Jason said:

>> a hornet had decided to build a nest near my
>> sliding glass door in the back of the house
>> Given that this is a high traffic area
>> (it's the best path to get to my BBQ grill
>> and deck)...

And various folks sang, in 4-part harmony:

> Why not give them a break?
> Innocent until proven guilty?

Oh, come on!  We are talking about ONE hornet building
a nest right near a door that kids and guests use!

To those who say "innocent until proven guilty", I'd
like to ask why they have smoke detectors, homeowner's
insurance, and liability insurance.  Why not wait until
something bad happens?  :)

I would break off the nest with a pair of needle-nose
pliers, take it somewhere else, shake the hornet off,
and then clean the area where the nest was attached
with first vinegar and then isopropyl alcohol to get
rid of any pheromones.  The SINGLE hornet will find
another place to build a nest.

I would not use poisons, simply because poisons do not
eliminate the attractant pheromones that seem to
prompt wasps and hornets to rebuild at the same spot.

I don't like poisons. Regardless, a single-point
application of a poison would pose negligible risk to
bees, since there is nothing of interest to bees
where the poison is to be used.

Extra credit can be awarded for extreme environmental
sensitivity to those who move the nest and re-hang it
with fishing line.

When I lived on the beach in Florida, I bought a pair
of house Geckos to hunt down and eat any Palmetto bugs
(giant mutant flying cockroaches impossible to kill with
anything smaller than a 45-caliber round) that might
scuttle in through open doors. It was an "environmentally
responsible" way to deal with an repulsive insect, and
Geckos are entertaining creatures.  Later I noticed that
we suddenly had multiple Geckos per room, so we got a
kitten to keep the Gecko population under control.  I
joked to neighbors that my St. Benards kept the cat
population under control, and I thus had a balanced
home ecosystem.

        jim (who has lots of wasp nests in
             his barn, free to a good home)

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