Northern Giant Hornets : Are They Gone From Washington

Hornets/ Wasps are just bad news no matter which species they are in my opinion. There are only two things on earth I don't feel bad about killing, Hornets/Wasps and House Flies.

Are Hornets and Wasps the same thing?

Bees and wasps are members of the same Order, Hymenoptera, they’re hardly the same insects. Hornets, are just a type of wasp, so in essence, they are the same as wasps, but with some specific behaviors that are different from the general wasp population.

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Both groups have a huge range of behavior and appearances, making it a little more difficult to identify the less common bees and wasps that may be out and about in the spring, summer, and fall. But there are traits that each group shares.

Bees usually have a lot of fuzzy hair on their bodies,and rather wide waists. Some bees, like bumblebees and carpenter bees, are almost cartoonishly proportioned.

Bees are vegetarians wasps are not

Wasps and hornets have very narrow waists. They also tend to be more long and skinny than bees and have little or no hair on their bodies.

Every year, I'm overly aggravated by stinging wasps and those big annoying house flies or Barn Flies.

Wasps love to make their nests in sneaky places like the welding holes in my horse panel fences. When I go to open a gate, I get stung. I've also found wasp nests in my horse trailer.

Wasp nests are built from chewed-up wood pulp

And they love to get behind my side view mirrors on my truck. Not to mention under every eave of my roof. I keep random cans of wasp spray around my yard and home to eliminate them.

There is cautious optimism that the invasive and predatory northern giant hornet has been eradicated from Washington state.

But that’s not official yet. According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the Evergreen State must go three years without detection to meet the regulatory definition of eradication.

If you need help eradicating wasp nests from your home or yard there are services available to help.