Spray softly and carry a big stick
Walkabout: PI
Happenings in the Star City
By Paula Brewer
“Gives a 27-foot spray,” the label said.
“Great,” I thought, because I didn’t want to be that close to angry hornets when I tried to obliterate them.
The plant was the problem. It was big — really big — and right by the porch door. And the clothesline.
Somehow, snapping clothes angered the hovering hordes. Hence the can in my hand.
This was three weeks ago or so, when summerlike weather still prevailed — and so did the large black-and-yellow insects.
“Shake well before use,” the can said. OK — presto. Yes, a jet of foam spewed forth — but it was no 27 feet. It did do the job, though. With pruners and a pitchfork I removed the bush the hornets found so attractive, and I thought that was the end of it.
But then, looking up, there were more nests — three, to be exact, one on each side of the house and one on the garage. Back to the drawing board, or rather, the pest-control aisle. With fresh cans of hornet spray and a long pole, down the nests came.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many hornets as have been around this year — and big, about an inch long. I wondered: Is this unusual, to see so many of them?
University of Maine Cooperative Extension entomologist Frank Drummond shed more light on the black-and-yellow creatures from his Orono office Oct. 3.
“Generally, when you have a really dry year without much rainfall, those hornets that nest in the ground do not succumb to fungal pathogens, so they do quite well,” he said. “So it’s in line with what happens when we have hot, dry weather.”
Now, it being October, there really isn’t much point in going after them. “At this point in time, you shouldn’t even bother to control them, because the colony will die out each year,” he explained. “The queens go off independently by themselves to overwinter. The colonies are naturally collapsing now … and birds come in and tear apart the nests. It’s just the natural process.”
He said hornets can be “challenging” to kill. “Some colonies can get really big. And where hornets can sting multiple times and are so aggressive, I would recommend people do not try to take care of them themselves.”
Considering his advice, I’m thinking I was foolhardy to go after them – luckily, I got away fast and carried a big stick.
