[tn-bird] Need advice with hornet problem
- From: SSheliga@xxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 23:17:59 EDT
What is it with chickadees and hornets? Do hornets plague chickadee nests
because the chickadees can't defend themselves?
Just checked a chickadee nestbox (Gilbertson type). Five little ones hatched
two days ago. A huge hornet was in the box; it left when I completely
removed the cylinder from the roof. I checked 15 minutes later and mama was
sitting on the babies. Now I'm concerned that 1) the hornet will return, and
2) mama will not leave the nest to get food.
Last year, in another nestbox (standard wooden type), I threw out a hornet's
product (eggs?) from a chickadee nest that hadn't hatched yet. A hornet may
have later killed the mother, since a few weeks later I found the nestlings
dead.
BTW, I'm presuming these are hornets because they're larger than carpenter
bees. They do not attach their nests to anything. Rather, they make a 'pod'
like a spider, but without the web, in the bird's nest. So soap on the roof
is not the answer.
I am very allergic to their sting (another story), so I can't just throw out
the intruders.
How do you keep the big insects out? What if I put another nestbox
above/below the existing nestbox? Presumably a decoy. Would that work?
There are two more chickadee nests, one with seven (!) nestlings, and one
with mama still on the nest.
Also, should something happen to the mother, can the nestlings be given to
another chickadee mother? It works with chickens.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Sharon Sheliga
Lenoir City, TN
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