# large bees swarming at night



## hiawassee1

have seen a few of these large bees around the house and shop when I have been out late messing around, hang around the lights, the are bout 2/3 the size of my pinky.  Last night went out on the porch bout 10, and they crowded around the seam of the siding, there was alot of them.   Got the spray and ended up killing 3 dozen.  What is attracting these things all of the sudden, and when they sting it hurts, got hit when I was putting in my wood floors a couple weeks ago, still a bump there.  Pic is not real good.


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## dawg2

Do you have a close up pic?


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## shakey gizzard

Cicada killers!


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## hiawassee1

no didnt think to take a closeup, I'm thinking some sort of wasp, but cant seem to find a pic of 1 as big as these are


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## Miguel Cervantes

European Hornets. We have a nest in our eave on the back deck roof. We can't go out on the deck at night because of them and it being two stories off of the ground I can't get spray to the nest. We normally have four or five at the back door at night.

Judging from the number  you have hanging around you have a much larger nest in your house somewhere. Watch during the day, you'll see them coming and going and they'll pretty much ignore you then, but at night, they are on full alert guarding the nest.  If you observe them carefully you'll notice that several guards will fly in a large figure 8, not going and coming, but just guarding the air space near the nest from any predators.



They are reported to be relatively docile, until you rile them up. You DO NOT want to be swarmed by them. I like firing my kamado cooker up in the afternoon, which is right under the part of the eve they are nesting in. The smoke confounds them something fierce..


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## Jeff Raines

European hornet,the only bee that flies at night.They are attracted by your front porch light.


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## dawg2

hiawassee1 said:


> no didnt think to take a closeup, I'm thinking some sort of wasp, but cant seem to find a pic of 1 as big as these are



Look up cicada killer.  It is hard to tell from the pic, but that is about the only thing that I can think of that large and black.  The Cicada killers will be black bodied with yellow dots on the side.  Their wings have a reddish brown color to them.  They normally will not bother you, but occasionally will swarm together.  They are a solitary nesting wasp that builds a nest in the ground.  It could be a European hornet, but need to see  a pic.


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## NCHillbilly

From the size, those are either cicada killers or Giant hornets, aka European/Japanese hornets. I've never seen that many cicada killers in one place, but the giant hornets do like to swarm around lights. They have a really vicious sting, worse than anything else that's ever stung me. 

If you can get a closeup pic, we can tell you for sure which one it is. The giant hornets nest in hollow trees or inside the walls of buildings. If it's hornets, you obviously have a nest nearby, and that's dangerous. Getting into a nest of giant hornets would likely kill you, they're really aggressive and have potent venom. If it's cicada killers, they'll be gone before long as soon as they lay eggs. Cicada kilers aren't agressive at all, you about have to make them sting you by grabbing or mashing one.


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## NCHillbilly

Do they have red eyes or brown eyes?


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## hiawassee1

i didnt that close of a look, there still on the porch, DEAD, will check later when I get home


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## GoldDot40

hiawassee1 said:


> i didnt that close of a look, there still on the porch, DEAD, will check later when I get home



What did you use to kill them? This is what I use. It's like Chuck Norris in a can to anything with wings and a stinger...


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## SonyaS

While I realize killing things is super fun...if you actually want the wasps to leave try changing the light bulb. Studies have shown the wasps are attracted to the UV rays, get a bulb with much less or no UV, and the attraction stops.



> Pixi Lighting, which makes LEDs, lists "no bugs!" (that is, insects) as one of the reasons to use LEDs.
> 
> The stated reason that bugs don't fly toward LEDs is because bugs are attracted to ultraviolet light and at least some LEDs don't give off this type of light. But that's not universally true for all types of LEDs, according to people who have commented online. In one discussion, an employee from EnergyCircle said that most residential LED bulbs give off almost no UV light.


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## hiawassee1

*updated pics*

even more tonight when we got home, late. 5-7 dozen


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## jblakehunter

Definitely European Hornets...with that many you definitely have a nest close by, and possibly a large one. Call a professional for a free estimate, or try and tackle them yourself. Either way, they won't normally leave on their own.


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## olcowman

Look like Japanese/European hornets... personal favorites of Satan himself. Not only are they a threat to humans, pets and livestock... they are potentionally devastating to tame honeybees. I've seen this same sort of thing in my own hives... until I intervened and laid the smackdown on some hornets!


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## shakey gizzard

Yep! Check out the size of the stinger!With a dead one of course!


