HORNETS! OMG!!!!

[5129frederick]

Just seen my first live hornet - I nearly freaked out!  I'd rather deal with a scorpion any day of the week!  My body reacts badly to wasp stings, but a hornet!  Man, I'm leaving home!

Anybody else scared of them?

[saasher2012]

lol, I'm not scared of them but very wary, they are not as aggressive as wasps but if they sting you it's loads worse than a wasp.only good thing is they hunt wasps for food & believe me they are good at it, we used to have loads of ivy growing in the hedges on the farm drive , when it flowered it used to be covered in insects including honey bees & wasps, the Hornets used to hunt them, sting & carry them off to their nest. They look scary for a reason keep well away from them!

[5129frederick]

N times worse than a wasp sting, and they look fierce for a reason so keep well away from them?  Thanks Saash - that's most  reassuring!!! 

[chickengrandma-2008]

I wonder why you haven't seen one before Frederick?  We don't get as many hornets as wasps but we get our fair share,

I've never been stung by a bee or a wasp so I wouldn't like a hornet sting for my first try!  

[saasher2012]

lol. Don't what ever you do wear a yellow & black striped jumper !.
They don't look for conflict Frederick if that's any consolation! & if you do antagonise it a well aimed smack with a rolled up newspaper or a fly swat will solve your problem for you , luckily unlike a wasp they don't fly fast & are a bigger target!. lol.

[saasher2012]

Just an afterthought , make sure if you decide to do battle with the said Hornet that you do it properly, a Hornet with a sore head bent on revenge doesn't bear thinking about! lol.

[mustard-tree]

You saw one hornet, Fred.

How do you think these people felt.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11072895/Firefighters-rescue-couple-after-ho...

[rainydaywoman11]

My ex (Kiwi, brought up on farm), used to douse the nest with lighter fuel, set it alight, burn it off (hose at the ready), he did both a hornets nest (under garden table) and a wasps nest (under eaves of house).  Don't know I'd recommend it for everyone, but it sure worked.

[rose2008-2008]

ILL GO SCREECHING MAD IF I SEE A HORNET OR A WASP OR A BEE. i HATE THE THINGS

[captainbovine]

I love bees they're so cute, I can watch them for ages...better not come into our garden then Rose, in summer the place is heaving with them!!

wasps are fascinating to watch but I keep telling OH not to swat them as it just makes them mad, they go away quickly enough if you ignore them.

I put my head back in school when I was 5 and there was a wasp on the back of my neck, it stung me....I learned what the word meant very sharply gawd, it hurt! if a wasp gets too near me I still tip my head back!

[wskneil]

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@captainbovine wrote: I keep telling OH not to swat them as it just makes them mad, they go away quickly enough if you ignore them.

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I always remember everyone giving my bald granddad the same as a wasp crawled across his shiny pate. He sat stock still for around 10 minutes.

And then the bugga stung him!

[mouse4702]

But did any of these hornets attack Victor Mature?

[rose2008-2008]

I TROD right on a wasp once,,,,BLOOMING HECK it hurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Horrible pain!!!!.

[saasher2012]

Yes very & unlike a bee they can sting ya more than once, I'm with CB on this I love Bees especially bumbles I go out of my way to rescue them unlike the wasp which I gleefully kill at the first opportunity! Evil or what? lol.

[chickengrandma-2008]

I just had to dispose of this little big chap!!  It's not a very clear photo 'cos I wasn't getting any closer!!  He didn't like it when I walloped him with the fly swat and it took two or three good wallaps before he was pronounced deceased!!!

[saasher2012]

lol. No they don't like it when you smack em do they?
Time to worry when they decide it's time you got a smack back!. lol.