This "thing" is high up in a tree in my yard. I figure it's holding --

Louise
by Louise
or held -- something from a creature. But what? Do I just leave it there?
  61 answers
  • Kathy Gammon Kathy Gammon on Nov 27, 2013
    something that STINGS!
  • Louise Louise on Nov 27, 2013
    I thought it looked a bit like a hornet's nest, but it's so high I can't see it really well, and even the camera close up isn't all that detailed. If it IS a hornet's nest, have they vacated it? In the photo, it looks like there's a hole in the bottom. Maybe they went elsewhere? :-)
  • Teri Roseland Teri Roseland on Nov 27, 2013
    It looks like a big old hornets nest with probably a zillion bees in it next year! I'd be knocking that thing down!
  • Elaine Simmons Elaine Simmons on Nov 27, 2013
    I would say it is a hornet's nest too. They are only active when it is warm so I would knock it down after a freeze.
  • Danielle @ Storypiece Danielle @ Storypiece on Nov 27, 2013
    We had something like this on our chimney before we bought our home. It was definitely something that stings (bees, hornets, wasps) and since we had small children at the time, we made them take it down as a condition of us buying the house.
  • Ivana Carmon Ivana Carmon on Nov 27, 2013
    No question - it's a hornets nest! the nasty things are in there asleep!! If it gets well below freezing at your house, you can knock it down and squirt charcoal lighter fluid on it(as much as you can) and set it on fire and run far as a few will escape - hornets are mean. if it doesn't get that cold call an exterminator - you don't need to fool with it!
  • Reba Mick Reba Mick on Nov 27, 2013
    The hornets will abandon the nest when a freeze occurs, on their own. Any remaining larvae die. The nests sell for big bucks when they are preserved. I had one in my holly tree, waited with great anticipation and waited too long. After the hornets left, it rained and the nest fell apart because they were not maintaining it. I watch it all summer and even stood right up next to with a flash light to look inside. The hornets didn't bother me at all. I was so disappointed when it started to come apart! Also the hornets, although they will not bother you if you leave them alone (while active) do have beneficial advantages for your garden and yard. For one thing, they will lay their eggs in the body of grubs and kill the grubs. They will also pollinate and since these are "paper" type hornets, this is the type of nest they make, not the mud nest you find by "accident" and get stung! Many may disagree with me, but I think these nests attest beautifully to the handiwork of creation and something most humans don't have... the ability to team up and work together.
  • Jossi Jossi on Nov 27, 2013
    holy God, it's a hornets nest ! Glad you weren't stung ! They freeze and leave, or die n winter, so it's safe to gently get it down now. Donate it to the local grade school, they'll use it as a teaching tool.
  • Louise Louise on Nov 27, 2013
    It's VERY high in a tree, probably 25-30 feet, so my getting stung isn't very likely. I'd have to hire someone to get up there and take it down. What will happen if I leave it? Will other hornets occupy it in the warm weather or will it just remain there as a vacant residence?
    • @Louise It also looks like the paper wasp nest which whatever nest it is will disintegrate after time. do not worry because hornets and wasps do not return to their nests. The queen will move on to have her workers build a new one next spring.
  • Dannette T Dannette T on Nov 27, 2013
    wow...never knew that someone would not KNOW danger when u see it. You need to get out of the city and get in touch with nature.Tip 1. If you hear rattling when you walk... runnnnn.
  • Louise Louise on Nov 27, 2013
    I'd never go where I might hear rattling. How would I know this harmless-looking shape is dangerous? I think it's kind of pretty.
    • Carole Carole on Nov 27, 2013
      @Louise In my book, no question is a silly question if you genuinely don't know the answer! How else do we all learn! Good on you for asking and seeking advice before going anywhere near it! Making assumptions is more likely to get us into trouble than asking questions ever could!!
  • Louise Louise on Nov 27, 2013
    Smart queen. Wish I had workers to do my bidding. :-) I'll just leave it up in the tree then.
  • ImaginAcres ImaginAcres on Nov 27, 2013
    Aliens!!!! Run for your life!!!
  • Louise Louise on Nov 27, 2013
    Yes, it could be housing pod people. :-)
  • Carol Ward Carol Ward on Nov 27, 2013
    It looks like a hornet or wasps nest.
  • Trent-Tonya Sharp Trent-Tonya Sharp on Nov 28, 2013
    i wish i had it...you can always find someone that will take it down promise someone will want it..great find
  • Louise Louise on Nov 28, 2013
    I guess I could post it on Freecycle and see if someone wants to come take it down.
