How do I distinguish a beehive from a wasp nest?

Question

When we were gardening today in the backyard we discovered a hive or a nest of some sort in the corner of the garden.

It's brownish grey and I thought it was a beehive because there are a lot of bees in the garden--a lot of bees are crawling on the floor (I have no idea why).

My little sister thinks it could be a wasp nest.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

oh  hai, if the nest is in an out of the way place, you might want to leave them depending on what you are growing in your garden.  they also sell hornet traps at places like Home Depot and Lowes if you don't want to call an exterminator.

One time I was removing a tree stump and was just walking around the area and was stung by a hornet or might have been a yellow jacket.   of course I whacked him, and then all his buddies started stinging too, so it is true what they say about hornets and or yellow jackets being agressive and not killing them near their nest..

Answer 2

If you see Pooh Bear running around, it is a honeybee hive.  If you don't, it is a wasp nest.

I'm just kidding.  That sucks that it's hornets.  I wouldn't try and deal with it yourself, because of the obvious...risks.  (ouch!) But you could try that Raid stuff that sprays from far away if you feel daring.  We use that on the wasps that build nests under our deck.  Just spray it from far away then RUN!

Answer 3

EDIT:

If it is a hornet nest, they are vicious! They tend to go dormant at night. Last time I had one I waited until night, filled a bucket with gasoline, and doused it and ran. They don't chase you as well when it is dark. Now that I'm older, I would proably just call an exterminator and let them get rid of it, though. It is not very smart to handle something as volatile as gasoline and it is not good for the environment, either.

Wasps usually build nests in a more sheltered place. They prefer a location that is sheltered from the rain. Generally, the cells of a wasp nest are open and visible.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/swafo/34811...

However, hornets will build an enclosed nest hanging on a tree limb or on a bush stem. The nest color will be various shades of gray depending on what they find locally to use.

Here are various photos of hornet nests:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

Answer 4

poke it and see what comes out and stings you?

nah only joking, its probably a bees nest, if its in an ok area and none of your family get bad reactions to them id personally leave it

Answer 5

It sounds more like a Beehive.  Wasps are very territorial and don't swarm too much, they would be scaring off the bees that were crawling around.

You are lucky to have a Beehive!  Bees are disappearing rapidly, its very sad.  Plant flowers that will create pollen for the bees next spring, please try to keep that hive going!  Or, call a pest control place that will not destroy it, but just relocate the hive.

Edit: Aw, not lucky enough for it to be a Bee hive. :(

well, just kill them then.  Raid has wasp killers.... you could burn it, but that'd p**s them off, I'd go chemical route... or knock it and run.  Still I'd go chemical.

Answer 6

They look totaly different a wasp nest is small and soft paper a bee hive is large and stiffhttp://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...