ALLIANCE, Ohio – A video of Ohio’s Bee Man removing a massive European Hornets’ nest from a car Sunday has gone viral.
Travis Watson, owner of The Bee Man, LLC. removed the nest from an El Camino in Alliance, Ohio.
Watson told WJW that European Hornets, who are a new bee in the area, build their nests in enclosed spaces. He explained that in nature that means they build nests in the hollows of trees.
“Their queens emerge from hibernation in April and look for a well-protected place to build and they start it completely from scratch,” said Watson, “It takes a long time to get workers in the nest, to where the queen starts to only lay eggs and starting in July, it starts growing quite rapidly.”
He said to remove the nest they blew a powder into the nest, removed the nest, and then disposed of it. He also left behind some of the powder “for the ones who are out getting food to get into when they return.”
He explained that because European Hornets do not pollinate like honey bees do, they don’t save them.
According to Watson, European Hornets are new to the area and defend their nest very aggressively. They reportedly can sting repeatedly, so he suggests people should “exercise extreme caution around them.”
Watson told WJW he only approaches them while wearing a triple layer suit and sting-proof gloves.
“People should NEVER plug the entrance to their nest if they have built in a wall,” Watson said, “There can be up to 1,000 of these hornets in a nest and plugging the entrance can drive them inside the house. They also eat through drywall to expand their nest so if you hear a sound like Rice Krispies, call someone.”