    • See 1 previous
    • Bernice H Bernice H on Nov 29, 2013
      @Louise Good thinking Louise, if it is going to fall apart, finding a "home" for it is a good idea. I think a school would really benefit from it, maybe the biology teacher knows what to do, we have a bee and honey business down the street, I am sure they would know what to do also to preserve it. I agree wholeheartedly, a testament to creation and working together as someone else said. if it is vacant..or sleeping..even better! ha!
  • Marcy Marcy on Nov 28, 2013
    It looks so scary!
  • Merrilyn merkley Merrilyn merkley on Nov 28, 2013
    please look up how to get them out and send the nest to me please i am excited i give anything to have it !!i am in nc please
  • Louise Louise on Nov 28, 2013
    Come on down!!
  • Louise Louise on Nov 28, 2013
    It's probably 25 feet up the tree and out on a limb. Even a person with a tall ladder couldn't reach it, I don't think, because if the ladder leaned against the tree, the limb is too small to climb out on. It would probably require something like a bucket truck.
  • Colleen Desmond Orlopp Colleen Desmond Orlopp on Nov 28, 2013
    That looks like an Asian hornet's nest I had in my Bradford Pear tree a few years ago. It, too, was high up. I was pruning some low branches and the vibration caused the guard hornets to some straight down and sting me on the head. Extremely painful and, yes, even at 25 feet up, they will attack you -- that's why they have wings. If they nest in a similar spot next year, you need to have a professional remove the nest.
  • Sheli Cockerham Dillon Sheli Cockerham Dillon on Nov 28, 2013
    If you get it down you may want to put it on ebay, some have sold for as high as $160.00 if it is a large one.
    • John Reilly John Reilly on Nov 28, 2013
      @Sheli Cockerham Dillon u r correct -- log onto ebay and just search - hornets nest . I posted the link but this hometalk would not take it.
  • looks like a hornets nest maybe you better not take it down but since it is winter maybe there isnt anything in it I would find out first good luck
  • Bar257239 Bar257239 on Nov 28, 2013
    its a nest...if it is still being used, don't go near it...lots of hornets in it...they give nasty bites .there is a foam you can get to rid of the pests...and I hope you don't get bitten...some people get very bad allergic reaction and need medical care, if they have time..not to scare you but it is truthful...grew up around these scallywags..
    • Jane Rowinsky Jane Rowinsky on Nov 29, 2013
      @Barb If it's winter, only larvae in the nest. they will not survive without adults to care for them. adults were killed by the cold so the larvae are doomed.
  • Louise Louise on Nov 28, 2013
    Why do people want them? What do they do with them?
    • John Reilly John Reilly on Nov 28, 2013
      @Louise Decorations, they just hang them in their homes. I've seen a lot of them in bars. They take the small branch that they are built on so they have some way to string them up from. If no one wants it you could just leave it up there, it's not hurting the tree and weather will break it apart sooner or latter.
  • Frankie Laney Frankie Laney on Nov 28, 2013
    @Louise, I'm with you...I think they're ugly cannot imagine, even with a paint job that it would look good. IMO.
    • See 1 previous
    • Louise Louise on Nov 29, 2013
      @Frankie Laney I actually think it's very interesting looking, altho it's not something I'd want to keep. I'm always impressed by what creatures from nature can make. For instance, I really don't want to live near spiders, but I think a spider web is simply amazing.
  • Paulasmithe Paulasmithe on Nov 28, 2013
    If you time it right, someone will come get it to make the stuff to use for people who are allergic. We have someone place an ad in the local newspaper every year asking for nests.
  • Louise Louise on Nov 28, 2013
    Sorry, I don't understand. People use the nest to make a medicine?
  • Mary Patterson Mary Patterson on Nov 29, 2013
    An exterminator can remove it for you. They have ladders and long handled equipment for this sort of thing.
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Nov 29, 2013
    It is obvious you have no idea what you are dealing with. Taking down a Hornet's nest is not for amateurs. Leave it alone and get a professional. It is not a good thing to have close to your home. If you are positive it is no longer active, you can try it. Were I you, I would borrow some bee keeping gear and not have anyone standing around watching...they will chase you.
    • Jane Rowinsky Jane Rowinsky on Nov 29, 2013
      @Jeanette S I fit been cold for a while the nests are dead. the queen has left and adults have been killed. nests are only used for one season
  • Debora Debora on Nov 29, 2013
    Wasps and hornets usually do not return to their nests the following year, so if it is winter where you are, you can probably just leave it and it will, eventually, disintegrate on its own. If it is still active, you can get a can of wasp & hornet insecticide that has a long-distance sprayer. Wait until it is just getting dark and the inhabitants are in for the evening, spray it thoroughly and then run like the wind into the house. By morning, the occupants will no longer be with you. We get a number of these every summer in northwestern NJ, and, unless they are close to the house, I leave them. I think they are quite beautiful and, if you ever dissect one, you will be astounded at how they are constructed. If this one is inactive come summer, knock it down and study it - with your children and grandchildren, if you have any of those lying around the house.
