Hornet Pest Control

Lifecycle of the hornet

Hornets more aggressive than wasps in many ways?

Often people fear the hornet even more so than they do wasps, this is simply due to their size, they are often branded as being much more aggressive than other wasp species, but in our experience this is untrue. We are not suggesting that they will not defend their nest in an aggressive manner, because they will.

As with other types of wasps, the Queen hornets that have hibernated through the winter in Manchester, Stockport and Cheshire become active in the spring as the temperature starts to warm up.

They search for a place to start building a nest, such as a loft or shed.

Once a suitable place has been chosen (usually somewhere warm, dry and undisturbed), the queen will start to strip wood from fence panels, windows, sheds and other available wood sources. They chew the wood and mix it with saliva to form a lightweight, strong and waterproof material similar to paper Mache.

The nest starts off with a centre stalk called a petiole which is securely attached to something strong, such as a rafter.

The queen then adds cells around this centre stalk these cells are formed into combs which are similar to those in a Bee Hive.

Once the initial cells are constructed, the queen will begin to lay eggs into the cells. Whilst these eggs are incubating, the queen continues to build the nest and new cells. It takes between 5-8 days (depending upon ambient temperature) before the first eggs hatch into hornet larvae.