Posted by Jim Thiel on November 30, 2005

Q: I just noticed a hornet's nest in a tree alongside our driveway. It is winter now and I was wondering how I can safely remove the nest and preserve it and not get stung by hornets. Would they be in the nest this time of the year? Thank you for your response.

A: You're certainly smart to be cautious about a hornet's nest. It's probably a Bald-faced Hornet and these guys are really nasty if disturbed so be sure no children are in harms way. Once a hard freeze arrives, all of the hornets die except the new queens. Before frost, the new queens leave the nest, mate, and then find a place to hibernate until next spring. All of their nest-mates continue to hang around the nest but with freezing weather, they all die. So...if the weather where you live (you didn't tell me where you live) has been cold enough, the colony MAY all be dead. I'd remove the nest VERY cautiously to be sure. If you do the removal first thing in the morning after a really cold night, any live hornets will be too cold to attack. If you plan on bringing the nest into your house, I'd either leave the nest outside until we've had some really hard freezing weather or put it immediately in your freezer overnight to be on the safe side - you don't want any warmed-up hornets buzzing around your house.

I hope this helps. The nest these hornets make is really interesting and well worth having to share with others. If you don't save the nest, it will simply fall apart over the winter - the hornets never return to use the old nest. Thanks for your question.

John Wiessinger ( December 1, 2005)