European Hornets

[Jacobs]

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We shall fight them on the concrete!

We shall fight them on the hives!

We shall fight them in the air!

(apologies to Winston Churchill)

[red rambler]

Looks like a very personal response.

[Jacobs]

They're back! I saw 2 European Hornets snatching honey bees at dusk this evening. I guess everything is happening early this year.

[Wally]

Badmitten racket time......

[Jacobs]

Raids are on the increase. I used my trusty cap to knock down and kill 3 hornets in front of my home hives yesterday. I was able to kill 3 of the queens very early in the season and hate to think about the number of European Hornets I would be dealing with if all had established nests.

[WannaBee1]

Anyone in Guilford County seeing European Hornets this year? I'm hearing about them doing a lot of hive damage in Union County. Does someone know if there traps for these that won't attract or harm honey bees? Thanks in advance for any information and/or advice.

[Jacobs]

I haven't seen European Hornets yet. The queens that are out early are usually quite large. If I see them at the hives and can kill them, it really cuts down on the numbers I have to contend with later in the season. I am seeing yellow jacket queens in the back yard searching for potential hive locations. They are larger than regular yellow jackets, but considerably smaller than most European Hornets.

I haven't tried traps of any kind. Old GCBA hats work fine for me when I am knocking them down on my driveway pad and stepping on them. I am a bit rusty on my swing and will need to get into practice for this season.

[llbstones]

Iv seen where you can make a bait and kill the colony. You take the ingredient (fipronil) in the dog flea med, mix it with a canned chicken/tuna type meat that the hornets/yellow jackets will go to and they take it back to colony, feed to queen/brood. Just make sure nothing else like an animal can get into it or drag it off.

[Jacobs]

I killed my first European Hornet this evening. I'll be paying the price for having missed killing a queen or two earlier this season and now have to contend with the foragers.

[Jacobs]

I have killed several of these in the last couple of days. I did not see/kill any queens early in the season and now the foragers are on the hunt.

[Jacobs]

I knocked down and killed the first European Hornet I have seen this season. Hopefully, this means one less colony to develop and feed on my bees.

[Wally]

I killed my first of the year yesterday as well, but it was at Badin Lake.

[Jacobs]

I saw my first European Hornet of the season at the house this morning. I hope I get a shot at this queen so that I can keep a larger colony of hunters from developing.

[Jacobs]

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Not merely dead, but most sincerely dead. Sometimes European Hornets pick the wrong colony to attack. This one mobbed the hornet on the landing board, took it to the ground, and took about 10 minutes to finish it off.

[Wally]

I have read that they will ball a hornet and raise the temp. inside the ball. The hornet can only live to 118 F. The honeybee can tolerate 119 F. How true it is, I don't know. I never tested it myself.

[Jacobs]

I have seen a lot fewer European Hornets for the last few days. I don't know if they have come to know me and to fear me or if we are in that part of their season where they produce less brood and focus on producing queens to overwinter.

[Pharmacyman]

Dang I've got one that keeps coming around. Do I need to take any action?

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[Jacobs]

Normally, the European Hornets are more of a pest than a threat to a bee colony. I am in an area with multiple nests of European Hornets and many hunting visits a day. Still, if I did nothing, my bees would be fine. My efforts are more recreational than functional.