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Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

axios.com

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Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#11

Post by snypher »

sokoloff wrote: post #7

> trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to the hornets What? That seems crazy (and cool) to be able to create a tracking device light enough for a hornet to fly and still have enough battery to transmit even a periodic chirp.

It is pretty cool tech. One thing I noticed is the battery is depleting from the time it's ordered; probably not a lot of room for a power switch.

This one is 3x11mm and weighs 0.15g;

https://atstrack.com/tracking-products/transmitters/product-...

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#12

Post by freedomben »

jessriedel wrote: post #4

So they really think the infestation is small enough that it's feasible to find and destroy all the nests by hand?

At this point we're super early in the spread, and as far as what I read they think this may be the only one in the US.

Worth noting that one nest can create hundreds of new queens that will hibernate the winter and establish a nest in the spring. Not all will survive, but with minimal competition, and significant feeding opportunities from a mostly untapped ecosystem, many will. Destroying one nest to stop exponential growth is a great investment, especially early on.

Note: I'm not an expert in this area, I'm mostly parroting stuff I read in other articles.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#13

Post by dheera »

samcheng wrote: post #5

I've never had to deal with a murder hornet infestation, but I can approve of their 'vacuum' method for clearing yellowjacket nests in high-traffic areas. Partially fill a shop vac with soapy water, stick the nozzle as close to the nest entrance as possible, then turn on the vacuum and hear the wasps get sucked into the machine as they try to enter or exit the nest. It takes a few hours, and potentially a couple of s…

The method is fine but I'd probably still wear a suit while setting such a thing up ... at least a jacket, gloves, full pants tucked into thick socks, and mosquito net.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#14

Post by wl »

samcheng wrote: post #5

I've never had to deal with a murder hornet infestation, but I can approve of their 'vacuum' method for clearing yellowjacket nests in high-traffic areas. Partially fill a shop vac with soapy water, stick the nozzle as close to the nest entrance as possible, then turn on the vacuum and hear the wasps get sucked into the machine as they try to enter or exit the nest. It takes a few hours, and potentially a couple of s…

In my experience, just vacuuming up yellowjackets in a shop vac kills them. No soapy water needed.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#15

Post by a012 »

samcheng wrote: post #5

I've never had to deal with a murder hornet infestation, but I can approve of their 'vacuum' method for clearing yellowjacket nests in high-traffic areas. Partially fill a shop vac with soapy water, stick the nozzle as close to the nest entrance as possible, then turn on the vacuum and hear the wasps get sucked into the machine as they try to enter or exit the nest. It takes a few hours, and potentially a couple of s…

I don't remember exactly, but on YouTube there's a guy who posts videos of him vacuuming yellow jackets and nest extraction.

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#16

Post by TomK32 »

snypher wrote: post #11
sokoloff wrote: post #7

> trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to the hornets What? That seems crazy (and cool) to be able to create a tracking device light enough for a hornet to fly and still have enough battery to transmit even a periodic chirp.

It is pretty cool tech. One thing I noticed is the battery is depleting from the time it's ordered; probably not a lot of room for a power switch. This one is 3x11mm and weighs 0.15g; https://atstrack.com/tracking-products/transmitters/product-...

Isn't a simple strip of plastics to isolate the battery a common "power switch"?

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#18

Post by TomK32 »

jessriedel wrote: post #4

So they really think the infestation is small enough that it's feasible to find and destroy all the nests by hand?

I'm more surprised about it being the first nest considering trade across the Pacific is going on for some time now...

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#19

Post by Exmoor »

It makes me a little nauseous to think about all the resources going to tracking down these insects, but this is truly an area where an ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure.

The scope of North America's invasive species problem is enormous. For many folks in urban areas, it's possible that you might go your whole day only encountering one native bird species (American Crow), but a whole host of invasive species (Rock Pigeon, House Sparrows, European Starlings).

History shows that early, active intervention can pay enormous dividends. For example, Alberta remains the only area in North America without non-native rats due to a major interventions: https://www.alberta.ca/history-of-rat-control-in-alberta.asp...

Re: Washington crews destroy first U.S. “murder hornet” nest

#20

Post by jcims »

dheera wrote: post #13
samcheng wrote: post #5

I've never had to deal with a murder hornet infestation, but I can approve of their 'vacuum' method for clearing yellowjacket nests in high-traffic areas. Partially fill a shop vac with soapy water, stick the nozzle as close to the nest entrance as possible, then turn on the vacuum and hear the wasps get sucked into the machine as they try to enter or exit the nest. It takes a few hours, and potentially a couple of s…

The method is fine but I'd probably still wear a suit while setting such a thing up ... at least a jacket, gloves, full pants tucked into thick socks, and mosquito net.

Same. I can tell you from visceral experience that a tractor at 12mph doesn't outrun pissed off yellow jackets XD (are they ever not pissed off?)
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