Bald-faced Hornet Removal

Bald-faced hornets are black and white striped wasps. They’re larger in size than the yellow jacket or your average honey bee; however, they are more closely related to yellow jackets than they are to hornets. Bald-faced hornets much resemble their yellowjacket relatives as well, with black bodies and a predominantly white-patterned face. They also have two slanted lines running from their midsection towards their heads and on the latter part of their abdomen. Like yellowjackets and paper wasps, the surface of their upper-midsection almost looks triangular from the side.

These hornets are an extremely aggressive stinging insect that should only be dealt with by a pest control professional. If you think you have a bald-faced hornet nest on your property, DO NOT try and remove the nest on your own.

Hornet Nests

They construct their nests of a grey, paper-like substance; these nests are enclosed, unlike the cone-shaped structures of other stinging hornets and insects, such as yellowjackets and paper wasps. These nests will be at least three or more feet off of the ground and are most commonly found in bushes, trees, utility poles, on overhangs, sheds, and houses. The nests can reach up to 14 inches in diameter and more than 24 inches long!

Bald-faced hornets have workers whose sole job is to protect the nest when intruders get too close. Once the worker hornet attacks, the rest will follow. Upon stinging, these hornets do not lose their stinger and will continue to sting and inject their venom. These hornets typically build paper nests 3-4 feet off the ground in trees, over light fixtures, under decking, in shrubs, etc.

Removal

They do not reuse their nest from season to season. They do not serve any real purpose like the honey bee, and they do not pollinate plants. Hogarth’s Pest Control and Wildlife Removal can effectively and efficiently remove these types of hives from your property. Please give us a call if you happen to find one of these nests throughout the summer.