Baldfaced Hornet Control in Boerne, TX
If you find a baldfaced hornet nest around Boerne, it usually looks like a gray paper football or upside-down pear hanging from a branch, with black-and-white wasps going in and out of a hole near the bottom. When it is high in a tree and away from paths, the right move is to leave it; when it hangs near a door, a play set or a patch of lawn you mow, get it checked before someone wanders underneath. Call or text (210) 281-1064, or book online, to schedule an inspection.
Do baldfaced hornets live around Boerne? #
In Texas A&M AgriLife's field guide, this is the lone "hornet" on record for the state, and technically a yellowjacket relative (AgriLife field guide). None of our sources maps its Texas range or estimates how many live in the Hill Country, so we won't claim they are everywhere here. If you see a large enclosed gray nest, the honest answer is that it could be this hornet, a Mexican honey wasp nest, or a yellowjacket colony that built above ground, and a close look settles it.
What are you looking at? #
- The wasp: roughly 3/4 inch; mostly black, with creamy white on the face and at the rear tip. Wings fold lengthwise at rest.
- The nest: a closed paper carton, grayish brown, with two to four combs inside and an entrance at the bottom. AgriLife says it can reach 3 feet long.
- Paper wasp nest: open comb, cells visible from below, no cover.
- Yellowjacket nest: usually underground. See yellowjacket control.
- Mexican honey wasp nest: also a gray paper nest up in a tree or shrub, but the wasps are much smaller than a honey bee.
A mature baldfaced colony is a queen plus 200 to 400 workers by AgriLife's count, and the colony collapses as hard frosts arrive. Only mated queens overwinter, in cracks and crevices, and they start fresh in spring.
Trails, creek banks and tree lines #
Because the nests hang mostly in trees, the people most likely to walk under one are those on trails and in wooded yards, not those standing on the patio. There is a fair amount of that kind of ground in and around town. City Lake, formed by a dam on Cibolo Creek, has a bird blind, a butterfly garden and unpaved trails (City of Boerne), and City Park and River Road Park both border the creek. On public land, report a nest to the city rather than treating it yourself. At home, the same habit helps: look up into trees along fence lines and the edges of the yard before you trim, prune or run a tractor under them.
Should the nest stay or go? #
AgriLife's advice is that nests high in trees or in remote spots are better left alone, and it rates these hornets slower to sting than paper wasps or yellowjackets, mostly because their nests hang out of reach. Treatment makes sense when the nest is:
- near a doorway, a window or an eave over a walkway
- over a play area, pool or patio
- low in a shrub beside a lawn you mow, where vibration and contact are likely
What to do now, and what to avoid #
Do:
- Keep children and pets away and mark the tree.
- If attacked, cover your head and get into a building or car.
- Watch anyone stung for trouble breathing or swallowing, dizziness or a spreading rash, and get medical help fast if those appear.
Avoid:
- Spraying only the outside of the nest. Penn State Extension says this only agitates the hornets and leaves them stingier for days afterward (Penn State).
- Standing your ground and swatting.
- Any attempt if you have a heart condition or a venom allergy.
How Pest Trappers handles a hornet nest in Boerne #
Step one is pinning down which insect made the nest, because a honey wasp or yellowjacket nest calls for a different plan. They check the height, what is under it and how people use that part of the yard, then explain the options and follow the product label for anything used. Price comes after the inspection. The work is done by Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), a family business, and the office will confirm a time with you. Our baldfaced hornet guide and Boerne service page cover more.