My preacher just called me and has a hornet nest on a thumb sized sapling ONLY A FOOT OFF THE GROUND. Its in a small woodlot full of leaves and other flammables.

Soooo, spraying from underneath AT NIGHT is outa the question...I'm thinking.

I'm considering, at night:

1)Have cardboard box handy

2)Lopper cut sapling just below opening while grabbing (gently) above nest

3)Lopper cut just above nest--dropping it into box--while the lopper guy is spraying the nest as soon as it lands inside the box.

OR OR OR

1)friend shines light from safe distance and 90* to the side

2)cut open nest while spraying simultaneously

CAN I SMOKE THEM OUT ???????

Just don't double dribble.

Can you come film this fiasco Paul?

Don't think if they are bald face or yellow jackets that they wont act aggressively after dark once they detect some sort of disturbance to the nest. Better be protected to some degree.

We foam the entry hole then insert a straw attached to a pyrethrin aerosol can into the nest in a few places. Give a couple of shots and let things die. Once things quiet down you can remove the nest safely. There will be some that will most likely escape no doubt but they wont be able to reestablish this season.

Bob--FOAM like Greatstuff?

Darn, wouldn't you know it! Everybody has a bee suit except me. ( Must be why I can run so fast for my age. Fear is a great incentive )

Box, no; large trash bag, yes. Easier and quicker to close up.
Cover up as best you can, slip bag under, then up and over nest, closing it up tight around the branch.
Have stupid friend that works for beer, lop off branch.
Duct tape bag closed, then poke hole in bag to spray wasp etc killer in bag.
Run like the wind.
Good luck

traprjohn, however you do it , take video & post

I bet all the Orkin's of the world are laughing at this thread.

I've done as BigBob suggested, but spray the inside of bag first, slip it up and over, cinch tight and put a zip tie around it. BUT, that was hanging on a bird house from a string, no branches were in the way.

Just kick it like a soccer ball and run.

Dave, the Orkins of the world are wondering, after spending millions on advertising, how the trapjohns of the world are still getting these jobs.

Perhaps....but did you notice I didn't say PCO? At least the branding is working...

LOL !...Because I got the bats outa his attic 2 yrs ago.

Flamethrower from 30 feet....no suit required...lol
I like the box idea better due to jockeying hive into flexible bag BUT GET A BOX WITH A LID. Used that tactic before and it was slick.....did have to cut down box a bit so it could be positioned under tree easier. Good luck and as Paul mentioned have your running shoes on.

pco fogger on the end of a 14 foot extendable pole will work just fine. i have removed around 20 this year so far and have not had any problems. set off fogger and shove in the entrance hole of the hive. let the can run out of juice. wait ten to fifteen minutes. that is when i usally get the paper work filled out. then go remove the hive. most of the time i am in and out in 20-25 minutes. of course then talk to the customer for another 20-30 minutes

Okay this might sound crazy but I've always sprayed wasp nests with starter fluid/ether and have never been stung!! Would that not work on a hornets nest??

In my area a basketball sized nest, in my experience, is always white/bald faced hornets. They're one of the meanest, most aggressive critters alive.

I got a call, two weeks ago, about such a situation and went to check it out. Yep, hornets.

I used the trash bag and duck tape method and only got stung six times. Twice in the face and four times on my right arm. No, I wasn't wearing any protective clothing. I ain't skeered of no bees.

Other than the jolt and pain, which faded fast, I was good to go and once again proved myself bullet proof to insect stings. It happens every summer. Nothing to think about except how bullet proof I am. There was hardly even a mark one hour later.

The next morning I awoke with what is commonly called (I am told) a localized allergic reaction. My right arm was twice it's normal size, bright red, all the nerves were screaming and itching like no tomorrow. I was a little distressed so I called the doctor.

The less than friendly nurse said 'what do you expect? It's called a localized, allergic reaction. Take some Benadryl. It will be gone in a week.' And it was.

Looked awful. Felt worse. But ran it's course and all is well.

Lesson learned? Tyvek suits are our friend.

This must be breaking news because I haven't read about it anywhere on this post, but if you go to places that sell things, you might

notice an entire aisle of cans. On these cans are words. When positioned properly, these words spell out Wasp and Hornet Spray. What

are those cans used for?

I think the label will tell you how to do it too

If it were me I would get a can of hornet/wasp spray and go in at night, carefully crawl up to the nest with your headlamp on and hold the can directly under the nest at close range (six inches or so) and shoot the solid stream right into the entry hole and keep spraying. They will not be able to get out with any ability to do anything once soaked and will quickly die.

I would also get the preacher to say a prayer for me before I did this.

This is what it should look like when you are done:

This was after I sprayed that one the other day and they really jammed the hole as they died.

This is what you will look like if things don't go as planned: