Huge hornets nest removed in Neptune City, NJ

Recently, a quite frightened homeowner in Neptune City, NJ, contacted Cowleys. She was frightened for a very good reason: A huge bald faced hornets nest had attached to her house. She did not notice it until it had grown to an impressive size — it had grown into the size of a beach ball! Given time, the distinctive grey paper-like nests of wasps can develop into large nests with upwards of 400 hornets. A bald faced hornet is named after its distinctive white markings on its face and abdomen. 

Bald faced hornets are a type of wasp, closely related to the feared yellow jacket. And like its close cousin, these wasps are aggressive, territorial, and often sting without provocation. A single wasp can sting repeatedly, and their stings really, really (really!) hurt. I know a thing or two about the potency of their venom from personal experience.  Bald faced hornets are aerial wasps as opposed to ground-nesters, sometimes building their nests off tree limbs, and sometimes, like here, on the sides of homes.  

I arrived, and immediately started to treat the nest so that I could remove this stinging threat off the property. This particular nest had formed under the eave right nest to the downspout of the gutter. It was about ten feet above the home’s front door, so entering and exiting the house became a scary proposition for those living in the home. 

I came fully prepared for the task at hand. Never treat a hornet nest removal lightly. Whenever possible, I avoid getting too close to the nest during treatment., and always have an extension pole with a special attachment. This allows me to apply an effective aerosol product while standing up to 30 feet away. Whoever said I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole must have been talking about bald faced hornets nests — because I shoot for triple that distance!

Using the pole, I slowly moved the application straw of the aerosol into the nest opening. You need to be slow and steady because you want to apply the product deep in the nest before the wasps have a chance to get riled up. As the released product comes into contact with the wasps, it kills them virtually instantaneously. 

I waited a few minutes to allow the product to take effect and make sure there was no more active hornet activity. By then, I can approach the nest and manually remove it. There is always the risk of stragglers out foraging and that return while I’m removing the nest, so I must work quickly. I bagged the nest to take it with me off the property. 

When done, there was not a single remnant of a large wasp infestation. Everything was safe once again. The homeowner no longer had to worry about coming and going from her home because of a large, threatening hornet nest looming right above the door.