Detailed information on Bald-faced Hornet, White-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)

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dordee

Silex, MO | May 2021 | Positive

I have baldfacedhornetsaroundmy home. In myexperience,they do not attack unless provked. Iwas filling my hummingbird feeder one day and spilled some liquid on my hand. The hornet landed on my hand and had a drink, did not sting me. I have found that stayingcalm around any animal, insect is the best policy.

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SparksMartin

Richlandtown, PA | July 2018 | Neutral

I'm seeing them as well as other wasps around my deck. I'm guessing they are collecting wood for a nest elsewhere, although the deck is old (we just bought this place) and there have been many carpenter bees and drillings. I am reticent to spray any chemicals and if they do eat other menacing insects, fine. I'm just keeping an eye on them. However, these frightening wasps remind me of when I was visiting my father's grave a few summers ago, and I kept noticing something whizzing past me. Very near the grave site, I saw a huge paper nest in a small cedar shrub. I alerted the church as an aggressive attack could have easily taken down someone else unawares. Glad I saw it, but it left me uneasy not to mention being alone in a large spooky churchyard. I'm allergic to bee sting -- they would ... read more

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Mj23

Lea Hill, WA | August 2017 | Neutral

They look absolutely menacing, terrifying. I would not like to mess with them, that's for sure. Apparently they like dog poop.

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esmedoodles

Chesterton, IN | August 2016 | Positive

These hornets eat lots of flies, and probably mosquitoes. It helps to know where their nest is (ie don't discover it by accident!) Unless it's right by a door, they probably won't bother you. I've stood 5 feet away and watched them come and go. I've moved watermelon rinds in the compost bin while they're on it, and they don't react. I squeezed open some overripe pears on the ground and place them near the rotten ones they're feeding on, and they just move away if they don't recognize the fresher piece I just offered them. Like most bees/wasps, if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. (Still undecided on Yellow Jackets ... since they nest in the ground, sometimes hard to know they're around until it's too late).

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phillyk

Dayton, OH | August 2016 | Neutral

Found this wonderful creature inside my shirt after trimming a pine cone tree in Dayton Ohio today (8-2-2016). Boy do they hurt!

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Theguy777

Chesapeake, VA | July 2015 | Negative

Was playing backyard volleyball at a friends house when someone knocked the ball over their fence. Being the gentleman I am, I went out to get it. I got the ball, which was at the edge of a wood line....about 20 feet away from the driveway and as I was walking back (in the driveway at this point), the hornet flew by me. It looked like it made a dive at my face but missed, and on impulse I swatted my hand in that general direction, thinking it was just a horsefly. This hornet managed to do a full 180 degree turn and grab and sting my finger. I just shrugged the painful sting off and continued playing volleyball and I swear to god, the same hornet came to me an hour later and taunted me while I was in the middle of playing, at that point I just completely left that whole side of the yard. Tw... read more

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goldyfinch

Winchester, VA | June 2013 | Positive

I was milking our goats when I noticed along with the barn flies around the milk bucket, a white-faced hornet appeared. Not wanting to startle the goat who was locked in the milking stand eating her grain, I sat there very still, watching. At first I wondered if it was attracted to the milk? But no! It was trying to catch those annoying flies! And so it was, for a couple of months that summer the white-faced hornet was often a visitor at milking time, only just one. The goat peacefully ate, I peacefully milked, and the hornet ate the flies. I guess I was lucky it was happily obtaining food or I could have been stung!

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Lauribob

Twisp, WA | September 2010 | Neutral

These guys can be pretty scary. I pushed a lawnmower into a nest of them one time and took a trip to the emergency room. I have to give them a neutral though, due to the fact that they mostly stay off your food and they eat yellow-jackets. I'm pretty wary around them, but have found that unless you get too close to their nest, they're usually not that aggressive. Their nests are way cool in a kind of alien spooky way. We had huge ones here this summer - the size of bumblebees.

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1990mustang

Granby, MA | October 2009 | Positive

In April I noticed a small nest in a tree in the front of the barn and forgot about it. At the end of August my wife noticed a branch was hanging lower than normal, That was when we noticed the nest was larger than a football. It is huge and active. This nest was built around our busy lifestyle and they never bothered us. I can stand 4 feet from it and watch them come and go and they never bother with us. They do bother alot of flys and misquitos. A farmer from Hadley MA says the best thing to have near your barn is a nest of White Faced hornets, They attach flies inside the barn and do not bother the workers or animals. If you hit the nest you will be educated. I have found them to be good neighbors.

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cromy

Saegertown, PA | August 2009 | Negative

This is a NASTY bug. It took 3 cans of spray, on 3 different nights. It is best to spray after dark since they are supposed to be in the nest. Please be carefull. I've been told that these are th3 2nd most aggresive hornet in the world. Behind only the European hornet.

