Hornets nest

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Jalopy

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We have a hornets nest on our property that we would like to take down and preserve as adisplay in our family room. No reason other than just because they look neat. My questions are has anyone ever done this? And how did you get it down ? And how did you preserve it? Thanks in advance. JLP
 
Here it is safest to take a trash bag and put over it cut the limb turn it upside down and spray an insecticide into the bag to be sure nothing is in there. This is best done at night. I've seen some people put varnish on them or polyurethane (sp) but I don't like this as much as I do the natural look. Biggest thing is to kill everything that is in it and then hang it in a dry place where people can't touch or handle it and it should last you for years.
 
I knew a fellow that did that. Everything was fine until the hornets warmed up. :eek: :eek:
 
curtis":1eacm9st said:
I knew a fellow that did that. Everything was fine until the hornets warmed up. :eek: :eek:

That's why its best to use a garbage bag. I've heard of some real war stories. Some people didn't even make it back to the house before the hornets came out of the back seat all teed off and all. Hornets hurt about like a ball bat. I know of a few people who will collect the nest during the summer months at night. They say if you turn the nest upside down the hornets won't come out. Never seen it and wouldn't recommend it.

I collected a nest once and it was full of mites. The mites ate the nest. I learned since to treat them with insecticide.
 
I used to work with a guy that could catch wasps and bees and do anything he wanted to do with them. He could put them in is nose , ears , and under his arms and they would never sting him. I asked him one day about catching hornets and he said no way, he was no match for them.
 
A kid in my third grade brought one to class. Wintertime, of course. The hornets move slowly when they start to warm up, and teacher was able to get it out of there before anyone got hurt.
 
I put one in a plastic bag and sprayed insecticide in it then let it sit in the barn all winter. When I opened it in the spring the smell would have knocked a buzzard off a gut wagon.
 
dun":3a550qw0 said:
I put one in a plastic bag and sprayed insecticide in it then let it sit in the barn all winter. When I opened it in the spring the smell would have knocked a buzzard off a gut wagon.

I don't know if this isn't caused from the grubs not being able to dry out properly. Never had a problem with smell but have never left them in a bag longer than a day or two. Might be the same as a tub of worms. Left some of these in my toolbox once and they got pretty rank. But if I forget them on the dock they just dry up with little or no smell.
 
I knew of two men who would collect them in the summer. They sold the hornets by the pound to a company that produced anti-venom. They put the nest in a garbage bag and put the bag in a freezer. Of course, they weren't trying to preserve the nest. Their goal was the hornets inside.
I once brought one in in November and set it on the coffee table. After it warmed up a lizard crawled out. He'd found a good place to hibernate until I screwed those plans up.
 
Jogeephus":3pg4gbb6 said:
Here it is safest to take a trash bag and put over it cut the limb turn it upside down and spray an insecticide into the bag to be sure nothing is in there. This is best done at night. I've seen some people put varnish on them or polyurethane (sp) but I don't like this as much as I do the natural look. Biggest thing is to kill everything that is in it and then hang it in a dry place where people can't touch or handle it and it should last you for years.

As I have several you don't want to be the guy holding the light if they become aroused. Don't ask how I know.
 
What is in the nests this time of year? The reason I ask is there's one laying on the back of one of my trucks that I cut down last week.
 
I'm purty sure hornet nests in the cold climates are empty in the Winter, except underground nests where bees go dormant in the Winter. The hives in the above ground areas are Summer homes only. :compute:
 
cfpinz":p77ox6d0 said:
What is in the nests this time of year? The reason I ask is there's one laying on the back of one of my trucks that I cut down last week.

Larvae that will mature next spring or maybe they;re just leftovers from the previous year. Not unusual to find the nest around here torn open by critters if the can reach it and most of the larvae eaten.
 
i dont think i want to ever take a hornets nest down an preserve it.i had a few of those nests in the henhouse last summer.an i would get stung every day.till i spayed an killed the nests.
 
bigbull338":273sn5bl said:
i dont think i want to ever take a hornets nest down an preserve it.i had a few of those nests in the henhouse last summer.an i would get stung every day.till i spayed an killed the nests.

You think thats bad, when I was 13 years old, I was cutting grass around one of our barns with a weed eater. The grass was about 2-3 feet tall, so it was a really good hiding spot for a hornet nest, right. Anyways I hit it with the weedeater and was stung about 10 times but that wasn't the bad part, the bloody little devils :devil2: weren't done with me yet, couple of them followed me to the house and stung me in there (once, then I killed them) Burning that nest was one of the best days of my life!!!
 
jka300":2iy2jnzo said:
bigbull338":2iy2jnzo said:
i dont think i want to ever take a hornets nest down an preserve it.i had a few of those nests in the henhouse last summer.an i would get stung every day.till i spayed an killed the nests.

You think thats bad, when I was 13 years old, I was cutting grass around one of our barns with a weed eater. The grass was about 2-3 feet tall, so it was a really good hiding spot for a hornet nest, right. Anyways I hit it with the weedeater and was stung about 10 times but that wasn't the bad part, the bloody little devils :devil2: weren't done with me yet, couple of them followed me to the house and stung me in there (once, then I killed them) Burning that nest was one of the best days of my life!!!

Had that happen a couple of years ago. Cutting tall grass near grain bins, didn't notice that basketball size hornet nest hidden in the grass. Noticed at last second, ran like hell, grabbed a few cups of gas in a bowl and tossed it on and threw a match. Poof and all my concerns go up in the wind. :cowboy:
 

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