Anyone know if this is a hornet or bees nest? Photos included.

[CordeliaGrey]

Was in shed and saw a big yellow bee/ hornet type insect buzzing around the window.
Looked up saw the above nest type thing in the photos. They are not great quality but there around 2 of them buzzing around it. Was unable to clearer photo of the insects.

Does this look like a nest?

Shit! And typically DH away till Friday.

Shed is to the side of the house around 20 yards away. So I just locked the door.

Can anyone advise?

Crucially do I leave the window open or close in the shed for them ? Thanks

Looks like a hornet nest to me. The insect in the middle pic looks like a hornet.

Afaik bees never make that sort of nest.

No idea if it's doable or sensible, but when I discovered a wasps nest that was being built in the shed (DP is allergic) I got the hoe and with the door shut againt the handle of it, I knocked the nest down, dropped the hoe, and slammed the door shut and ran away. Went back the next day and they'd abandoned it.

Your best does look like there's maybe some eggs been laid in the cells though, I don't know if that would make them reluctant to abandon it.

Hornet. We had one similar in our garage eaves a couple of years ago. The pest control blokey who came to deal with it said they're actually far less aggressive than wasps, if it makes you feel better...

Hornet, they nest singly.

If you came get a look and photo of the wasps, particularly the legs. If its Asian hornet it needs reporting asap, they will destroy it for you

www.nationalbeeunit.com/assets/Media/AsianHornetID-01.png

Report here:
risc.brc.ac.uk/alert.php?species=asian_hornet

@GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut
Gosh brave of you!

The nest is fairly small and from what I have read, professional removal is recommended but I am sure DH will try and remove it himself when he gets back.. 🤔

Should I open or close the shed window?

I knocked down a wasp nest with a brush and then they moved elsewhere. I didn't want to kill them but I didn't want them in my shed.
Also if they are hornets you don't want them anywhere nearby.

Looks tiny, just grab yourself some rentokil wasp powder (not the spray), wait till dusk then get in there and squirt that powder at the entry point (of the nest) then retreat quickly. Job will be done.

You hit a wasp nest with a brush? You are harder than a coffin nail! I run tits akimbo screaming if wasps get too close!

Depends on whether you want DH to go into a shed with the occasional hornet bumbling out to do their hornetty things like getting food or an enclosed, hot space with all of the hornets rather cross about having being shut in and suddenly seeing a human coming in the doorway to get the babies.

That is a hornet's nest in its infancy, but it is difficult to tell whether it is a European or Asian hornet from the pictures - very unlikely to be an Asian hornet, it looks too large and the colouration isn't quite right. Where in the country are you?

The overwintered queens, like wasps, are now just getting going on building their nests and the colony will build up over the next few weeks. In actual fact, European hornets are gentle giants and quite useful to have around as they are insectivorous and catch midges, mosquitos and gnats in flight and keep the numbers down. Unless you happen to be a beekeeper, in which case they can be a bloody pest, patrolling around bee hives and snatching one's precious bees!

However, just to err on the side of caution, it might be wise to report to DEFRA, your local beekeepers' association or via the 'hornet watch' App, in order to positively identify it.

It's a wasp nest. I was in the shower once and saw what I thought was a small CCTV camera in the corner of the bathroom, but it turned out to be a nest exactly the same as yours. I closed the skylight, knocked it down and thought that was the end of it, until I realized they were coming in through a gap in the skylight. They were very angry and I couldn't use that bathroom for days. I sprayed them with bleach spray every time a new group came in until the hole was plugged. Put a dish of soapy water in the shed and hopefully that will kill most of them.

I'd say wasp or hornet. They build quickly and if it's small I tend to get the super duper wasp spray and dress entirely clothed with gloves on etc and face covered and hat and spray the nest. That usually does it especially as this one is open.
If I get them quick then it sorts it and they don't come back. I've had hornets twice and they were big nests and I had to pay to get someone to deal with it so early always now for me

They'll be chewing on your wooden fences as we speak. Just get in there with the powder, you'll be fine. Window open so they can all get in the nest first.

Wasp

This is not true - hornets are social insects with one queen ( the only fertile member of the colony), and a number of sterile female workers. Towards the end of the summer, young queens and males will be produced - the males mate with virgin queens, from other colonies, which then hibernate and emerge the following spring to found new colonies

You can get special nest spray from homebase etc for dealing with these small nests yourself. It sprays a long jet of foamy liquid (not just a cloud of spray) that can completely envelope/drown a small nest. You can spray it from a bit of a distance, too.

Or you can pay a specialist to come and deal with it for you. Whatever you do, don't just ignore it. We had to get someone out to remove a hornets' nest from our loft a few years back - it must have been 3ft across!! 😱

In my experience the spray was rubbish but my nest was bigger. The benefit was you could stand 6ft away but it did nothing. The powder you need to get right up in there and poof it out but it worked instantly.

I wouldn't be dealing with anything bigger than about a tennis ball by myself, and I'm not getting closer than 6ft!!

In fact, I use the long-range foam just to deal with individual hornets in my house these days!

How will a dish of soapy water kill them?

In any event, a positive ID is needed, just to be certain that they are NOT Asian hornets - it is imperative that Asian hornet movements in the UK are tracked, recorded and monitored to try and prevent their spread. That can only happen if positively identified by an expert entomologist, which is somewhat difficult to achieve if they have already been exterminated by householders doing it themselves

There's bloody loads of regular European hornets here in the South West. There's zero chance you'd be able to get some kind of identification expert round every time you found one! (Also, they're much easier to get a clear picture of once they're dead 🤷‍♀️)

Bowl of petrol if you believe the internet videos.

They are attracted to it, enter it and drown. Have you never seen containers at zoos/farms that are full of liquid and dead wasps? They usually have signs saying that they attract wasps but not bees.

Wasp traps are baited with diluted jam or fruit juice - they aren't attracted to soapy water!

@Beekeeper1 Apologies, I was taught this and always believed it without checking. Thank you for ( correct) information! 💐