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1lolita1

Elgin, IL | June 2009 | Negative

Years ago a solitary female was starting a new nest under the awning outside my kids' bedroom window. She was very large,very busy and very cranky. Everytime I tried to open the window to spray her she popped her head out of the bottom opening and, I swear, glared at me. She then tried to fake me out by disappearing and then charging the window as soon as I opened it. After several such failed attempts to get me (she certainly turned the table on who was after who!), she just sat on her nest and watched me through the window. Through the years I've run into a number of insect 'personalities', but never one like this! I knocked her little starter home down that night and sprayed the awning. She came back the next day, but couldn't tolerate the spray residue. I have to say that I came to ad... read more

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librarygarden

Arlington Heights, IL | May 2009 | Neutral

I don't mind hornets, as long as they keep their distance. (I try to do likewise) Whatever you do, DON'T mess with 'em! If you find a nest where kids or pets could disturb them, have a professional remove it. Do NOT under any circumstances think that a can of RAID will do you any good. Otherwise, if they're not bothering you, don't bother them.

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creekwalker

Benton County, MO (Zone 5a) | September 2008 | Neutral

Neutral because so far, they haven't been aggressive towards us and we haven't found a nest, hoping it is far away in the woods. :p The one we photographed allowed my husband to get very close while he/she was stripping wood off our deck.

This is fall. Do they do that in the fall too? Because that's what it was doing. We even got a video of it stripping the wood. Maybe they're doing home repairs before winter. lol

06/22/2009 We have noticed that they go into holes in our deck frame, and sometime during the fall, they close off the hole with wood. These seem to be the same Bald-faced hornets as everyone else's, but ours use the holes in our deck. Has anyone else found them to do this? The ones we have do not seem to be aggressive. We can walk ve... read more

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morrigan

Craryville, NY | July 2008 | Neutral

I am posting a neutral because, hey, every living thing has to "make a living". BUT, I have found these hornets to be EXTREMELY aggressive, and will bite for no reason at all. I have a hell of a time keeping the dogs from chasing them and irritating them, since it takes little to nothing at all to aggravate them into an attack. However, I don't deny them their "bugness", I try to respect who they are (the little buggers!)

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Malus2006

Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4a) | February 2008 | Negative

The only positive thing about those wasps are that they are not as attractive to pops, meat, and other sugars like yellow jackets. Other than that, you have to keep a eye out for their nests - they start out slow and small as the queen do all the work by herself - hard to see then rapidly build up when the future generation of workers mature. They are generally larger than yellow jackets if you have seen them both, and are white in color instead of yellow compare to other yellow jackets. They are the largest native wasp species here but I won't have them in my yard. They product large papery nests that hangs in exposure locations which includes eaves, bushes, tree branches, even any manmade surface that they can stick their nest to but preferable a certain distance above the ground and ... read more

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skydive009

Derry, NH (Zone 5b) | December 2007 | Neutral

Not a fun pest to deal with. If you locate a nest:
- Keep a safe distance, >10 feet and locate the opening at the bottom of the nest during day light hours.
- leave the area
- at sunset or just prior to sunrise the wasps are relatively inactive and mostly isolated within the nest.
- Obtain a spray can of hornet and wasp killer
- Make sure your children and pets are inside
- direct spray ay opening of nest.
- continue spraying spraying nest using succession of short bursts.
- LEAVE AREA IMMEDIATELY
This should kill the majority of the wasps, however if you don't kill them all, they WILL return. I have found making a repeat application 12-24 hours later completely eliminates these unwanted pests.

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Loess01

Atalissa, IA | October 2007 | Negative

This is definitely one you don't want to have anywhere near your house. It's just too risky, especially if there are small children around. They are very protective of their nest and food sources; sometimes it doesn't take much to anger one of these guys.

If it was just one hornet you had to deal with this might be no problem, but it's highly likely the whole colony is going to spring into defensive action. Not a good situation.

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growin

Beautiful, BC (Zone 8b) | September 2006 | Negative

The sting on these Hornets is very painful and the welt lasts for days. You don't mess with this one. If you have a nest, have a professional remove it. They are mostly solitary but are more picky about food than the common wasp. They can be very aggressive.

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Magpye

NW Qtr, AR (Zone 6a) | July 2006 | Neutral

Life Cycle
In spring female chews wood to build small, pendant nests out of gray pulp. The 1st generation includes only female workers. They bring food several times a day to larvae. Larvae close their own cells. The nest is always constructed in the open and consists of many layers of cells that are covered on the outside, with the doorway at the bottom. In late summer males mature from unfertilized eggs and mate. They die along with older queens, workers, and young; only young mated females overwinter in soil or among litter.

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gregr18

Bridgewater, MA (Zone 6b) | July 2006 | Neutral

A very common wasp that is found throughout North America. These wasps are on the large side(1/2" to 3/4" in length) and have black and white bodies. They build large, football-shaped paper nests in shrubs and trees. Despite the common name "hornet", they are more closely related to yellow jackets. Though they may kill garden pests, their aggressive nature and the fact that many humans and domestic animals are highly sensitive to their venom make them a wasp to be wary of approaching.

Bald-faced Hornet, White-faced Hornet

Dolichovespula maculata

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