Is it bad to feel Bad about killing a bunch of bees ?

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Yesterday my wife pointed out a soon to be large Hornets nest right in our patio porch. We would have NEVER seen it but by chance she was looking at through an obscure window while working out by it (which she never does but was run out of other room by kids lol) in our bedroom and out of the corner of her eye she saw it.

So this morning I took the roach/bee spray and went out there. There were probably about 25 hornets nestled on the hive.

I sprayed it and expected (like Wasps) they would come flying out at me.

But they just sat there on that hive and did not budge while I doused them.

Then they dropped one by one to a miserable death.

I was telling my wife on the phone a little bit ago how I was glad for our children's sake we got rid of them.

But I can honestly say I feel bad for these hornets.

They just stood there not flinching when I was spraying them. Almost like they were ' worker' bees who were protecting the hive no matter what.

I hate bees but these are creatures of God and I feel a little bit of remorse of how they were like sitting ducks.

Sorry, I am not a PETA person but must admit I did feel for these helpless creatures
  • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
    Hornets are a type of Wasps though, not Bee's. They don't make honey as far as I can see. I suppose you could have worn a suit and smoked them out or destroyed the hive to make them go away.

    Not something you want to have around unfortunately as they can be aggressive unlike bee's.
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  • Profile picture of the author ThomM
    Hornets can be very dangerous to humans. Unlike honey bees they can sting multiple times and their venom can be the most toxic of any insect. In addition they release an attack pheromone that can mobilize the whole hive to attack a victim.

    I also have an issue with killing, but don't have a problem with it when it comes to hornets nesting around my house. I had a softball size hive in my garage this summer and took it out with wasp and hornet spray.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
    I get what you're saying, Robert. The hornets were just doing their thing, minding their own business. Unfortunately, part of their "thing" includes stinging the hell outta people. Part of being a father is you have to protect your own. That occasionally causes moral dilemmas.
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Here is the thing. Its not like I was all concerned about the hornets dying or anything. I wanted them gone.

      But it was the manner which they reacted that totally took me off guard.

      I have gotten rid of (what I consider) traditional big brown wasps many times.They usually just have the small cone hives that only get so large. With 3 or 4 of them on the cone hive

      They come after me like bandits when I spray them.

      I was just expecting these hornets to do the same.

      But they just stood there helplessly and it threw me a little bit.

      Kind of felt like shooting fish in a barrel if you no what I mean.

      At least they could of made me work for it
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by discrat View Post

        Here is the thing. Its not like I was all concerned about the hornets dying or anything. I wanted them gone.

        But it was the manner which they reacted that totally took me off guard.

        I have gotten rid of (what I consider) traditional big brown wasps many times.They usually just have the small cone hives that only get so large. With 3 or 4 of them on the cone hive

        They come after me like bandits when I spray them.

        I was just expecting these hornets to do the same.

        But they just stood there helplessly and it threw me a little bit.

        Kind of felt like shooting fish in a barrel if you no what I mean.

        At least they could of made me work for it
        Your sense of fairness impresses me a little.

        I wait until night, and set the nest on fire. I feel bad too, although maybe not for the same reasons you do. I think they are amazing creatures. Like finely made watches. And I don't like the idea of killing something so beautiful. And I justify that I'm doing it it while they are asleep.

        My wife was gardening one day, and her shovel hit an entrance to an underground nest...a huge one. She got stung by a hornet (I think).

        I waited until it was dark, and poured gasoline into the hole in the ground. It took a whole gallon. I lit it, and it shot flames out that looked like a torch. I sat out there next to it for about an hour (just to make sure nothing caught on fire), and then put it out.

        One stung my wife. They had to go.
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        • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          Your sense of fairness impresses me a little.

          I wait until night, and set the nest on fire. I feel bad too, although maybe not for the same reasons you do. I think they are amazing creatures. Like finely made watches. And I don't like the idea of killing something so beautiful. And I justify that I'm doing it it while they are asleep.

          My wife was gardening one day, and her shovel hit an entrance to an underground nest...a huge one. She got stung by a hornet (I think).

          I waited until it was dark, and poured gasoline into the hole in the ground. It took a whole gallon. I lit it, and it shot flames out that looked like a torch. I sat out there next to it for about an hour (just to make sure nothing caught on fire), and then put it out.

          One stung my wife. They had to go.
          Headline in next days Wasp Gazette.

          "Another Midnight Arson Attack By The Green Hornet. Hundreds Burned Alive"
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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            Originally Posted by lanfear63 View Post

            Headline in next days Wasp Gazette.

            "Another Midnight Arson Attack By The Green Hornet. Hundreds Burned Alive"
            Never saw that coming.

            The Green Hornet....Jeesh!
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            • Profile picture of the author discrat
              Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

              Never saw that coming.

              The Green Hornet....Jeesh!
              Is it geesh or jeesh ?

