5,000 Yellow Jackets UNDERGROUND! Wasp Nest Removals

This species of yellow jacket is Vespula maculifrons, aka "Eastern Yellow Jacket" and I rank this species as the 3rd most aggressive species I deal with, here in PA! This is typically a ground species, and today, I had to dig them up and remove them from an Elementary School playground. I, of course, feed the nest to my Emus, Rhea, and Chickens!
Animals Names:
Rhea: Rhea-the-Rhea
Emus: Sweetie, Baby, and Doris
Squirrel: Lady
Chickens: Henny, Little Red Birdies (4 young red pullets), The Ronettes (3 black hens), Blondie (Yellow Hen) and Lucy (Orange Hen)
For channel updates and behind the scenes content, Follow me on my socials!
Facebook:
/ hornetkingofficial
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Got Wasps?? Shoot me an email: [e-mail]
#Wasp​​​​​​​​ #Hornets​​​​​​​​ #WaspNestRemoval​​​​​​​​ #HornetKing​​​​​​​​ #Infestation #HornetQueen #YellowJacket

[@snowvalkyrie]

The birds being fed is my favorite part. They are so excited about that larva! Thank you for posting.

[@haroldsmith7044]

I hear the larva makes very good fishing bait too!

[@jasonleatherwood2172]

@@haroldsmith7044i can 100% verify fish love em

[@parsleypalace3272]

The emus & chickens eat the larvae from the comb, but what about all the adult wasps that are vacuumed up? Do they die in the process?

[@codyfromhumanresources6435]

@@parsleypalace3272yes, in his older videos he would normally show the vacuum full of dead wasps.

[@parsleypalace3272]

@@codyfromhumanresources6435 Ok. Thanks!

[@riceburner4747]

As a 70yr old senior who was stung TWICE by Southern hornets (1 under railroad ties, 1 under ground mowing) who THEN became HIGHLY ALLERGIC to insect stings (anaphylaxis), I thank u on behalf of those kids. Just ONE kid that could die is one too many.👍🖖🇺🇸

[@william38022]

👍😊👍

[@eudomoniahadid7070]

​@@william38022 wher s mother

[@lbowsk]

@@eudomoniahadid7070 Yes. My mother protected me from bee stings. Are you on crack?

[@irenedavo3768]

4999!

[@gdwfs]

There’s something fascinating about this channel. Thanks for posting.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you! Funny little niche, isn't it 😄

[@qgirlcharlie9582]

I agree!

[@qgirlcharlie9582]

I’ve been watching there been quite awhile

[@qgirlcharlie9582]

I love this!

[@byallmeansneccasary6884]

I agree I even started my own nest in my cabin shed it's humongous I think it's all dead though I'm to scared to walk back there n enjoy it anymore 😂

[@emilywhitfield2780]

I love how gentle you are to those backyard animals! They love you!!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

We love each other 😆

[@nunobarros3629]

I wonder what bird he's going to have next. Maybe a Cassowary?!

[@emilywhitfield2780]

@@nunobarros3629 I hope not! They're very dangerous!

[@peforster6725]

Love seeing the skunks

[@emilywhitfield2780]

@@zeropolicy7456 Thank you! Didn't know that Rheas can be aggressive! I know emus, ostriches, and cassowaries can gut a human, but, wasn't sure about rheas! Thanks for clearing that up!!

[@Beauty-and-the-Dia-betes]

You explained it very well, how they're defending their home. Of course they're quite prolific and could be dangerous to anyone who stumbles upon their home, especially children. I've been stung by an eastern yellowjacket, the feet latched on hurt way more than the sting. They don't let go easily.

[@fletcherhamilton3177]

I had one latch onto me too with his little hooked feet and he was stinging me like crazy but I tolerated it . . . after several hours we’d developed an understanding; by the end of the week I was actually really sad to have to say goodbye, but we still keep in touch 👍

[@ffjsb]

@@fletcherhamilton3177 Are you talking about a wasp, or a woman???