  • Marilyn Marilyn on Nov 29, 2013
    Paper wasps. They make neat hanging decorations if you cut it with the branch attached. Since they are papery, the winter weather will destroy it if you don't take it down.
  • Louise Louise on Nov 29, 2013
    There's no way I'd be able to get it down myself, even if I decided I wanted it down. It's at least 25 ft up in the tree, near the very end of a limb that's not large. I think the only safe way to remove it -- providing it's not full of hornets -- would be with a bucket truck which I'm certainly not going to pay for. So, as far as I'm concerned, unless someone else wants to get it down, it's going to stay there. I've certainly heard the expression, "Don't stir up a hornet's nest," and I'm far from brave enough to even attempt it.
  • My suggestion is to just leave the hornet's next where it is -- it is a beautiful sculpture by some of God's creatures. Much to the chagrin of some of my neighbors, I leave wasp nests attached to my house after the wasps vacate. I love the look of the wasp creation, and all of God's critters have a purpose in nature and are important to our existence.
  • Marlene Olson Marlene Olson on Nov 29, 2013
    You might try contacting the science dept at your local school or a local nature center. This looks like a beautiful specimen for educational purposes. They would probably be happy to come and get it. We have one on display with a mounted bear at the store I work at. A taxidermist might also be interested.
  • Kim Dagenais Kim Dagenais on Nov 29, 2013
    I think the hornet's nest is butt ugly period. I had one of these nests about the size you have active on the over hang of our roof, outside our bedroom. We had to call a professional to exterminate and remove it. I was told the hornets/wasps won't return and rebuild in the same place. Even though the nest had been remove a couple of years ago, I am left with a dark greyish discolouration in the place where it was. Too high to get up there to scrape and clean off. We were also guarantied for 90 days if the little buggers did come back and rebuild. I am not really afraid of much, but bees, hornets, and wasps keep me in the house alot during the summer months. They make me so nervous, and I can't relax most of the time when I am outside. Especially when I am refinishing a piece of furniture or sanding the deck etc. the noise from the sander somehow attracts them. We use traps, artificial nests etc to keep them away. I have many wood projects set up for the spring and I just might do this work in my tent like gazebo with the mosquito mesh zipped up all the way. LOL Anyway lots of info. LOL Good luck with your nest. I live in Quebec Canada so it is freezing here. If I saw a nest like that here, then it would be no problem to get rid of in this temperature. Also another time we had two smaller ones at different times, and my husband got rid of them with special spray from our home improvement store. He sprayed at night, and almost instantly they dropped out of the nest and die. The next day there was no activity coming from the nests. Good luck and let us know what you did with your nest.
  • Annie Kroll Annie Kroll on Nov 29, 2013
    Hornets were the first paper makers. I had a friend give us one for our nature room. We treasure it. The room is decorated by all sorts of items from outdoors and the hornets nest is a real asset. We have lots of visitors say they love it. Some have to ask first, "What is it?"
  • Leona Zentner Leona Zentner on Nov 29, 2013
    That is a hornet's nest , we get them every year at our mountain house near Snowshoe , WV. We remove them, but each year they come back and build in a different area. I dislike bee's and bug's, lol. I would stay away from it till winter then remove it or burn it out.
  • Diane Slater Diane Slater on Nov 29, 2013
    That is definitely a wasp nest. Remove it in the winter when they are dormant. But, if its that high up, you may want to have a professional remove it.
  • Jill Jill on Nov 29, 2013
    Since the temps have already dipped down below where they would for them to survive, if you would rather get rid of it sooner than later, just take a high pressure nozzle on the end of the hose and spray it. After a few minutes it will just dissolve and fall to the ground. I do it at the end of every fall to get rid of the ones hanging around out in my yard.
  • Nancy Nancy on Nov 29, 2013
    My daughter lives in Lawrenceville, GA. They have used "Crockadile Dave." She said he will get anything!! Give him a call.
  • Patricia W Patricia W on Nov 29, 2013
    We had one at the very top of a 40" light pole, hubby waited until winter ( about 25 degrees outside) then he shot it down off the pole with a 9mm. They don't fly in the cold weather, and we were afraid it would fall, or our grandkids would get attacked in the summer.
