[va-richmond-general] How to get rid of hornets

I've had to take down both my hummingbird feeders today, and now a
hummingbird is flying in the area of one of them trying to find out what
happened to the feeder. 

 

This is because a huge swarm of hornets (about 100 or so) descended on one
of the feeders a couple of days ago. I sprayed the feeder with water and
withdrew it from the yard for the rest of the day. The feeder had bee guards
on it. The hornets swarmed around for a while but gradually disappeared. The
next day I swapped the two feeders.

 

Today I saw a huge throng of hornets around the feeder without the bee
guards. I sprayed it with water to drive them off and withdrew the feeder.
The hornets swarmed around for a while but gradually disappeared. Some of
them, however, converged on the other feeder, the one with the guards on it,
and I had to withdraw that one. Now I have no hummingbird feeders out there
and the hummingbird is flying around trying to find it.

 

How do I get rid of the hornets without giving up on hummingbirds for the
rest of the year? A secondary problem is that the feeders are also
collecting ants, and the nectar inside is becoming ant soup. But the hornet
problem is more serious, since it is not only preventing me from feeding
hummingbirds, it was also interfering with other birds trying to feed on a
nearby bird food feeder and suet.

 

Jim Blowers

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