[@canteensupplier9084]

Rip, bet that wasp was a good lover :,(@@fletcherhamilton3177

[@tipsytootsie3241]

17:06 felt like something straight out of a cartoon😂 Amazing video, love the extra explanations of wasps' biological aspects, behaviors, etc! Awesome!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

She deserved it 😅 Thanks!

[@Kyo_Streams]

I laughed so hard & rewatched that like 4 times bc it had me ded

[@annebruecks7381]

Yes, I live in PA and accidentally got stung while helping Dad mow the grass when I was 6. I remember he put the mower over top of their nest hole and I couldn't help but watch (in some kind of satisfaction?) them fly up and turn into compost in a millisecond! Kids getting stung is definitely a problem. I love that you feed the skunks, they must visit your house a lot! 😂

[@tomberto9041]

I used a shop vac to remove troublesome nests in northern CA, "troublesome" being the ones that presented a risk of being stumbled upon, provoking the defensive response you described. These were all western yellowjackets. The only thing I did differently from this video was to only mark the nests during the day - I'd set up a light, then vacuum them up and pull out the nests after about 10 PM, when they were all back in the nest. I always had the option to remove the nests at night.

[@kathyharrison9848]

You are a special guy. I’m allergic to venomous stings. You work, birds, and animals fascinate me! I love your Rio. I had to do a small ground nest about 3-4 yrs ago of yellowjackets. I used dish soap and water. It works!!!

[@mikebrown9718]

I really thought the beginning of this episode was interesting on aggressive/defending wasps. I’m always learning something new with every episode you put out! I was wondering if you can you guesstimate how many wasps you’ve vacuumed up in a season and how many nests? Look forward to your next video, keep up the great work!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thanks Mike! I have no idea how many, hundreds of thousands, I'm sure, as a conservative number

[@Anthonymw13]

Khhm K

[@Anthonymw13]

I’bbp

[@herozimb6164]

I love how him doing his job is providing content for us and snacks for the animals

[@TheGodParticle]

They sure do eat well. I think they get more vitamins and minerals than me lol

[@turdferguson5300]

That's impressive that you've identified and rank all of these yellowjackets. I only find the underground nests with the lawnmower or in the landscape. Actually they usually find me first which leads to my identification "oh crap, damn things". I live in SE Tennessee and that's the type we have around here. When I locate a nest of "oh crap, damn things" its time for the bug zapper as soon as the sun goes down. I love to watch em attack that light. :)

[@Albuscus1999]

I feel like no one ever talks about the production quality. It’s really good makes me feel like I watching something off animal planet or the discovery channel

[@SinaFarhat]

Interesting job you have, so much variation between the nest sizes and the number of individuals in a nest! Keep up with the good work!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thanks, Sina!

[@BeingNancy]

I appreciate your explanation regarding aggression. They are living creatures who are defending their nest, comrades and queen. They're not inherently evil, but instinctively defensive/protective. Your feather babies are so cute and seem to really love the snacks you bring home. I hope 2023 will be a happier, and joyous year for you and your family. 💫💫💫

[@chevy4x466]

Actually a yellow jacket stung my wife 2 days ago while we were walking to the back door. They r a horrible insect

[@lionard3281]

This is peak content, man. I love seeing the different adventures you get into!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you!

[@randomroses1494]

As king of the hornets, I think you have a responsibility to defend their existence in the environment. For example they kill and eat pests.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

@@randomroses1494 looks like you have been learning from my videos! Great!

[@Midnight_Rein]

I had a pretty passive hive that moved into my storage bench on my apartment's porch late this summer, I ended up spraying it, but I'd only ever seen a couple come in and out. Cleaned it out a couple days ago and they had eaten the cover off of my camping chair and started into the seat of it, the entire hive was inside the folded legs. Looked really gnarly, but it made me appreciate these little guys and what you do all the more, and it was really cool to know what I was looking at when I finally got around to trying to clean it out.

[@davidpook5778]

As a bee keeper I can relate the vacuuming part of what u do. My favorite time of the year is swarm season, I also do cutouts, that is remove honeybees from buildings and trees, I vacuum almost of the bees while doing cutouts. I have to regulate the vacuum pressure as to just have enough vacuum suction to suck-up the bees and not give them any rougher ride down the hose as possible. Also to much suction can kill the bees because they aren't able to breath in the bee box. The vacuum hose is attached to a bee box, the hose bees are sucked into is attached to the bee box.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

You apiarists can have the honey bees and all that sticky mess. I tell that to Dirt Rooster every time he complains about yellow jackets 😆 I'll take wasp stings over being sticky any day!

