Saw a Giant Hornet in Kerrville? What It Most Likely Is
Nobody has ever found the so-called murder hornet (today's official name is northern giant hornet) in Texas, so the giant wasp you saw in Kerrville was one of the Hill Country's own large insects. Most of them are easy to name by color and by what they were doing, and several are better left alone than sprayed. If the one you saw is tied to a nest by your door, deck or lawn, call or text (210) 281-1064 or book online and we will identify it on site.
Where the real giant hornet was, and where it is now #
The only North American finds were in British Columbia and one Washington county, Whatcom. Once three straight years passed without a confirmed detection, Washington state and federal officials announced in December 2024 that the hornet was gone from the country (WSDA). Texas A&M's bee inspection service (TAIS) says it is not present in this state.
The Hill Country is also an unlikely fit. The four U.S. nests were all inside alder tree cavities, while TPWD describes the Edwards Plateau around Kerrville as juniper and oak woodland (TPWD). An AgriLife entomologist wrote that Texas does not seem to be ideal habitat for it (Insects in the City).
Should you want a yardstick, the genuine article per AgriLife measures one and a half to two inches, has a head as wide as or wider than its shoulders in vivid orange-yellow, and pairs a dark brown midsection with a narrow waist.
Sort what you saw by its colors #
Red-brown head, black-and-yellow abdomen, amber wings. This is almost always a cicada killer, one of the two mix-ups AgriLife sees most. Look for a head slimmer than the body behind it and summer burrows the size of a dime or quarter in sunny, sandy dirt. Males cannot sting; females rarely do unless handled. See cicada killer control in Kerrville.
Hornet colors on a stout, waistless body. That is a pigeon horntail, a wood wasp without venom or a working stinger. Nothing to treat.
Big and mostly orange, flying alone in spring. Probably a southern yellowjacket queen looking for a nest site. Her workers, later in the year, are only 1/2 inch. See yellowjacket control in Kerrville.
Shiny blue-black body with orange, red or black wings. A tarantula hawk, which can reach two inches. It sips nectar and leaves people alone unless grabbed. See tarantula hawk control in Kerrville.
Black with white face markings, near a gray paper nest. A baldfaced hornet, roughly three-quarters of an inch. See baldfaced hornet control in Kerrville.
Fuzzy and round, about 3/4 inch. A bumble bee, or a carpenter bee if the top of the abdomen is shiny and bare. See bumble bee control in Kerrville and carpenter bee control in Kerrville.
If a photo still looks like the real thing #
Take the clearest picture you can from a distance, without trying to catch or swat the insect. TAIS points Texans to the Insect ID submission form run by Texas A&M Entomology. Beekeepers who suspect a hornet raid on a hive can reach TAIS itself by phone (979-321-5827) or email ([email protected]). Washington's agency accepts reports only from Washington, so a Kerrville sighting goes to Texas A&M.
One thing not to do while you wait: kill cicada killers out of fear. AgriLife's wasp bulletin calls control rarely warranted for an otherwise beneficial insect.
How Pest Trappers helps after a giant-hornet scare #
The visit starts with naming the insect and finding where it lives. If it turns out to be a cicada killer or a tarantula hawk away from foot traffic, the technician will usually tell you to leave it. If it is a yellowjacket colony in the lawn, a baldfaced hornet nest by a doorway or paper wasps under the eaves, they explain the treatment options and follow the product label exactly. You get a price after the inspection. Services come from Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), a family-owned company with a Texas Department of Agriculture license, and the office confirms the visit time. The giant hornet guide has more background, and the Kerrville service page lists everything else we handle locally.