Ground Hornets = Mean Lil’ Beasts

Yes. Ground hornets are some mean lil’ beasts because like killer bees, once a hornet stings you (it sends secret Morse code or something similar I presume) to every hornet it  knows ASAP… So, there you are 5 seconds later… in full-blown recovery-mode from bite numero uno…Furious with eyes welled-up with tears, screaming unkind phrases at the hornet, in “kill-mode” but paralyzed by the fear of sting #2.  When suddenly…you’re not worried about THAT hornet stinging you anymore…but you’re running from an entire swarm of hornets. All with one mission. Sting. Sting. Sting!

With that being said rewind to “Hornets vs Hafners 2012”….Dexter and Kyle were both bitten (Dexter more than once, poor pup). And even though this was our first encounter with ground hornets, they we’re a breeze to get rid of. Our next-door neighbors were kind enough to tell us their full-proof, guaranteed method to get rid of ‘em…Gasoline + a heavy dish (gas down the hole/dish to cover ~ 1 wk). Sounded good enough to us and who are we to not take advice from people who have advice to offer?!?!? One week after using the “gasoline + pyrex” approach on both hornet holes…the backyard was hornet-free and we didn’t have a hornet to worry about all summer long.

Now Fast-Fwd to “Hornets vs Hafners 2013”….Early in June we realized our unwelcomed, backyard tenants were back again when we started seeing hornets everywhere…In the garden. On the front-porch. At the bird-feeder. Trying to sting Dexter. We knew they were back but we couldn’t find their casa to get rid of them..Until last weekend when Kyle finally found their hole while mowing our treacherous, ridiculously hard yard of hills, hills and more hills. Luckily, Kyle wasn’t bitten this time, but Geeeez Louise….This nest has to set a record (ATTN: Guinness Book of World Records) for being the largest ever! Not only were there an insane amount of hornets…but they learned a thing or two since last summer. First, they opted to hide/camouflage their casa and in an act of pure genius, they strategically placed their hole right smack in the middle of our backyard V.I.P’s (Very Important Plants)…Which immediately took our tried-and-true, ‘gasoline + pyrex’ maneuver off the table. We only wanted to kill the hornets, not our blueberry bush and cherry tree…Well played hornets…well played! With the only play in our playbook no longer being an option, we headed back to our neighbors house for advice (having neighbors who have lived in Ohio for 50+ years is awesome). We again went with their recommended plan of attack: Dish soap + Flooding w/water +  Pyrex. Here we are…5 days after our initial attack + a couple of added cypermethrin bombings…. and I kid you not… There are still hornets flying both inside and outside of the Pyrex dish…These hornets are almost as bad as snakes…Are they ever going to die????