Hornets

I gor the wrong picture. not a chain saw but just a pair of shears,

Hornets are nothing to be blase about. If you have never been stung you can not know how you will react. Hope your friend is okay.

So glad your friend is OK. We have lots of the big blue-black hornets visit us especially when the wisteria is out, right next to the house.. We watch them but don't disturb. We have not found any nests. We know they are the gardeners friend in that they eat other insects. I guess the thing is not to stir up the hornets nest as the saying goes.

What a nasty experience. We hope that your friend feels more comfortable soon.

I know it,s not quite the same thing and that wasps are nowhere near as big as Hornets ,but , this is a warning to you friends who have lovely big compost boxes , it seems that Wasps may like the warmth in them .
My Husband decided to empty one box last year to use the compost , he disturbed a wasp nest in it , he came rushing back to the house covered in wasps , I had an awful job to help him pull his top off , he had been stung several times , needless to say he is now very wary whenever the bins need emptying ,
Be carefull !! have a poke about first , any signs , get ready to run .
Hope your friend will soon recover from the shock Poaannua

What a nasty experience! If he has had one anaphyllactic reaction, I hope that his Dr. will prescribe what the children at school used to have - a syringe full of adrenaline I think it is. Theirs were called 'Epipens' and all the staff had to have training in their use, as we had several children with severe peanut allergies.

We had the same thing Spritz, and even parents who were chaperones on any school trips had to learn how to use Epipens.
I had a camping buddy when I was younger, who had never been stung before. She was stung while we were camping in the Appalacian Mtns and went into shock. We were so lucky that the park rangers are trained EMT's and had adrenaline to give her, cause we were at least 300 miles from the nearest hospital. It was a very frightening experience.

Thank for the comments. It seems he is now recovered but had headaches, Is off on Holiday to Finland tomorrow so at least he should keep cool. I sprayed wasp killer into the entrance of the nest and then ran ,slipped on the lawn fell fllat on my face. Quite alright though lol

Would it be a good idea to have professional pest control experts to deal with hornets nests, or any other type of stinging insects nests??

Poaanua, that was definitely a bad move! Chris is right - supposing the wasps had swarmed out on you? I'm glad to hear that you didn't hurt yourself when you fell. Also glad your friend is OK.

Pleased your friend is recovering well.

I have just finished a course of prednisone after suffering a wasp sting ( while working on my compost pile)... my reaction was localized...on my forearm which was so swollen and hot that sleeping was impossible. Anaphalactic shock is life or death and I'm quite grateful that my reaction was not respiratory... But I was cautioned by a doctor that my next reaction could be if I receive another sting...the danger of the swelling hot reaction is the possibility of bacterial infection ...this is common for people with diabetes for instance. So...bee, wasp or hornet...give them all due respect...and call a professional to dispose of large nests...if one sting can give a week of misery, imagine being hospitalized with numerous stings!! just not worth the risk... You're a brave man, Poaannua.