[@akiamini4006]

@@HornetKingOfficial LMAO XD

[@gordoninthailand]

You know your a super fan when you go around your own house yelling “Rhea The Rhea” (61 year old Former Marine) My kids look at me sideways. 🤪

[@FourByteBurger]

I am absolutely terrified of hornets,and I just gotta say that you are BRAVE for what you do! Thanks for keeping these people safe!

[@_Julie_Bee]

Holy crap you got emus now??!! That's so cool! Things changed so much since the last time I was around! Great to see you are still doing content! I been reading all the other comments, clearly new ppl, that's awesome!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Welcome back!

[@donnaleighjenkins4952]

The birdies love that larve! I love the vacuuming!! Yay! Been watching your show for years and I never get tired of any part of it! Thanks so much!!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you, Donnaleigh!

[@asfanshirim9769]

Love the bloopers. It gives me so much joy seeing you enjoying making these videos.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you!

[@rocconunziata4246]

Imagine playing during recess and running into a swarm of yellow jackets

[@sacrilegioussasquatch]

I really love how kind you are about them. They really aren't that bad or evil. I've never been stung for no reason, i did get stung for stumbling onto a ground nest and that was totally my fault

[@dreamSurfers5912]

YES YES YES YOUR BACK AND IM SO HAPPY . RELAXING SHOWS TO WATCH WELL DONE HORNET KING

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy them!

[@dreamingrightnow1174]

I hope the kids in that school got see the video, showing how you took it out and all the fabulous information you shared, and then seeing your birds eating the larva. There's so much natural science in all of it. I'm sure if you came back for a q & a the kids would have tons of questions.

[@aliviawunderlich-howell8230]

I get the fact that wasps are protective of their colonies. After all, it's their home and where their food's at. I'm the same way when it comes to my food too!

[@s0me0n32]

I love the explanations of the different species! It's very interesting stuff!

[@OfentseMwaseFilms]

Love your chicken whispering😂

[@jeffboswell68]

You gotta love the interaction between man and beast. It's all about trust and understanding animal behavior. Brilliant!

[@ITpanda]

Even seeing flying insects on screens raises my heart rate a bit. When I was in grade school I stepped on an underground nest on some abandoned train tracks about 30 minutes ENE of Atlanta. I froze out of fear for a while before running. Ran into a house still under construction, damn things chased me to the 2nd floor master bedroom. It took hours for most of them to eventually leave the master bedroom, at least that's how I recall it.

[@GingerSnape46]

Hey, Hornet King. You have some knowledge of the behavior of these insects, so maybe you can answer my question: At my parent's house, we did some landscaping, and one day I was helping my dad lay some paving stones. Well, I dropped one, and it hit an underground nest. We were swarmed before we could run. Dad got stung pretty badly, but I didn't. In fact, I had wasps/hornets all over me. They were walking all over me, up and down my arms and legs and even in my hair. Yet I wasn't stung even once. In fact, if there are any wasps/hornets around, they will actually follow me to walk around on me. Do you have any idea why they would that?

[@Nalla762]

Yeah. I would really like to know that as well. Perhaps your skin is secreting a hormone that either calms the wasp or deters their aggression. Try looking it up on the web. You may find some interesting info. Question: is your dad super fearful of wasp/hornets?

[@paulsheffield4729]

I am told it has to do with blood type. An example is: people with A/B negative blood get bit by mosquitos a lot more than O blood.

[@Nalla762]

@@paulsheffield4729 Unfortunately, I have O pos blood, and I was just chased inside by ravenous mosquitoes. I reside in SW FL and mosquitoes eat me for dinner! I hate the buggers.

