Showerthought: my old way of dealing with a hornet's nest in a tree was pure comedy

About five years back, I had a job in Springfield to prune a big oak. I found a huge paper nest tucked in a crotch about twenty feet up. My bright idea? Wrap my whole upper body in a thick moving blanket, climb up, and try to knock it down with a pole pruner from about two feet away. I looked like a panicked ghost. Of course, a few got in, and I fell out of the tree, just bruised but totally humiliated. Now, I just come back at dusk with a proper wasp spray that shoots a stream from fifteen feet. I wait until the next day to remove the empty nest. It's quiet, safe, and I don't look like a fool. Anyone have a better method for those really high-up nests?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevinrivera23h agoTop Commenter

Hold up, I gotta say your old method sounds way more effective. That spray stuff never gets them all and then you have angry survivors. A direct whack with a pole solves the problem right then and there. Sure you fell, but that's just a learning curve. Coming back the next day means two trips, which is a total waste of time. Sometimes looking like a fool is just the price of getting the job done fast.

kevinrivera20h agoTop Commenter

Tell me about it, my learning curve was more like a learning cliff. At least the wasps got a good show before they got whacked.