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Empty?

Went out squirrel hunting with my son this afternoon and found this nest. We thought it was a pretty cool find but how do we know if it's empty? Anyone else take one home?

If you already have it in the house you better hope it's empty...

No it's outside on the porch, I don't want to wake/warm up the beasts!

Man up and warm it up.

Not sure which would be worse, getting stung by a nest full of wasps or taking a beating from my wife and 5 kids after we realize it's full!!

Yes it is empty. It is a paper wasp nest (Polistinae) and the members all die from cold or starvation first. They are dead and do not hibernate . Only The fertilized Queen does that and will have found some place to winter over . (not in the old nest) . She will build a new one and start over in spring.

Just to be sure put a plastic bag over it . Let it be subjected to freezing temps if not already.

I had a thought recently - put the nest in a bag, and hook up a car exhaust so it fills the bag. Would that kill any hornets remaining in it?

spray it. ive had a few in the past,looks like bald faced hornet nest (nasty suckers!)

Anybody know if there is a relationship between how close a hive is to the ground, and how much snow we're going to get?

Thanks for the replies, I'll throw it in the deep freeze over night.

Tell me your kidding Moons . Bees are not able to predict the future . For the snow fall of our next winter just consult the Farmers almanac or take a guess , same thing . Nothing can predict the future weather to that degree. It will be cold this winter and warm next summer. Dark at night and light during the day. Some snow will fall . There your all set .

Tell me your joking .

Pie, that's what a kid at my school was saying. Lol. Low to the ground = no snow, up high = a lot of snow. Made me felt stupid for not "knowing that". I had never heard of such a thing. That's why I asked.....

That looks like a bald faced hornet nest and they most likely are hibernating in a log or tree. If you break that up you should find some larvae in there. Not sure if the larvae is dormant or not.

OK, I can get some sleep tonight . It is funny when you think about it. There are so many things that we just accept and then say ... "Hey ,wait a second ..." Like how did the water get on the earth ( I happen to know this one ) or how do we get that football shaped moon (your area of expertise, I would think) That took some figuring . Or does poison ivy spread ... ? it doesn't but it looks / acts like it does. Global warming and the myth of Al Gore-ism . don't get me started on that one...

After the season we can make a project out of those things to kill a few months off. Be cool , stay in school ! - Pi

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