that all creatures have a right to a life.  Foxes and pine martins and other predators behave this way as an inborn instinct and nothing is going to change this, but if you want to keep chickens, or other vulnerable animals, then it is up to the owner to give them a safe environment during the hunters predatory hours.

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Appreciate that and many thanks both Chris and Suninfrance.

I have no fixed opinion: I was seeking information.

BTW, I have always thought that most henhouses were pretty ramshackle and poorly presented and probably are thoiught of merely to keep the birds in, rather than other things out!

 

 

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As a kid in Africa we had it drummed into us that snakes and sharks were merciless killers. Frankly I see no reason to change my mind. So, hornets go and I always make a noise and slap vegetation befor going into it. Or send the dog though he is usually there before me anyway.

But I do agree that hornets are fascinating creatures.

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  • 2 months later...

This is an old thread but I an hoping it is still current.

A visit today into the grenier reveals a large hornets nest/hive, the size of a football, still in the making and very active.

What to do?

The grenier is no more than a storage area. No children, and I am the only one to access the area.

Do these critters hybernate for winter or move on ( I read a recent thread that they do not nest in the same area twice??)

Should I leave the hive undisturbed or have it removed?

Your help and advice please.

 

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My uninformed view on the fox was always that if it were in a position of 'loads-a-food' then it would kill all it could then 'pantry' all it could not eat by burying it then going back. If the food was in a run and the fox couldn't get it to a 'pantry' then it would eat what it could and depart before some uninformed person came along and blew it's bloody head off!

There isn't much on this earth of ours, apart from human beings, that kills for the sake of it and I don't believe that the fox is in the same category as us!!! If you want to see the most blood thirsty animal on this earth, just look in a mirror [6]!

I have some wonderful video of a solitory wasp making it's nest in our garden the year before last. It took ages to dig a hole in the concrete that is our dry soil, it then captured a bee, stung it to comatose it and buried it with it's eggs layed on it so that the lovely little wasp grubs would have something to eat when they hatched. I didn't manage to get the vivid details, but just watching the nest building and the care taken to get everything right made me wonder about us?

I have been very close to them, the big ones with the very thin waist, and they don't take any notice. Good thing really because they love the ivy ALL round our kitchen window. Fascinating!!!

Edit :- Sorry Trevor, I didn't realise the thread went to 2 pages I don't know what to say about the nest, but why not just give it a chance and leave it. They are not going to hurt you unlesss they think you are going to hurt them...

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Personally I would have it removed -  in the grenier is too close to home so far as I'm concerned.

A couple of years ago I had a problem with a very active hornet nest in the split trunk of a clients ash tree - it was too active for me to consider dealing with it so I went to ask advice at the Pompiers in Ribérac, they said they no longer deal with hornet nests and gave me a card for a guy at St. Astier - I phoned him and he duly came, togged himself up in an all in one suit and proceeded to spray chemicals into the nest area, after a while he pulled out the nest, complete with larvae, and put it in a big plastic bag - the nest was more than the size of a football and he said that was pretty large and mature. The chemicals imobilised the hornets by attacking their nervous system however he said to beware of any around the trunk as they could still sting until their death which took up to 3 days.

The cost was around 75€ and he said if there was still activity after 5 days he would come back and treat it again at no extra charge.

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I've just had to do the unthinkable and kill off a hornet's nest.  I hated doing it but it was in the soffit boards, the entrance just above our main door through a tiny hole right under the board against the wall.  Every time we opened the door they were in the house, especially at night and tho they did no harm, the cats thought they were great fun.

I was getting worried that one of the cats would try to catch one - as cats do - and being rather older and us living a good way from town in case of emergency, a stung mouth or throat could have been fatal.

Treatment seems to have worked, large aerosol can of nest killer bought at Weldom.

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