  • Debbie Harris Debbie Harris on Nov 29, 2013
    You might have some fun listing it on Craig's list for sale. LOL! But you should get rid of it. Here in Alabama sometimes those nests get taken over by other flying critters. IE, mud daubers and a big fat bee that looks like a bumble bee but has another name.
  • Frankie Laney Frankie Laney on Nov 30, 2013
    30 results are available, use up and down arrow keys to navigate., you're absolutely right. I have a curiosity and appreciation for all living creatures and their purpose on earth. I have no doubt that I would have been up there wondering if anyone was at home! I have to admit that during a big rain, I held an umbrella over a huge, beautiful spider's web that had been attached to my bedroom window. The HUGE brown spider had worked so hard to build her web, I just had to help! It did survive.
    • See 3 previous
    • Dawn Dawn on Dec 02, 2013
      If you wouldn't mind re-reading what I said. I said It makes more sense to take them outside and stomp on them so the bugs don't get back in, but I never said that I actually do it.
  • Darlene Lansford Darlene Lansford on Nov 30, 2013
    It looks like a hornet's nest to me. I grew up in Alabama and had those in the woods. We knew not to get around them.
  • Deb Deb on Nov 30, 2013
    don't bring this indoors....when the wasp's larvae get to proper stage of growth and the warmth in your home combine, they will swarm your entire house!!!
  • Kerry Morris Kerry Morris on Dec 01, 2013
    it also attracts weevils. my mom had one that had no one living inside. but it filled up with weevils.
  • Dawn Dawn on Dec 01, 2013
    I'm sorry, I think its funny that she didn't know what creature caused it to be there. I have never seen a nest like that and wouldn't have known either. I run from anything that stings or pinches. I would be in another country if I heard Wasp, Bee or Hornet or Crab.
  • TJ TJ on Dec 01, 2013
    I would love to have that nest after the the inhabitants left. I would have to contact the science museum to see if there were any dangers but it would end up hanging somewhere in my yard sprayed with some kind of sealer.
  • Lisa DeLuca Lisa DeLuca on Dec 02, 2013
    bald faced hornets' nest. dangerous if they are in there. good thing they don't reuse the nest next year.
  • John P John P on Dec 02, 2013
    Definitely get rid of it. Hornets get nasty when disturbed. Wait until it is good and cold for a few days, at least, then knock it down or have it taken down. If you want to keep it or sell it, I noticed both suggestions here, then wrap it in cling plastic wrap and put it in the freezer until you use or sell it-just in case.
  • Matina V Matina V on Dec 02, 2013
    Usually bald faced hornet. They abandon their hive in the winter and most of them die off except the queen. If you leave it alone it will disintegrate on it's own. It's only made of paper after all. I find them fascinating. These insect make a home of paper, live a season and then die off. If it's high up there's very little chance of them bothering you, they only attack if their home is threatened, much like us all.
  • Dianne Ward Dianne Ward on Dec 04, 2013
    HORNETS NEST ! ! ! Mean stinging little buggers and they swarm. I'm surprised you haven't seen a swarm of them. Definitely have it removed during the cold weather while they are too lethargic to attack.
  • Kathy Rhodes Kathy Rhodes on Dec 04, 2013
    It looks like a wasp nest~ Had one that looked a lot like yours.
  • Jeffrey Cutlip Jeffrey Cutlip on Dec 04, 2013
    Definitely Hornet nest. Leave it alone. Also it has been said that you can forecast how severe the winter will be by how high they have built their nest off of the ground, the higher the worse the weather is supposed to be. (I think that was from an old issue of the "Farmers Almanac".)
  • Louise Louise on Dec 04, 2013
    Hmmm, if height is a measure of cold, we all need to buy lots of warm clothes. :-) I posted it on Craigslist and 3 people want to come get it, but considering what I think is a danger in trying to get that high and safely retrieve it, I think I've decided to let it stay in the tree. I don't want someone to try to get way up there and then fall and injure or kill themselves. I might be sued. With our litigious society these days, I think it's wise to be too careful vs not careful enough.
  • Vickie C Vickie C on Dec 07, 2013
    Looks like a very large Hornet's nest to me. Depending on where you live, they may go dormant for a time. If not, I'd call an exterminator. Those things can kill you.
  • Terrie Neudorf Terrie Neudorf on Oct 29, 2014
    Yea , Hornets nest for sure . We see them all the time . Depending on where it is located in the yard I would get rid of it.
  • Peggyyost138 Peggyyost138 on Oct 29, 2014
    i live in Ohio,my husband took ours down and I used it for our Mantel!
  • K K on Sep 18, 2016
    Could this be a paper wasp nest.... that is what I think it was called when I was up in Michigan. A lot of ladies collected them (empty) and decorated with them. They are very unusual.