I have had hornets around my place every year. I dont bother them and they have never bothered me. This year however, I am overrun with them in and around the garden and greenhouse. I have not been stung yet but it is clear they dont want me coming around. They are flying at me like they have never done before. I think I may have a nest of them some where very close to the garden. Anyway my question is should I try to trap them. I mean they are beneficial right?
What can you do to encourage their natural predators? Bird houses and feeders seem like a good place to start. Some piles of rocks for snakes might help.
I would assume that their nest is somewhere very close to where you walk and they are feeling defensive. Maybe you could alter your route.
Before thinking of eliminating them, you really need to consider if the rest of the insect life in your garden will be enough to do the job of the hornets.
I recall doing some trail work in upstate South Carolina in 2001. They had just had a quite warm winter, and there was a rabies outbreak ravaging the skunk population. Cold winters and skunk predation were the two major controls on the hornet population, so without those controls, that year was MISERABLE for hornets. I was stung time after time, and it seemed that we hit another nest about every 20 feet as we blazed new trail.
This is not to suggest importing skunks. But maybe there is other biological control that can help you- a parasitic wasp or mite?
Paul has a recent Youtube video about beneficial effects of wasps/ not sure if that would tie in to your hornet situation.
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