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## hiawassee1

well it doesnt look like there getting in the house, so not real sure where the nest is at.  And definatley seems like they are attracted to the light, and the white ceiling, and dont see them during the day to locate a nest.  They just fly around and bounce off the siding


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## hiawassee1

yeah got one under the armpit, still a bump there


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## NCHillbilly

You for sure have a nest close by, and I would make an effort to get rid of it. Like I said, getting in a nest of those things can kill you. I have a scar on my arm from a european hornet sting twenty-five years ago. It actually killed the tissue around the sting site. And bee stings don't usually bother me, those bad boys just have a massive amount of venom and a huge stinger. I would start checking the trees and walls around for a nest. Most of the time, those things nest inside hollow trees or inside the framing of walls.

Olcowman, those giant hornets wiped out my neighbor's bees several years ago. They killed every bee in the hives and carried off all the larva.


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## hobbs27

olcowman said:


> Look like Japanese/European hornets... personal favorites of Satan himself. Not only are they a threat to humans, pets and livestock... they are potentionally devastating to tame honeybees. I've seen this same sort of thing in my own hives... until I intervened and laid the smackdown on some hornets!



rat shot in a .22 pistol in front of my hives in the evening makes for a fun sport of these things.


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## Maggie Dog

A dangerous hornet, had a guy die from possible anaphylaxis shock from a European Hornet sting. Sitting on the front porch, drinking a beer, under the porch light. Had an ambulance full of hornets, attracted to the lights inside during the ride to the ER. The hornets were very aggressive this night, You need to kill them.


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## dawg2

hiawassee1 said:


> even more tonight when we got home, late. 5-7 dozen



Yep, European Hornet, the only true hornet in North America.  You have a nest very close or in your attic.  They are not aggressive anywhere except around their nest.


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## lbzdually

A bug light will kill a bunch of them, especially if you put it near the entrance to their nest. My dad got popped out riding 4-wheelers 25 years ago.  It hurt him bad and he's tough, even made him nauseous.


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## SonyaS

If you hire an exterminator or mess with the hive please make sure the wife, kids, and all pets are safely inside just in case things go horribly wrong.  If there are neighbors close by you might want to warn them too. Years ago I read a story about a hive of killer bees, the homeowner hired a professional exterminator, once the exterminator started gassing the hive (or whatever it is they do) he realized he was in over his head and left.

The bees proceeded to swarm and attacked every living thing in the area, sadly the german shepherd in the next door neighbors yard was stung to death while trying to hide in his doghouse.


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## olcowman

hobbs27 said:


> rat shot in a .22 pistol in front of my hives in the evening makes for a fun sport of these things.



Great idea, but I'm a little less sophisticated in my tactics. A six pack of natural light and one of them whiffle (plastic) bats is the redneck way to kill hornets and burn a few calories in the process... also effective against carpenter bees but you got to adjust your swing.


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## hiawassee1

are they at all active during the day, We run around here all day and do not see them, at least not right around the house.  Guess I could check up in the attic, but I would think you could here that many buzzing inside the wall, cause they sound like a buzzing bomber.  And I really just started noticing alot of them this past week.  I would see a few around but never thought anything more about it.  
Like I said, I do not see them going inside the house, just buzzing around it.


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## dawg2

hiawassee1 said:


> are they at all active during the day, We run around here all day and do not see them, at least not right around the house.  Guess I could check up in the attic, but I would think you could here that many buzzing inside the wall, cause they sound like a buzzing bomber.  And I really just started noticing alot of them this past week.  I would see a few around but never thought anything more about it.
> Like I said, I do not see them going inside the house, just buzzing around it.



Yes, they are active during daylight.  But they are one of the only bee/hornets that will fly to lights.  Your light is within view of the nest.


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## Trigabby

dawg2 said:


> Yes, they are active during daylight.  But they are one of the only bee/hornets that will fly to lights.  Your light is within view of the nest.



They often hunt at night.. And they know the lights attract food...

The ONLY good thing about them is that they will kill yellowjackets.. I've seen it personally.

I've also been stung by one while macheteing a limb that was near there nest.  Only one got me but it felt like I was hit by a 28oz hammer.


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## Honeybee man

If you can put some honey in the yard(in a bowl) during the day and watch where they come from or leave to.Just follow one till he gets out of site,watch what direction they are going and just start searching. This how we find Yellow Jackets nest every year near our honey house.This time of the year Yellow jackets get bad down here and we have to hunting nest so they will leave us alone will pumping up syrup for the bees


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## hiawassee1

alright after a little BSI(bee scene investigating) last night and this morning, I found the nest.  The good, dont think I or the kids, will disturb it, the bad its about 35 ft off the ground in a tree knot.


