Hornets' Nests!!

 

 

Do you see the hornets' nest hanging off my shed? Does it strike terror in the very depths of your soul?

 

I hope so. At least if you are a hornet.

 

 

The summer I moved here I could see traces of old hornets' nests under the eaves of my house. Someone knocked them down before I moved in. Then as I'm landscaping the yard I found a massive nest about the size of a basketball behind a bush. It still had hornets in it! The next spring the hornets were at it again and managed to make a little nest before I found it. Trying to whack it down, spray it with water, and run like mad before the hornets organize themselves for an attack is not my idea of a good time. I don't use pesticides because they are toxic, and also hornets are actually really good for gardens. I still don't relish the thought of getting stung so I'd rather discourage the nest building. So every spring through summer I'm on watch. I constantly walk around inspecting the under-eaves of my house, shed and garage. This year I managed to find the start of a nest with only one hornet working hard to build it.

 

Shortly after destroying all that hornet's hard work, I saw an article online on natural pest control methods and one of their ideas was how to keep hornets from making nests. It seems a hornet will not start a nest if it's within 200 feet of another. It's a territorial thing.  The remedy? Psych them out with fake ones! That calls for a papier mache project!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used balloons I blew up about halfway, strips of old newspaper coated with papier mache mix, or flour and water the poor-person's papier mache. Since I'm gluten-free I bought a small amount of bulk flour and used gloves when applying it to the paper strips.

 

 

 

 

I hung them to dry so they wouldn't be flat on one side. It's summer so I can do this out in my garage, unlike winter art projects which I have to do in the house.

 

 

 

 

The next layer of papier mache I used paper towels in hopes of giving it a little texture so it looks more like a hornets' nest.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I painted them with gray paint made with exterior latex house paint tinted with acrylic black.



 

 

I hung one on the garage, on the side of the house, and on the shed.

 

 

 

This one looks the most realistic because it's not so perfectly round. I think the balloon popped inside before it dried. I like it the best.

 

 

 

I'm also back to making beads only now I can do it out in the garage so it's not so messy. The set up is much more efficient:

 

 

Summer projects!!