[@paulsheffield4729]

@Natalie Grandinetti Hi Natalie. I live in South West Virginia and they leave me alone. I too am O Positive. My wife is A Negative and they eat her alive

[@GingerSnape46]

@@Nalla762 No. About the only thing that scares the pants off him is snakes. I did look it up, so I think I should narrow my search a bit. But you make sense. I do have a lot of health issues, so maybe that's it? I'll Google it again. Thank you.

[@SuperTater2000]

Your videos are so interesting and informative! I also love how your animals devour the larva.

[@Sarappreciates]

I love how satisfying it is seeing the birds eat at the end... Circle of Life, and all that.

[@jeromewesselman1654]

It appears that the nests are a good organic snack for the chickens and emus!! Watching the chickens peck at the larvae is pretty satisfying.

[@jimmieteaguejr8699]

Great video protecting the children in their playground what a man I enjoy everyone of your videos thank you

[@eeveeboi7174]

As someone who is undescribablely afraid of wasps and hornsts, these videos are like exposure therapy, keep up the good work

[@deathedell215]

bro same, absolutely irrational fear, i know they cant hurt me, still fucking terrified and ending up shaking if one gets inside

[@CharChar2121]

The way you talk to your birds is just adorbs

[@NYTROPROTOGEN]

Does anyone else find his voice relaxing to listen to, or is it just me?

[@Renville80]

This is certainly one of the more educational channels on KZbin… I used to hate wasps / hornets / yellowjackets (stung a few times over the years since age 4, but now have to be careful given how much swelling I had in my hand after the last time I got stung a couple decades ago), but after I learned how beneficial they are, I have come to respect them and only remove the nest if they are too close to a door. I even got to watch the goings on at a paper wasp nest that was right outside my shower window every morning.

[@kristgeo]

Very interesting. I have learned a great deal from watching your videos. And of course, as I've commented before, I love your animals.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you!

[@Carstuff111]

A good friend of mine has a couple of hens they get eggs from, and they feed them mealworms in their seed mix, and their eggs are AMAZING! I can only imagine that the eggs you may get from your chickens have to be great too with the constant stream of wasp larvae you feed them!

[@mikefoehr235]

Love watching the fowl eating the grubs. They know when a treat is coming.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

That's for sure!

[@rarestarball]

I wish I could have a nest like theses. It’s amazing how tiny insects can make big objects.

[@GARY76]

You are the perfect example of a wonderful man. You set the bar very high

[@lindarobish7775]

There’s the potential for such a great learning experience for the students! They would probably be so excited to see the nest and have you explain it. I hope they were able to see your video.

[@richardmongello579]

What a good job you did . Your presentation is well thought out. I will use your methods in my ongoing battle with my southern yellow jackets.

[@CherishedCards]

You make me question what we have here. We just call them European wasps but no doubt there is others. The hornets I know are huge like maybe 2 -3inches long. I’ve only seen them 2 times both in the window trying to get out. Our “European wasps” aren’t too aggressive unless you mess with them of course. I had them last year in my wall. As always very interesting. Thanks for sharing

[@shannonjefferson874]

Love the vids man

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you!

[@davidmohr1063]

We have yellow jackets like this at our place in Texas. I have hit nests while on a dozer and the literally tore me up. I love your videos and the education of the various species. Stay safe

[@gigiisthebestest]

The outtake is hilarious 😂 Love your animals.

[@mateuszkaliszewski3746]

That is alot of wasps

[@HornetKingOfficial]

For sure!

[@briaryos1]

2:00 this point about aggressive vs defensive is enlightening. You're there to destroy the nest. It's unfair to label wasps as aggressive for wanting to prevent that.

[@JameaJimea1175]

Hornet king really makes his channel feel like a well produced television series

[@TopNotchPropertyServiceLLC]

Thanks for sharing! I learned a lot from this and was super cool to see an underground nest. Unfortionatly I got stung by one today while brushing clearing. I was running my chainsaw on literally the last little tree of the day and got nailed in the leg.

[@DEFAULT10523]

First

[@divinadecosio]

Love the end of the video! Watching you with the chickens and the emus is so beautiful!

