Gotta drag my lazy, uh, self back to Emigh today to pick up more Victor brand “minty hornet spray”. Regretting that moment in the store when I thought to myself, “Should I get a couple cans now, while I’m here?” and answered to myself, “Nah, one ought to be plenty.” Last time I checked (yesterday), there were 4+ hornets buzzing angrily around ground zero.
Whenever I get near them, they come at me! For now, creeping fig continues creeping.
Just went out to check for survivors. Saw no signs of any hornets anywhere. The nest is half-dissolved (by the spray) and empty. Decided to give the nearby creeping fig vine a good spray with a hose to make sure none were lurking in the vine. After giving it a good spray, turned off the water and walked back over for a closer look. Saw one hornet crawl out of the vine and up the wall… ran inside for the nearly empty spray can… came back out and couldn’t find The One… scanned for airbornes… holy… there’s one… sprayed… dead… there’s another… sprayed… dead… and another… uh oh… missed… and another… missed… and those two look mad… ran like, um, heck, back in the house and slammed the door. Now that I’m officially on the hornet hit list, am a little afraid to leave the house. Will report back later. Must check supplies.
Why, oh why, did I watch “The Swarm” at such an impressionable age?
I stopped at Emigh Hardware this afternoon to pick up some hornet spray. Reached for the standard stuff; powerful; cautions about ingesting, breathing, etc…. but then noticed they sell a “Poison-free” hornet killer by Victor, the company that makes Safer brand pesticides. It’s called VICTOR® POISON-FREE® Wasp & Hornet Killer and comes in the same style can as the standard stuff, but this one uses mint oil and sodium lauryl sulfate. It’s very minty!
Will check tomorrow for any surviving hornets. I do feel bad getting rid of “pests”… but having a nest a mere spitting distance from my front patio table (not that much if any spitting goes on there) was just too close for comfort. Yup, the idea of having someone stung to death whilst sipping French roast coffee; or finally tackling the creeping fig; was a big motivator.
Now that I know this, I see that there is a page on the IPM website for them…
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7450.html
The Sac/Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will send someone out to your house to spray your pesky hornet’s nests. What a great service. They, too, come during the day. We’re going to try the nighttime thing to reduce chances of leaving strays wanting to re-build… In any case, check out their excellent website.
http://www.sac-yolomvcd.com/
