Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Preserving a hornet's nest?

T

turkeyriver

PMA Member
Anybody out there have experience preserving a large bald-faced hornets' nest? My brother found one in Oct. and put it in his garage. Only a couple of hornets fell out of it. From what I have read about them, no hornets hibernate in the nest to come out in the spring? I hope so. We put it in the cabin for display. I thought I had heard spraying the nest with hair spray will help preserve it and hold it together. It's bigger than a basketball and in perfect shape. I'd like to keep it that way.Anyone have any experience with one?
 
Hair spray would probably work. My dad has several in his shop that he never did anything to except get them dried out quickly. They're 15 years old at least.
 
It's almost a sport in the South climbing a tree putting a trash over it and then spraying a bug spray in the bag to kill the hornets. Once the hornets are dead, spray the nest with a light coat of liquid wood varnish. They will last for years hanging by fishing line to a hook in the ceiling.
 
i have several, found a nice one 3 weeks ago, gently shook alot of hornets out,i spray mine with a clear urathane. but let me warn you , this has happened to me on this one as others, even though you get them in the dorment state, you bring the nest in where its warm and a few seem to fine there way out. ive even taken a small cotten ball with rubbing alcahol and very carefuly pushed it up in the hole far enough where you cant see it with the naked eye, but the smell or somthing kills the rest that may be in there.i hung one in my den last yr and thought they were all dead only to have my wife open the door and be greeted by 6 angry hornets, not good,when mama aint happy. nobodys happy!
 
I've got several that I've never done anything too. Seem to hold up good if you don't mess with them.

I've heard a clear laquer of some sort works though.
 
Hunting these things is getting to be a real sport for me and some of my friends. Sitting in the stand last month I spotted a huge one but couldn't figure out how to get it down. It was waaaaay up there. Talked to one of my buddies and he said he just takes a .410 and shoots the limb they're on so that's what he helped me do. We've probably found over 20 this year already. Sunday, my wife and I spotted a good one above the center of a residential street here in CC. Went home and got the pole saw and a step ladder and she drove me under it while I was in the back of the truck. Less than a minute later I had it. It was a non-typical as it had two entry holes. We've never really done anything to them and they seem to be surviving fine from the past few years. I might have to try the clear spray idea. Does it change the color of them at all? I'm thinking of patenting my own scoring system for them and starting a record book. Combine the total of the horizontal and vertical circumfrences at a perpendicular line to each other measured to the nearest 1/8th. Anyone want to make an entry?
 
score guy,
your going to think im nuts, but a few yrs back, a insurance man had one in his crawl space, no exterminator would take it down.he put a add in the paper and i showed up with my cousin, now i know why they woudnt mess with it, it was the size of a bushel basket , hooked to , two heater runs in a dirt crawl space , getting water from his humidifyer. the nest was grey, blk, and red, mixed from the bricks in his basement.after signing a release, i took a huge can bag,with spray, and my turkey head net , a knife and cut it from the pipes, it fell in the bag , but oh my god was there action when i tied the bag up!it was cold enough outside, freezing, that after a week, i took it inside plugged 4 holes with cotton, and sprayed it with clear urathane.since it wasnt attached to anything,, i took fishing line on both sides , brought them together at the top, and hung it from my ceiling from a hook.i gave it to a friend a few yrs back who still has it , an amazing site, .they are neat, i carry a bag with me , rope, screw steps, bow saw, loppers, just because you never know when youll find one.a old logger told me to hunt this creek - shallow- dense timber around it, kinda like a bog, hunted it ever since, found 13 this yr 7 i could get to, some of the limbs to high and out i couldnt reach,but fun anyway. i like your idea of posting a site and scoring, if you do, im in!
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: OS Hunter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Put a trash bag over it and then spraying a bug spray in the bag to kill the hornets. Once the hornets are dead, spray the nest with a light coat of liquid wood varnish. They will last for years hanging by fishing line to a hook in the ceiling. </div></div>

This is the way I have done a couple of them, Works Great! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
 
ibowbigbucks, I can't find a shed antler if you pay me to but I'm pretty good with these things. I'd love to see a picture of that whopper you've got. That took some big kahuna's. I know of several people who had to got to the hospital after just getting a few stings. BTW, what does everyone call the inhabinats of a nest? Paper wasps, Bald Face Hornets that's the two names I've always heard. I don't know what they actually are. I think it would be a hoot to make a contest next fall here on this site to see who can get the biggest one. I'd be happy to be the records chairman!
 
WD40 and a lighter works pretty good........OH you said preserve.............. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom