My mother hasn't been able to get out in her yard for some time now and the hornets--could be wasps but don't think so--have made themselves at home. Is there any scent they dislike enough to keep them from stinging me while I clear out their nests; maybe spray some around the area so they stay away?

I play a lot of golf and I find Tea-Tree oil dabbed on my face and neck, keeps everything away, (including women)

well according research vinegar, peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon[and allot of other scents] deter wasps and probably hornets temporarily. A spray bottle with vinegar and peppermint oil should work. I would not do this without help. And make sure you have an escape route because if the smell doesn't repel them they'll go after you. Been through nest removal before and it can get scary. The last 2 bald faced hornet nests I dealt with I used the foam spray that encapsulates the nest and the hornets die quickly. I did not want to do this but the nests were too close to a basketball hoop and kids were always around, The nests were kind of low in the tree as well so it was an accident waiting to happen. Have a garden hose with you with a good nozzle to spray them if they go after you. This will give you some time to get away.

I use green mussel extract cream with menthol and other essential oils cream., also spray around with horticultural peppermint spray. Spraying clothes helps.
I discoved it by accident using it for sore muscles. Even works on other flying insects like mosquitoes and yellow jackets. Available on Amazon.
At night when the hornets are in their nest there are several techniques to eliminate their nest . Just google it on utube.
Another technique that works during the day is to purchase hormones that attract them ..place in a trap …
See utube.

https://garden.org/ideas/view/...

If I have a hornets nest in any of my gardens, I remove it. Hornets or wasps are not friendly no matter what Cologne you might be bathing in...

I totally agree with Frank; we have bald-faced hornets and yellow jackets that build nests here that are difficult to discover until they have a large population. (Under our deck, once in a large wastebasket inside my greenhouse, where I had a bunch of garden stakes corralled.) And also the occasional "ground wasps," which might be the worst.

The best thing to do is destroy or remove any small nest as soon as you see it. If you discover a larger nest that is in a place you just cannot avoid, you should really use some good wasp and hornet spray and be done with it. They are VERY protective of their nests. I don't like using poisons in the yard and garden, and I don't like killing any insects unnecessarily, but a large population of wasps/hornets can be quite dangerous.

That said, if the nest is in an area where you don't normally go near it, and you are just seeing the wasps in the garden or whatever, they generally aren't at all aggressive and unless you are severely allergic to the stings I would just leave them be. Don't slap at them or try to shoo them away. They really are quite interesting to watch!

alpharalpha said: My mother hasn't been able to get out in her yard for some time now and the hornets--could be wasps but don't think so--have made themselves at home. Is there any scent they dislike enough to keep them from stinging me while I clear out their nests; maybe spray some around the area so they stay away?

Unless she is allergic, in which case she has a serious problem to deal with, leave them alone and they will leave you alone 98.6 percent of the time.

I have/had them, including a nest in the porch hallway, and I have only been stung twice in 38 years.
Once because I put my hand over one; the other one, just an ornery little bugger.

When I have nests in my trees... I avoid doing work on those trees (or near).
Valuable garden help...


Someone bent on destruction would rain down the wrath of god at night while the critters are asleep...

Simply severing the nest from whatever it's attached to is enough...

once the nest hits the ground... it's prey to other predatory species... in my area... fire ants would get the larvae and nothing the adults can do to prevent.

At your house? maybe possums or skunks or armadillo.

I wish the wasps would make their homes in the (very plentiful) trees here, instead of insisting on building them right where we spend a lot of time. Over the years we've gotten much better about removing them when they are first being built so the queen can go elsewhere.

The best thing is a good bee keeper's hat and thick, close fitting clothing and gloves.
When I have to deal with wasps and hornets I wait until early morning when the air temperature is cool if not cold. The insects are much less active when it is cold.
Good luck!

You can try knocking down a nest and then running, but I don't think any human is faster than an angry wasp. One would not have time to sniff anything coming at you at that speed and would be too angry to be deterred by any scent.

Building a big bonfire and holding a smoking log under a nest could be what you need. Not sure if that's just a bee thing or also works on wasps/hornets.

I think it would be necessary to know exactly what kind of critter you're dealing with before any specific advice can be applied.

I loathe wasps. Both my mother and I are deathly afraid of the demon possessed creatures. We have evil red wasps and icky little paper wasps. I use anything available for a weapon, including a water hose. I now have a large bug net that is effective; simply swing, capture, then stomp. Any new wasp nest we find we spray, run, then knock the nest down later.

purpleinopp said: You can try knocking down a nest and then running, but I don't think any human is faster than an angry wasp.

