Hornets are protected species. For this reason, they may not be destroyed without official permission, nor may their nests be relocated independently. If it stings, its poison is significantly lower than that of wasps or bees, but it can still lead to unpleasant consequences. All that remains is to chase them away and, ideally, not to attract them in the first place. The expert reveals effective home remedies to drive away hornets and effective measures to keep them away.
hornet
Distinguish hornet from conspecifics
Since the Vespa crabro, as the hornet is scientifically called, sometimes reacts to substances other than bees and wasps, you need to know at least the visual differences and some typical characteristics compared to bees and wasps. This is the only way you can make sure to choose the right home remedies to scare away and avoid substances that attract them.
- At around 30 millimeters, Vespa crabro is twice as big as bees and wasps
- moves on its feet faster than bees
- like the wasp black-yellow - the bee black-brown, except for the slightly yellowish Buckfast bee
- in contrast to the hornet, wasps have an extremely narrow "waist" between the head and the rear part
- Hornet less aggressive towards humans than the wasp
- Hornet nests are often found in trees
- Hornet nests are much smaller than wasp nests
- At the bottom or behind, a hornet's nest has an opening for droppings, which is absent in wasp nests
Danger in comparison
Coming from the family of wasps (Vespidae), the insect is compared to bees and wasps for two reasons less dangerous: she is not as aggressive and her venom is less intense, so the poisoning effects of a sting are less.
They typically only stab when in direct danger. This is the case, for example, if you want to drive them away with your hand or, in general, if you move quickly in the immediate vicinity of a hornet. The latter can also happen, for example, when you quickly reach for a cup if a hornet has approached unnoticed. However, it can have serious consequences, especially for children and allergy sufferers.
hornet bite
Hornets have up to 15 times less venom than bees. Rumors occasionally spread that people had died from a hornet bite. Normally, however, this is only possible if a sting blocks the airways due to swelling and/or if the patient is at risk. These include:
- allergy sufferers
- Children especially toddlers and babies
- Adults with acute immune or immunocompromising diseases
Result of a hornet sting
It would take a thousand or more hornets to kill a healthy adult. Since a whole colony consists of only 400 to a maximum of 700 insects, the chance that a life-threatening situation can be caused by a hornet bite is very small.
However, the sting pain is noticeably more painful than that of bees and wasps. These have spikes with a length between 2.5 and 2.6 millimeters. That of a hornet is between 3.4 - 3.7 millimeters and gets correspondingly deeper into the skin, which accounts for the greater sensitivity to pain.
This attracts hornets
Food
First and foremost, it is food sources or certain smell perceptions that lure a hornet into the vicinity of people. Unlike bees or wasps, a sugary cake, for example, does not attract the Vespa crabro. Rather, it's the sweetness off ripe fruit, such as above all fallen fruit from apple, pear or cherry trees, for example. But grapes are also a lure, allowing them to fly right up to the coffee tables.
Fragrances of forage plants
Since hornets also feed on plant sap, they are always on the lookout for suitable sources. You can find them mostly on trees. Here they pierce the thick bark with their long stingers to help themselves to the juicy interior. If this tree is close to the house, the coffee table on the terrace or even a sandpit, it is advisable to drive it away.
However, they only use trees, the one high juice content exhibit. These include, for example:
- lilac
- birch
- ash
- pasture
light sources in the dark
When it's dark outside, light attracts the Vespa crabro. This ensures that they can even find their way into the apartment through open windows and doors in the evening when it is dark. If no preferred food sources can be found, they usually want to find their way back outside, but usually get lost. Without food, they can survive for about a day or two. However, there is the possibility of aggression developing here because she is in a struggle for survival. Therefore, you should help her to get back outside quickly in order to keep her alive and, above all, to avoid an attack.
Drive away hornets with home remedies
Chase out of the house
Food keeps the hornet indoors. For this reason, you should store all fruit well sealed in the refrigerator or in airtight plastic containers.
Insects are also good food sources. Make sure your living space is insect free. Afterwards, take advantage of the hour in the dark. Turn off all lights in the house and open as many windows as possible where the hornet is currently located. If it is extremely dark outside, setting up or switching on a light source outside will help. This lures the hornet back outside.
capture
The wasp is an insect that flies around quite calmly and is characterized by a relatively high level of composure. This gives you the advantage of being able to easily catch them indoors as well as on the coffee table if it is a single flying insect. Proceed as follows:
- Use a clear plastic or glass container
- ensure peace and quiet in the immediate vicinity
- Wait a moment until the hornet has settled in an easily accessible place
- approach carefully and without hectic movements
- Slowly bring the container close to the insect
- Swing the container quickly over the animal for the last 20 to 30 centimetres
- Have a firm piece of paper, cardboard or a thin board ready
- Gently nudge the hornet until it climbs up the container
- Slightly loosen the glass sideways from the base and slide the paper/board/cardboard underneath
- If the bottom of the container is completely covered, carry the Vespa crabro outside and release it into freedom
food scents
As much as they like to follow good-smelling food, unpleasant smells even drive away an entire colony. With the right scents, you can protect entire terraces from insects and prevent them from flying into the living area. However, it doesn't always work. Sometimes, especially outdoors, multiple scents should be combined to result in a successful and longer lasting chase.
The ideal scents against hornets have proven to be:
- Hot coffee smell
- Scent of sliced lemons
- clove oil
- Crushed cloves
- Hairspray (only works for a short time outdoors)
- Smell of lit coffee powder
- Sliced Garlic
- incense sticks
plant scents
Certain plants have scents that the wasps don't like. With this household remedy, it is advisable to position them intelligently so that they interrupt flight paths, protect them from flying into the living room and are close to places such as terraces or sandpits. With the help of special plant scents, you can create entire areas where you are safe from hornets. The advantage is that these are mostly plants that people find very pleasant and can therefore easily be planted/cultivated in the immediate vicinity.
With the following plants you can put every hornet to flight:
- basil
- lavender
- mint
- tomatoes
- incense
- lemon balm
water and smoke
The home remedies consisting of water or smoke are only suitable for driving away individually emerging insects. If you wanted to chase away an entire people with it, this could trigger an attack.
Cigarette smoke, but also smoke from charcoal or special insect spirals for lighting, scare away individual specimens from the family of wasps.
Keep a spray bottle filled with water handy. When a hornet appears, spray towards it.
In either case, she will flee and stay away from the place for a while.
feed distribution
If you spot a single hornet, you can lure it away from certain places, such as a children's swing or a barbecue area. To do this, distribute ripe or overripe fruit in the garden. Cut it into slices, put them in a bowl and put them at a sufficient distance from places where the hornet is not wanted.
Electric insect repellent
An electric insect repellent does not count as a classic household remedy, but it should still be mentioned here. This is a battery-operated device that emits a high-frequency sound when you press a button. It doesn't work for everyone, but it works for all other annoying insects, such as mosquitoes.
Preventive measures against hornets
The following preventive measures are recommended so that you do not have to expel any of these species of wasps:
- Protect windows and doors with fly screens
- Distribute the scented plants mentioned here near windows, doors, playgrounds, terraces and seating areas
- Drizzle clove oil on abandoned hornet nests
- no fallen fruit lying on the ground or overripe fruit hanging on trees
- Do not leave any ripe, fragrant fruit lying around in the living area between spring and late summer
Pay special attention to places like roller shutter boxes and tree hollows in the spring. If a hornet can be seen flying in, it is probably the queen preparing to build the nest. If she flies out, close off the entrance with a fly screen or other impermeable material.
