[CQ-Contest] Hornet Nest on the End of the Boom - How do you safely get rid of this? EPILOGUE

[Bob Shohet, KQ2M]

Before engaging a nest of any type, I always plan an escape route and practice it just in case.  After carefully evaluating the path to the nest – 17’ above my head, on jagged ledge with tree stumps, brush and thorns to be safely navigated, IN THE DARK, I realized that my quest was far riskier that I initially thought.  I decided to read online reviews of local exterminators to see if any might be worthwhile to call.  I found an excellent small company one town away and I called them to set up an appointment.  He came out that afternoon at the time that I requested and used Drione “dust” on the nest – three applications, which was a bit tricky as the extension on his wand barely reached the nest, but he hooked it on the third application and pumped a load of it in.  The bald faced hornets did not like the dust of the intrusion, but in a fascinating difference from other types of wasps, they swarmed but did not “track” him or fly at him, of course they have notoriously poor vision and he was 17’ below them.  So aside from the dust that fell on him, he was safe from them, unlike the Yellow Jackets that he warned me about – he said that Yellow Jackets TRACK you and DON’T stop attacking you.

He explained the best strategies for yellow jackets vs. carpenter bees vs. hornets vs. bald-faced hornets (the ones that I had).  Took him 20 minutes for which he charged me $150 plus tax, and I didn’t have to get the dust on me like he did or have dead hornets fall on me.  

The next day they were all dead.

I’m so glad that I called and got an excellent exterminator.  What a great decision!

For those of you who are bigger risk takers or have less challenging terrain, here is some info that might be helpful:

https://www.environmentalscience.bayer.us/pest-management-and-public-health/business-assurance/products/drione-dust

73 and GL!

Bob  KQ2M


From: Bob Shohet, KQ2M 
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2019 4:52 PM
To: yccc at groups.io 
Subject: [yccc] Hornet Nest on the End of the Boom - How do you safely get rid of this?

This is a first at my station....  a large Hornet Nest on the end of the Boom of my lowest Hygain 105CA (5L 10 meter Yagi) on my 100’ Rohn 45 tower.

The nest is located on the underside of the end of the boom (24’ long) and 1st director, which puts the nest about 12‘ from the center of the tower and 23’ above ground.

Does anyone have any experience successfully dealing with this situation?  I would appreciate learning how you killed the hornets and got rid of the nest without getting hurt or doing anything dangerous.

Tnx & 73

Bob KQ2M