This is why my advise was to do this at night while they are asleep.

My experience is that when they are in an area where there is constant activity, they are much calmer than the ones that we stumble on in those areas where we seldom go...

Believe it or not... most years they build next to the door that I go in and out of 20 times a day... and never blink an eye or ruffle a feather...

I consider them as security...

Would you break in with a wasp nest staring you in the face?

We had a bald faced hornets nest at the front gate. It was a good sized nest and it was active. Lots of coming and going. The only problem with the nest was it's location, It was very close to the gate entrance and it hung at eye level. My husband decided it had to go. He came home from work armed with 2 cans of wasp spray-the foaming type of spray. He put his motorcycle helmet on and a winter jacket even though it was July. He got the hose ready and we made sure all the dogs were in the house. Then he went at the nest. The hornets were mad as hell and came after him. He got to the back door just in time. We could hear the hornets hitting the house. The next morning there were dead bodies on the front steps. The nest was removed from the branch and we cut it open out of curiosity. The larvae were still alive so hubby put the nest in the woods at the end of the street. I really don't like getting rid of nests but they always get built in the wrong spot.

Wow Brenda what a story. Next time I'm going to remember to put my helmet on good idea.

I had similar experience one summer with yellow jackets. I mowed over a nest in the pastures unknowingly. Next thing I knew I had several stinging YJ crawling all over me and stinging over and over. Tried to out run them on my tractor. as they were chasing me from the front pasture to the house. Had several stings too many to count. Since then I became allergic to them . And now reading your DH story you'd probably be seeing me in the future wearing my ATV helmet decked out with a thick leather jacket and long pants mowing the pastures in my tractor. No more farmer tans for me…

Please remove the nest in the early morning hours when they are sleeping so you don't get stung. Best do so when it's also colder and they are less active.

We have hornets that go into the ground and nest, those you have to be careful not
to step in!! I did so some years back and it' wasn't a pretty picture! I am on the second year of venon therapy for hornet stings. According to the information there are 3 types of venon therapy bees, black hornets and yellow ones. Just be careful!!

JT used to have hornet information on his website.

bumplbea said:
I had similar experience one summer with yellow jackets. I mowed over a nest in the pastures unknowingly. Next thing I knew I had several stinging YJ crawling all over me and stinging over and over. Tried to out run them on my tractor.

I've 'found' yellow jacket nests running those noisy string trimmers and as you said mowers... I leave the equipment behind. Come back for the gear after they mellow.

As long as I leave them alone... they don't get radicalized.
I can be out pulling unwanted plants and find a nest... come back in 5 minutes to get the plants near the nest without getting stung or even riling anybody up.

Unfortunately... I also had the experience of a lady trying to sell her house... Damned determined to kill unwanted garden residents...
I'd find a nest, she'd spray toxic shit...
I'd come back next month, find them again, she'd spray more toxic shit, repeat, repeat... And every time I came back, the number of stings escalated.

If she'd left the poor things alone, I wouldn't have ever gotten stung after finding them the first time.

At my previous garden... I'd find a nest in one of my raised beds...
I experimented with death and destruction at first...

A scoop of fire ants added to the nest... Some fireplace ashes mixed with water... A brush pile stacked on top of the nest and lit for a bonfire experience...

Eventually I felt too bad about what I was doing... and experimented with live and let live...

Found it amazingly easy to garden around them.
If I'm not screwing with them... I can stand over the nest... one foot on either side, and they will fly between my legs as they go about their normal business!

So, yeah... beneficial insects... leave alone, get left alone in turn.

I would not trust a scented skin treatment against angry hornets/wasps of any kind.
If you can just walk calmly around and avoid disturbing the nest, risk of sting is low.
If you neeed to eliminate- The advice above should let you do what you need with little risk. They make spray cans with 'stream' spray so you can be some feet away when you spray.

Having been the victim of hornet/wasps a few times I no longer take a chance. Wait until the coldest part of the day , usually very early in the morning, at which time nearly all of them will be in the nest or hive, Then use the foaming wasp spray that shoots a stream a long distance, and soak it thoroughly. Then simply leave it alone and check the next morning , if any remain give it another shot.
Remember there may be many small nests scattered through out your yard.Try to identify the locations first.
The stings or bites are really painful and take a long long time to heal up, and while you hate to have to kill the , Its either them or me and I'm the one who pays the mortgage !!

I agree, Ken; and there is also the consideration that visitors and delivery people may be severely allergic to the stings.