[@psychedelicpython]

Lucky chickens, emus, and rhea get the nest to snack on when their dad the Hornet King gets home. That’s like a delicacy. 😊

[@lespretend]

I live in Florida and when I was like 14 (20+ years ago) a friend and I were at a creek next to his grandmas house. We kept getting hit in the head and were like 'what the hell is going on' then I got stung. Then I see something flying in my face. Next thing we know we were getting swarmed, both stung about 50 times. Ran and jumped into the lake that was right there. Yellowjackets flew around the water and waited for us to service to get us again. Nice to see a vid like this. Thanks for avenging me.

[@wildlifewaspnestguy0446]

Yay! Another underground nest. Those are my favorite kind of wasp nests. I love digging up underground nests myself. Keep it up man!

[@JMSobie]

Two questions. First, how long do foragers tend to stay out and about? Like theoretically if you left an ideal nozzle sitting outside a theoretically frictionless entryway, how long before all returning foragers would be captured? Second, I was trying to parse which genus is more prone to aerial nesting and it sounds like Dolichovespula are the aerial nesters and Vespula are the ground or cavity nesters. Would you say that is the case, and have you ever found any weird exceptions?

[@midnights2631]

It's so interesting to learn so many different types of yellow jackets.

[@Themultigeek200]

I love how you just give affection to the birds like their dogs keep up the great work lol

[@godtriunealonematters9207]

your videos are so damn satsifying, with perfect camera shots. plus your wisdom about all this stuff is intriguing

[@mary11976]

I have a carport, lots of nooks & crannies to create a nest in. Practically the second I see something flying around investigating where to build that best, I get out the spray. Once they smell that stuff, they're gonzo. I'm in NJ so I start keeping watch around April.

[@sandrapicard422]

I love how gentle your emus are!! I use to have chickens, i miss them.

[@melaniemyre9687]

You're doing an amazing job each time you remove a nest. Very happy that there are people like you out there. I would try to find something to pound the ground for me though.. arghh.. they scare me to death ! 😳😱 Aww.. and bringing back lunch is cute too ! 🥰

[@xaiano794]

My favourite part is just seeing how happy your chickens are

[@outtatime4512]

That intro is epic! Love to catch one of your vids every now and again. You are the King👍

[@unst3rblich399]

I like how most of the chickens and the rhea are fine sharing, and the grey chicken is like, "No, it's mine!"

[@donnaleighjenkins4952]

I do want to tell ya, I had a red& black colored wasp build a pretty good size nest under the eves of my porch. I first thought to knock it down but it was on the far end where we rarely go so I left it alone just to watch. It got about the size of the palm of my hand and during peak time there were probably 20 wasp. When Fall got here they slowly became less & less. We had a really bad cold snap for about 3 days and the few who were there were gone. One day before the cold snap I noticed one on a table on my porch he/she wasn't moving. I had my broom so I nudged him a little and he was still "warming up" . I learned that from watching you! After few mins he flew away. I removed the nest couple weeks ago and noticed how the aerial building wasp make their nest very much like the ones you show. It was pretty neat to watch them from beginning to the end. Just thought I'd tell ya. 😊

[@lucywillson2635]

Denver liver here. I have a garden in my backyard, and I really enjoy sitting there and watching the different creatures run around. My favorite is the honeybee, and I give them little pets when I can and thank them for pollinating my garden. I love watching the mud daubers grab chunks of mud and fly away, but most recently, I've noticed a small tree sapling that often has a handful of yellowjackets on it. I sat beside it, a good three or four feet away, and I watched then for a while. They just looked at me, then went back to munching on the leaves. They never came near me, they didn't attack me, they didn't even flair their wings at me. They just vibed, and I happily let them do their thing. I definitely understand the "aggressiveness" of species, but I see it like you do; they're just defending their home. I've resorted to calling that sapling the friend tree, because I consider the yellowjackets on it my friends.

[@christinevanduuren5014]

I really enjoy these videos. Frightening for me but amazing. Wasps here in South Africa are tiny and build small nests. They are not aggressive. So seeing this is fascinating

[@Angela7548.]

Yay another video! Someone had commented that there is something very fascinating about your channel. Couldn't agree more or said it better!

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Thank you!

