Hello This is my first time on the forum. When I was researching the hornets that have appeared in my garden this year, the web site it directed me to the UBC Botanical Gardens. Is the Baldfaced Hornet new to British Columbia, as I have never seen them before. Should I be alarmed! Are they like the killer bees etc? Thank You
Respectful caution always wise! As far as I can make out, the hornets have been in the area for some time: however, they may well be new to your garden. How large is your population, and is it posing a danger to you? Are there nests? Depending on your situation, it may be best to consult a professional exterminator. These may be of interest: http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/INSECTS/wasp_and_hornet_control.htm http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=64842 Welcome to the Forum!
Getting stung is considered 'a danger' by many people. If there is a large colony in MrsMac's garden, if there is a nest hanging above her back door---situations such as these might well be hazardous. The poster was unspecific. I am certainly an advocate of 'live and let live'. If a few hornets buzz past, if MrsMac is simply surprised at their presence, fine. If she has a nest nearby, not. Does she have allergies? Small children? Pets? All unknown. I was attempting to provide an array of information in response to the poster's questions.
At the time I moved to my current location there were all kinds of bees and wasps living here. There were holes in the ground with wasps and/or bees living there, and there were their nests hanging from the trees. I am not afraid of the creatures, never knowingly discouraged them in any way from living here, unfortunately there are less and less of them. I can't see their nests here any more. Interestingly, the most common on my property are honey bees now. I can see them hovering over my flowers, wild as well as those introduced here by me. They especially love my field of Thyme that I managed to establish in one area of my lawn. I love to hear the buzzing of my insects. My wasps and bees never sting anybody here, probably because I don't react in any way to their presence. Have read somewhere that bees and wasps are attracted to movement, so frantic waving of hands, or other agitated gestures, may mean danger to them and they will sting in self-defense. They also have incredible sense of smell and are able to detect the perspiration resulting from fear, what can agitate them even further. During the entire time I have been living here I've got stung only once when, by chance, I sat on the chair already occupied by one of the creatures. Please, don't laugh, it was not very pleasant! A couple of years ago, later in the summer, seemingly without any reason, suddenly I had an invasion of what I believe were Bald-faced hornets. The weather had been very dry for a prolonged period of time after a normal spring and early summer that year, and suddenly I discovered that my grapes got eaten completely by the hornets, who after eating the inside of the fruit, hid themselves inside the fruit skin instead. It looked rather ugly and I didn't like that, but I didn't do anything about it. Not one little beast stung me then either. They stayed inside until they died later in the fall. I have never experienced anything of this kind before nor after. Cycles of Nature . . . Now to answer MrsMac's questions: Bald-faced hornet lives in BC, is not new here, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald-faced_hornet#Distribution. They are not like killer bees, if you are asking about their aggressiveness. Should you be alarmed? I don't believe you should, but it depends, as togata57 already pointed out. I still would say take it easy and enjoy biodiversity when it still lasts, that's all.
I once saw a bald-faced hornet take a house fly in my yard. After overcoming it the wasp butchered the fly on the spot, flew back to the nest with it ready for the larvae. So a large bag of them hanging in the yard must be good for pest control - as long as you stay away from it yourself. If instead they set up shop where you can't avoid going, then you have to get rid of them as they will come for you if you get too close. And when protecting the nest, they fly directly to you without warning and sting repeatedly in the same spot. You are first made aware of their presence by a burning sensation (voice of experience here). A bunch of them getting on a sensitive individual could be quite dangerous.
Hi Everyone Thanks for the replies. I can't see a nest anywhere, and my daughter also noted that she has seen these hornets for the first time also. She also lives in Pitt Meadows, about a Kilometre away from me. I will ignore them as long as they are not dangerous. It may be because as Sundrop mentioned it is a very dry, warm summer. Thanks again. MrsMac
Do you have in mind using pesticide? How many other creatures are getting poisoned? Just one example:
Ignoring the insects and possibly getting stung beats living in a toxic environment devoid of life (Allergic reactions be damned).
This is the first year I too have noticed the Bald Faced Hornets, and I have been gardening here for decades, beekeeping for 5 years now. The wasps are Nature's garbage detail, so perform a useful function in the Grand Scheme of Things. But...they are quite defensive, and because they have smooth stinger can sting without dying themselves (unlike the honey bee, whose stinger is barbed, and which upon deployment ends the life of the bee, so they are very reluctant to use it!), they are quick to sting if you are near their nest site or food source. Beekeepers practice wasp control simply because in the late summer the wasp nests get so large, they become bold enough (and hungry enough) to target beehives. A determined wasp colony can easily overwhelm a bee colony, particularly if the bees are weakened by something else already ie. Varroa mites or starvation (late summer is a very nectar poor time here for bees). The bee colony is full of goodies for wasps, from the baby bees to the honey stores, and the bees themselves. I use the Rescue wasp traps, which are baited with pheromones and only attract wasps...although they do not seem to attract the Bald Faced. I cannot use traps baited with sweet things like jam and syrup or the bees will be trapped and killed. Traps baited with meat attract wasps, as wasps are carnivores (that is why they like your outdoor bbq, unlike the vegetarian honey bee). FWIW this has been a particularly "bad" year...lots of wasps about, and the beeyards are over-run with them right now.
