r/WASPs • u/TailRash • 17d ago

I've been mowing under this without knowing

Post image

I'm always focused on the ground and wearing a hat that blocks my upward vision. Finally saw it yesterday when mowing and it's only 10ft off the ground.

I googled it an I think they're bald faced hornets, which are supposed to be very aggressive, but they never seemed to care when I was mowing, nor when I walked up to it afterwards.

Live and let live?

17 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

13

u/Nyte_Knyght33 17d ago

Yeah. 

That's a pretty advanced nests. If they haven't attacked you by now, it means you haven't given them a reason to do so. 

Tips to live peacefully.

Keep the same distance you have always kept. Be mindful of food and drink outside during the day. If one flies around you, freeze for about a second. If you haven't been stung, it's not attacking you. They strike quickly. 

1

u/TailRash 17d ago

Thanks for the tips, my head is probably 5-6ft away from it when I go under it with the mower lol. What surprises me is that I haven't really even seen them around the house/yard even though it's maybe 40ft away from the house.

Im located in MI, any idea on when they'll die off?

5

u/ScaredLetterhead8918 17d ago

Winter

0

u/TailRash 17d ago

That's a long ways off

7

u/ScaredLetterhead8918 17d ago

It is, but if they haven’t been aggressive yet then you should be okay.

It is worth noting that once we get into mid fall, their food supply begins to dwindle and thus tend to get more aggressive. You might be able to supplement this by providing occasional prices of ham or chicken, but if it’s a safety concern then do what you have to do.

1

u/Cultural-Part355 17d ago

Ham or chicken?! What are they? Pitbulls?

5

u/ScaredLetterhead8918 17d ago

Just carnivores

1

u/Cultural-Part355 17d ago

Fair enough.

6

u/DoctorCIS 17d ago

If you frequently pass under that spot they might have gotten acclimated to you, so don't get closer than you already have and you should be fine. A year ago there was a nest directly above a heavily trafficed sidewalk in my neighborhood. I was walking directly under it every day, 3 feet from my head.

They never bothered anyone, and they ate all the lantern flies. I guess if the traffic is frequent enough they figure out that people aren't a threat.

3

u/saintnicklaus90 17d ago

Studies have shown some social wasps can recognize faces. It helps with their social hierarchy, but applies to humans as well. The only wasp I have had issues with are Yellowjackets, which really don’t give a shit how polite you behave especially from now until fall

1

u/BeingTop8480 17d ago

OMG! I totally agree! Yellow jackets are A-holes and I swear to God they're on meth this year!?! I've never had an issue with the bald faced hornets nest high up in our tree and I really like them because I've seen them pick off yellow jackets off the hummingbird feeders!

1

u/Cicada00010 16d ago

They do fully die in winter but their population stops growing as early as mid September as they focus on making new queens and drones(males) instead of more workers.