help! hornets in the house

[cathleenc]

We've got a yellow jacket hive that we originally thought was just under the gutter/siding but now seems to be inside the walls. DH is allergic to bites - just spent last weekend in ER when he swelled and developed hives. Yup, we're now an Epi pen household.

So far we've sprayed hornet spray into the opening twice and have caulked the opening up twice. Both times either we missed a spot when caulking or the hornets are making an opening.

For the last two days we're finding yellow jackets in the house in the room closest to the nest - they seem to be crawling out of the ceiling where the ceiling fan fixtures are mounted. We're getting perhaps 10-15 yellow jackets into the house each day. The yellow jackets we find are slow and clutsy, easy to kill.

What would you do? Looking for advice on if we can remove it, how to remove it, or whether it's time to call in professionals.

I do have a full honey bee protection suit and smoker available.

[Travis in Louisiana]

My dad would toss in a couple of the FOGGER PEST CANS in a building and close the door. It would kill all the wasp. If it was me, I would toss a couple of cans in the attic and a couple in the room where they are coming in and shut the door. I might would wait till night to open the attic access.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I would call professionals, as you have a person in the house at risk.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

I agree with calling in the professionals.

[trulytricia]

If me and family I'd do what Travis said.

But for you, if hornets are life threatening you may have to call professionals.

[Ardie/WI]

Our neighbors down the road have been dealing with the exact same issue and finally called a professional. The insects were in the siding of the house and also making the garage their home.

[John_Canada]

Just a tip to prevent them in the future (we used to have them on our porch every year until we did this), load a paper lunch bag full of scrunched up newspaper and tie it at the top. Hang a few of them around the house under awnings and below umbrellas and things. You can also buy the ones in the dollar store that imitate a nest anad they stay away.

[dizzy]

I'm allergic as well. It's one thing to find an occasional one in the house-I find one, I trap it and put it outside. But w/what you're dealing with, I'd call a professional.

I don't know how severe your hubby's allergy is, but B4 I started getting monthly shots, my reactions were getting worse each time I got stung. I started w/the swelling and hives, then went to where it felt like my throat was closing on me. He might want to look into getting tested to see if the shots would help him.

[Appalachia]

Did they start coming in the house after you caulked their hole shut? They are probably unable to get outside and are looking for a new route which turns out is inside your house. I'd reopen their access to stop them from coming inside then kill them with sevin dust.

[dcross]

Get the hole opened up again!!

Spray is almost useless unless you can see and hit the nest. Sevin dust at the entrance, they'll track it in and spread it around the whole nest.

If you want, you can sit outside with a shop vac and suck them up as they come and go.

[cathleenc]

We haven't done anything except talk since posting this thread - and the hornet flow into the house seems to have stopped. All the hornets that did come in were 'off' - kinda dazed and confused and weak. Maybe the spray did poison the nest and we got the last few trying to get away, unsuccessfully? Anyway, glad to have this immediate crisis ebbing away and give us time to come to terms with the bee venom allergy and strategies for minimizing contact close to the house.

thanks so much to everyone who contributed ideas and insights!

[dcross]

I've been diagnosed as allergic to bee venom, I still keep bees. Reactions can vary widely depending on a lot of things.

If nothing else, be glad you don't have honeybees in your walls! At least hornets/wasps don't pack in honey and wax that need to be removed.

[dizzy]

dcross, how allergic are you, and how careful do you need to be? I would love at some point in time be able to have bees. (Where I live right now, it's not doable-I don't think the neighbors would go for it!) The thing that's holding me back is my bee allergy. I get 3 shots every month, and honey bees are what I'm most allergic to.

[dcross]

I've had three bad reactions in 11 years of keeping them. Two were when I had been drinking and got stung pretty badly, the third was probably the scariest even though it was fairly mild since it was just one sting.

The first time I went to the ER and was given benadryl, epi, and prednisone. The second time I just took benadryl, the third one I just rode out, focused on staying calm and breathing deeply.

All three times I got stung on my hands and arms, then my face, throat, and butt felt like they were swelling/itching, but I looked normal and could talk and breathe the whole time.

I was given a prescription for an epi pen, but never filled it. My last bad one was several years ago, I get stung occasionally throughout the season, sometimes multiple stings. Sometimes there is some swelling locally, but that is a normal response to venom. I do not wear a full suit, just a veil tucked into my shirt, short sleeves but long pants with no holes

I realize I'm gambling, this is not advice!!