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## SonyaS

hiawassee1 said:


> alright after a little BSI(bee scene investigating) last night and this morning, I found the nest.  The good, dont think I or the kids, will disturb it, the bad its about 35 ft off the ground in a tree knot.



If the hive is a safe distance from the house look into changing the lightbulb.  The light is attracting them, change the frequency and they may disappear.


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## BriarPatch99

If you can attract them to honey/sugar water or something.... throw a hand full of baking flower on them ...the white color will stand out and you can see them fly to their nest.... my Dad used to do this to find Yellow Jacket nest to fish with....


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## SGaither

Not to get too far off topic as I'm following this intently but Briar, did your dad fish with yellow jackets? If so, he's bold.


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## hobbs27

SGaither said:


> Not to get too far off topic as I'm following this intently but Briar, did your dad fish with yellow jackets? If so, he's bold.



I thought the same thing.What a man!


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## gemcgrew

A buddy of mine pulled into my driveway back in March. He asked me to check out this bird nest he took off of his neighbors house. In the back of his truck was a hornet's nest, much bigger than a basketball. I ignored his stupid question, "where are you going, why are you running?"

I couldn't remember exactly what the temperature needed to be for them to get active. Running was instinctive.


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## SGADawg

BriarPatch99 said:


> If you can attract them to honey/sugar water or something.... throw a hand full of baking flower on them ...the white color will stand out and you can see them fly to their nest.... my Dad used to do this to find Yellow Jacket nest to fish with....



It was pretty common in the old days to raid yellow jacket nests and wasp nests for larvae to fish with.  I never was brave enough to try it but know it happened.  I don't remember how they did yellow jackets but I knew a man in my youth that would ease up to  a red wasp nest, wipe his hand in his armpit and easily reach up and pick the nest off it's attachment point.  He rarely got stung.

If anybody does that now or would like to give it a try, be sure to have someone video the blessed event.

I also just remembered that most folks that raided wasp nests used some rolled up newspaper that they set fire and held up under the nest to kill the adult wasps, then they could get the nest and larvae.  More than one house was burned to the ground using this method.


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## hiawassee1

If i was more intelligent, I would devise my own Bee Zapper, with a light and hook some voltage to some chicken wire, switch that light on and watchem fry.  I just hope thst nest doesnt get out of control


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## Rick Alexander

gemcgrew said:


> A buddy of mine pulled into my driveway back in March. He asked me to check out this bird nest he took off of his neighbors house. In the back of his truck was a hornet's nest, much bigger than a basketball. I ignored his stupid question, "where are you going, why are you running?"
> 
> I couldn't remember exactly what the temperature needed to be for them to get active. Running was instinctive.



My late uncle and his friend could sure tell you a tale of not correctly determining said temperature cutoff in Screvin County GA.  Friend was standing in the back of the pickup with a pole saw and my uncle was sittting in the truck with the window down.  When the stuff started hitting the fan he pulled away - dumping the friend on the ground leaving him with only one option - run.   Unfortunately his belt wasn't sufficient for the task and he fell to the ground exposing a very large white target which the hornets immediately took advantage of.  Finally after a short but intense period of time he made it to the truck cab.  My uncle just calmly reminded him he left his pole saw on the ground and he didn't want to leave it.  

To this day the friend doesn't see the humor in the whole thing but we sure got many a laugh out of it.


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## Miguel Cervantes

hiawassee1 said:


> If i was more intelligent, I would devise my own Bee Zapper, with a light and hook some voltage to some chicken wire, switch that light on and watchem fry.  I just hope thst nest doesnt get out of control



I have thought the same thing. I priced the zappers big enough to handle these critters on Amazon.com. They are not within any practical budget constraints. Sure would give me a great deal of satisfaction hearing the zaps and pops all night long though..


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## Mwaldrop

a wiffle ball bat is a real challenge after some beers. Change to a badmitton racket. Your batting average will increase tremendously. 

We coon hunted a particular creek with a dead tree on it that held a hive/nest. We figured it out after the second time treeing on that particular tree. Boy were we dumb. walking to a aggervated hive with coon lights directed on top our head. I had to take a dog to the vet cause of em.

Have fun with that, as i am sure tree or hive removal is not a particular cheap option. i'd like a video camera setup on a bug zapper light. It would be cool to watch em snap crackle and pop!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Mars

I got tagged by one a few years ago while I was cutting back some bushes. I reached into the bush and apparently upset the bush's occupant. It got me on that sweet meat just under my thumb and before I knew it my arm was swole all the way up to my elbow. After a couple days, I had to get a steroid shot to make the swelling go down. 

Whatever you do, be careful.