[@TheLambdaTeam]

Chickens: "We're feelin' peckish here!" 🐔🐓

[@Me_the_idiot69]

one has not lived until one has spent a day with this fearless guy

[@tibo6749]

Can't believe I missed this video, been watching all of them whenever I get the time to. Love watching your videos when I'm tryinna sleep, they get me real sleepy (and also educate me on these wasp species).

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Glad you like them!

[@gcrauwels941]

18:38 Your right forefinger. SloMo 'I stung and I can't fly away'. 😂

[@Mycosyco1]

Your videos are intense! God bless you for the work that you do, NO WAY for most people!

[@DaveEtchells]

What an incredible feast for your birds! I found it funny how many empty discarded combs were laying on the ground; those are some well-fed fowl!

[@lunacy3]

The chickens eating from the nests is just too adorable

[@Dockboy-ie4yu]

Posing with a giant smile next to a big nest is amazing

[@nuggetnugget8552]

Timmy just like: "TAG, YOU'RE IT- AAAAAAAAAA"

[@gleem1751]

These videos make me itch but I can’t stop watching them😅😅😂😂

[@FIRESTAR56566]

Wasps: That is but a taste of our fury. Do you yeild? Hornet King: *I do not*

[@andrewvu974]

Bro really dropped the hardest hornet edit and didn't think we would notice

[@aridreams567]

This entertains me despite terrified of every single bee/ hornet/ wasp out there.

[@HornetKingOfficial]

Exposure therapy!

[@BrouilletteLuke]

So I have a huge Yellowjacket nest in my crawl space. Literally under my room. Been battling it everyday, still no luck. And I’m watching this video while laying in bed and hear the buzzing the in the video and man I have never jumped out of bed so fast in my life. Lol

[@ThomasHaxley]

Do you find the aggressiveness is different depending on the time of year ? As a beekeeper during a "dearth" (eg no nectar around) the hives are very "defensive" due to them defending their stores. Would a spring colony that's building up be more defensive than an autumn colony that's getting ready for winter (i assume all the workers die and queens overwinter??) ?

[@shsal110]

Very relaxing and cathartic, great narration too!

[@lbsublime2450]

Crazy huge nest, good job on the removal.. we need more guys like you keeping playgrounds & properties safe

[@kellismith4329]

We use Dr Winter, 100% success rate

[@rolandguiscard]

Those are some incredibly happy birds at the end! Must be all the good nutrition they get from eating larvae.

[@atarab3685]

Wasps and hornets scare me, but I like to look at them if they're on the other side of the glass! So fascinated watching you here. Thank you for being educational about behavior and species! I live in WI so I don't believe we get the ground digger sorts here, I only see black bees coming out of the ground holes, it seems way more the classic hanging nest kinds around here. We don't bother them unless they bother us! (feeding the birds and having a yard full of them all the time probably helps, too. And maybe the neighbors guinea hens) This was neat to watch, thank you.

[@CoolCoyote]

we just call them wasps in new zealand , but I understand that the yellow jackets are actually smaller but more aggressive than normal wasps. The same thing is in the bee world where the Africanized honey bee is actually smaller but far more aggressive than the normal European honey bee. As a beekeeper i know that the normal eurpoean honey bee can be just as vicious though, only difference is that the Africanized version will chase you for miles lol

[@grahamsiebring5227]

Wow…really cool stuff. What do you do with the vacuum afterward? I suppose there is a one-way valve so they can’t get out… Do you just leave them in there until they die?

[@LITTLE1994]

Glad to see you back, man.

[@stjernelys8002]

I just found your channel from a short you posted from this, and subscribed! I will say, I have always known that Wasps are "aggressive" when you get too close to the nest, so I feel I have had a healthy fear of them. Question that I do have, as someone new to this method of removal; what do you do with the angry bag or bin of 5k wasps you have now collected? When you suck them up, do they just die in there over the next few hours or do you have to find somewhere to release them? Thank you for the insightful video ^^

[@Standownevil]

I love that you feed these critters to your birds:)

[@pollyfesta5126]

last year I put a pitchfork thru a yellow jacket nest... they had build it in an old bedding pack and I was turning the edges so the skidsteer could pick it up... it was huge