              I thought it was geesh but now that I think about it maybe your right !
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              • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                Originally Posted by discrat View Post

                Is it geesh or jeesh ?

                I thought it was geesh but now that I think about it maybe your right !
                It's Jeesh. Claude said it so it must be so.

                I may well be wrong but I think it's a sort of short way of saying Jesus in a particular way.

                Don't mind me though I mainly clueless on these things.
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                • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
                  Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                  Don't mind me though I mainly clueless on these things.
                  Since when has being clueless on a subject ever stopped anyone in the OT forum posting on that subject?
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                  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                    Originally Posted by discrat View Post

                    Is it geesh or jeesh ?

                    I thought it was geesh but now that I think about it maybe your right !
                    Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                    It's Jeesh. Claude said it so it must be so.

                    I may well be wrong but I think it's a sort of short way of saying Jesus in a particular way.

                    Don't mind me though I mainly clueless on these things.
                    Considering the title of this thread, we may need to consult a spelling bee for the correct answer to this...
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    The attack phermone is COMMON with such insects. BEES have it ALSO. But YEAH, these are not bees and not as important to the direct health of the ecological balance. They DO serve a purpose though, and have INDIRECT effects on the balance.

    SO, should you feel bad? YEAH. But was it as bad as killing bees, for much of nature? NOPE.

    I HATE it when people call these guys bees. Most of them look NOTHING like bees, and their attitude and the like is not like bees. As for bees, they are apparently attracted to bright colors, and certain scents. If you try to avoid them, and stay away from the areas the bees congregate, the bees will likely leave you alone. If one lands on you or something, don't get excited, and it will likely leave. I have had maybe 3 to 5 actually land on me, that I know of, and I have never been stung. I also never hurt a bee.

    As for wasps? Well I suspected my house was infested with them for a time but when my mother was here, she saw a wasp, got all excited, and made them a BIG problem for her. I ended up getting a guy out here that effectively wiped out their nest, that was in my home. I also found another nest ON my home, and destroyed THAT. It sounded like they were getting ready to come out, or maybe it was the queen, as I got it about the time they would become active for the year. It was under an old robins nest which apparently isn't that uncommon.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    If it were bees, with the trouble they're in from pesticides, I'd say it was wrong to kill them. If we kill too many it's actually suicide.

    Hornets and wasps aren't pollinators as far as I know. I have no clue what their place is in the ecosystem web. Still - they are too dangerous to have close-by and I'm not sure exactly how you'd go about relocating a nest. Sometimes you just have to do stuff that's unpleasant. I've never bothered with wasps because they've never bothered me - but if I had kids, it would be a different story.
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    • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      I have no clue what their place is in the ecosystem web.
      Neither did I, so I looked it up. It turns out that wasps are predators on other "pests", whereas hornets probably are pollinators.

      Wasps:
      A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their numbers, or natural biocontrol. Parasitic wasps are increasingly used in agricultural pest control as they prey mostly on pest insects and have little impact on crops.Source: Wasp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Hornets:
      Adult hornets and their relatives (e.g., yellowjackets) feed themselves on nectar and sugar-rich plant foods. Thus, they can often be seen on the sap of oak trees, rotting sweet fruits, honey and any sugar-containing foodstuffs. Hornets frequently fly into orchards to feast on over-ripe fruit. Hornets tend to gnaw a hole into fruit to be totally immersed in its meat. A person who accidentally plucks a fruit with a feeding hornet can be attacked by the disturbed insect. Source: Hornet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Both play a necessary role, but should be avoided by humans.
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      • Profile picture of the author AprilCT
        Living by a lot of forested areas, we sometimes get nests, too. A long time ago, a wasp or hornets nest seemed to grow like overnight into basketball size. When I called exterminators, the prices were crazy to remove the dang thing. Probably cost me about $12 for spray. Sprayed it and ran like crazy back into the house for almost a week. Let it sit for another week and then knocked it down.

        There were a few still alive in that hive! They weren't happy, but the spray was slowly killing the ones left inside, probably got just enough of it seeping through to make them good and sick.

        One of the neighbors tried to get one out of their tree with gasoline and lighting it. The wasps were flying out and chasing people. Unfortunately, the gasoline set the tree on fire, but since he was a volunteer firefighter, he and some buddies managed to get it out.

        Taking down wasps (or hornets) still sure beats watching out for coyotes.

        It just seems that some years are much worse than others for these flying stinger armies. I'm always glad when there aren't as many around.
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  • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
    As a small child, I used to take pleasure in discovering hornets nests around the home, then obliterating them. Once I did it with a powerful vacuum cleaner. Another time I cobbled together a contraption that discharged WD-40 over the nest, followed by a blast of spray glue.
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  • Profile picture of the author visimedia
    for me, if I'm in a good mood , I think I will feel bad doing it... but not when I'm not in a good mood.. lol
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