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## hiawassee1

I want enough voltage to watch them explode!!!!  alright just to watch them die.  I wonder if one of those 500watt work lights that get HOT afeter awhile would be hot enough to burn the wings off??  Probably the wrong kinda UV light


Any ideas on how to make the REDNECK BEE ZAPPER?


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## 7Mag Hunter

They were all around our camp in N GA this past weekend....


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## win280

hiawassee1 said:


> I want enough voltage to watch them explode!!!!  alright just to watch them die.  I wonder if one of those 500watt work lights that get HOT afeter awhile would be hot enough to burn the wings off??  Probably the wrong kinda UV light
> 
> 
> Any ideas on how to make the REDNECK BEE ZAPPER?



Electric fence wire wrapped in a circle around a flood light bulb would be fun to watch


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## hiawassee1

I think you got it win, my dad has one laying around, just might try that.  I knew I could rely on redneck engineering!!


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## chadf




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## hiawassee1

too many for that little thing, I with Win, just need to figure out how to rig up the electric fence.  Dad told me that the hornet would have to be touching the ground to ground out and shock them, ha said a bird can land on electric fence and not get shocked, so now thats my dilema, cause I sure would like to give them a charge and try to remove(politically correct) them.


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## GA DAWG

We been having them at our light this yr to. Now Ive found their nest in a old den tree. Anybody wanna come kill em out? They are pretty high up the tree.


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## Palmetto

I had the same thing going on at my old house, Finally found the nest in a dead tree in the woods behind the house. 

I called several exterminators and none would mess with them. Finally got hold of this old man who did exterminating on the side.

He came out and layed a really tall ladder against the tree and just climbed right up to the nest with a can of wasp spray. He emptied the can into the nest then calmly climbed down and got another can and went back up and sprayed it again.

He didn't get stung once, how I'll never know.

Needless to say I felt like a little girl. But I was sure glad I didn't have to do it!


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## SonyaS

hiawassee1 said:


> Dad told me that the hornet would have to be touching the ground to ground out and shock them, ha said a bird can land on electric fence and not get shocked, so now thats my dilema, cause I sure would like to give them a charge and try to remove(politically correct) them.



Yeah, your dad is right. Electric fence wire only delivers a shock if the one touching it is grounded, the electricity needs a pathway, even wearing rubber shoes blocks that.

Bug zappers must use a different current cause they work (ac?). What about the type of light. Instead of zapping them (you won't kill but a tiny percentage) have you thought about changing the light frequency????? Light bulb? Buy a different bulb that emits a light that will not attract them! 

Perhaps I am speaking in a foreign language here. I must be!


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## lbzdually

SonyaS said:


> Yeah, your dad is right. Electric fence wire only delivers a shock if the one touching it is grounded, the electricity needs a pathway, even wearing rubber shoes blocks that.
> 
> Bug zappers must use a different current cause they work (ac?). What about the type of light. Instead of zapping them (you won't kill but a tiny percentage) have you thought about changing the light frequency????? Light bulb? Buy a different bulb that emits a light that will not attract them!
> 
> Perhaps I am speaking in a foreign language here. I must be!



Perhaps some kid might inadvertantly disturb their nest and they swarm the kid and kill them.  The guys wants them dead, either discuss ways to do that or move on.  We understand that you never want to kill anything, even invasive species that kill off the native species like pythons in Florida.


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## city boy gone country

get yourself 1 of these air soft gatlin guns


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## Nannyman

Get 2 lengths of 1/2" pvc pipe. 2,   1/2" slip couplings, a sink faucet screen. You know the ones you have to  clean sometimes. Insecticide dust. Pyrethrins not sevin. Cut a 4" length of the pipe and put the screen in a coupling then the 4" piece in the same end of the coupling. then put one length of pipe on the other end of the coupling. Pour some dust into the short end till full. Ease it up to the hole in the tree. BLOW.
If you need the 2nd pipe put it together that way.
They will carry the dust back and forth till dead.
It works. I keep this kit handy.

John


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## waddler

Sevin dust is death on Yellow Jackets and bees, so it might just kill these fellows. Take a shallow jar lid of honey and put it in a plate. Put Sevin dust all around the lid in the plate. When the bee lights for the honey, he will get the Sevin on himself, and if he lives long enough, will take it back in the hive.

You only want to do this at night, because in the daytime you will wipe out any honeybee hives in the area. At deer camp it works for Yellow Jackets by using a fresh piece of raw bloody meat if you do not have honey, syrup or sugar water. In your case, I would build a little platform to get the plate near the light, put the plate out after dark and pick it up before dawn.


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