# Lilac



## keepanionme (Aug 22, 2017)

My parents have a lilac bush that's pretty big. It's been infested by a colony of really big bees again this year - the smallest of the ones that have been killed are an inch long with the biggest being almost 2 1/2". 

I think my mom is with the idea of removing it. I've seen lilac on here before and would love to take some of it, but questioned how to go about it and what to get. It's a pretty big bush, but I can't say for sure how thick the branches are as it's covered in leaves and really big bees at the moment.

It's probably 5-6 feet tall so I'm guessing there's a pretty nice ball of roots under it? I've never done any digging for a root ball but think this may have some potential, once those bees are gone. Any tips would be welcome.

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 1


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 22, 2017)

Got any pics of the bee's, lol.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## keepanionme (Aug 22, 2017)

Actually, I do. They are actually Asian Killer Hornets. Bad, very bad, creatures. They kill regular bees. My parents used to have a lot of wild flowers that grow during the summer. With these things around, they kill the bees that pollinate everything.

Reactions: Way Cool 1 | Informative 2


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## CWS (Aug 22, 2017)

Nasty looking critters.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 22, 2017)

I Did not know they where in this country.


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## keepanionme (Aug 23, 2017)

They've had them the last 2 or 3 years. The ones in the pictures are the small ones. The bigger ones have a wingspan of about 4-5 inches. I would certainly hate to get hit by these things. I couldn't imagine how bad it would hurt!

Reactions: Agree 3


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## rocky1 (Aug 23, 2017)

Do you have honeybees in the area? If not... mix up some simple syrup, 50%water/50% sugar, stir in some Sevin Garden insecticide. Sevin is slow acting, it will allow them to take it back to the nest and feed it to the brood. May not take them all out, but it'll knock them back if you keep it out where they can get at it. Just want to be careful if you have any bees around.

Reactions: Useful 3


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## Nature Man (Aug 23, 2017)

Keep us posted on your progress. Once you have those flying devils exterminated, anxious to see the lilac wood. Chuck


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## keepanionme (Aug 24, 2017)

rocky1 said:


> Do you have honeybees in the area? If not... mix up some simple syrup, 50%water/50% sugar, stir in some Sevin Garden insecticide. Sevin is slow acting, it will allow them to take it back to the nest and feed it to the brood. May not take them all out, but it'll knock them back if you keep it out where they can get at it. Just want to be careful if you have any bees around.



Thanks for the info, Rocky. I'll pass that along to my dad. The only problem is getting close enough to apply the mixture. Dad can't run as fast as he used to, my brothers are chicken, and I'm allergic. Dad's been driving next to the bush, putting the window down a bit, spraying the commercial bee killing spray that shoots 25 ft, and they flooring it when the hornets start to come out.

These things killed the bees that were around. They used to have carpenter bees and honey bees all over their property. Every year, there were lots of flowers along the trees. Ever since these things have been around, none of that has happened and all the bees are gone. After finding out what they were, turns out, these hornets are responsible for killing the various bees. 

After this is done, I'm hoping mom will still want to part with the bush.


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## Karda (Aug 26, 2017)

do it at night, they don't fly at night when it is dark. Make sure you put plenty out yuou don't want to go out there more than you need to

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Spinartist (Aug 27, 2017)

Lilac wood is beautiful!! Can have purple streaks through it & it smells like Lilacs when cutting it. Rootball is worth digging up!

It cracks badly while drying.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Spinartist (Aug 27, 2017)

I'd report the hornets to the county or state agricultural board. Maybe they will come & kill the nest.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 27, 2017)

I'd like to see pics of the big ones just to see what species they are. Thank god the only ones we have here in Michigan are bald faced hornets and they are bad enough, mean little bastards. The big ones that you are describing almost sound like the giant hornets of japan, I hope they never make their way here, they will kill every bee in a hive just to get to the larvae to feed their own.


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## Karda (Aug 27, 2017)

yea report it it will help them fight it, ask for help to deystroy the nest, better them than you

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Spinartist (Aug 27, 2017)

Your pict looks more like the European hornet, not the giant Asian.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Spinartist (Aug 27, 2017)

I think what you have is European hornet.
Top right photos

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Spinartist (Aug 27, 2017)

Giant Asian Hornets have stripes, not the dots on their back end.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## rocky1 (Aug 27, 2017)



Reactions: Agree 3 | Funny 6


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## Spinartist (Aug 28, 2017)

There's also huge Cicada killer wasps around. But they are solitary, not hive dwellers.


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## keepanionme (Aug 28, 2017)

I'll see if I can get pictures of the bigger ones.

Lee, I think you're right. It certainly does look like the European hornet. Thanks for the info! 

These things are relentless. They are just as aggressive at night as they are in the day. I'll definitely pass along the info to call the agricultural board and see what help they can be.

Thanks for all the info!

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Aug 28, 2017)

While aggressive at night, they shouldn't really be active unless disturbed, wherein spraying at night would tend to find more of the colony's population in the nest. Should you attempt to spray them at night, do NOT go out with flashlight in hand, bugs in general are attracted to light, bees and wasps are no different, and they will go straight to the light if disturbed, agitated, or sprayed. As a rule, they tend to fly in the direction of light, and generally fly past it, where they become confused and land, and attack whatever they find there if it's warm and they can stick a stinger in it. Speaking from years experience sitting on a forklift moving agitated bugs around. 

See if you have any beekeepers locally, if so see if they will usually come and spray the nest, for a small fee. We typically around town in ND as a community service, here in Florida it gets to be a wee bit much, and we point them to the local pest control experts.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Herb G. (Mar 20, 2018)

I know this is an old thread, but I found it interesting so I had to relate.
We had a nest of hornets in a bush in our front yard around 10 years ago.
I had an old push mower & I was cutting around the flower beds when I got hit by a Mack truck.
My arm swelled up like a balloon & I felt like I was going to toss my cookies immediately.

I had to hit the ER to get a shot of Benadryl. Luckily I only live 3 miles from the hospital.

Anyway, later that night, I remembered a trick my Grandpa taught me.
I got a cup full of gasoline & threw it on the little bastids & hit them with my weed burning torch.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Orig...000-Btu-h-Output-90-psi-28-in-Handle/21587696

I almost burned the siding off the front of the house, but the little buggers never came back after they got hit with that kind of fire.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 3


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## CWS (Mar 20, 2018)

I use SEVIN dust to control them. Just dump a pile of dust at the entrance of the nest and as they enter they drag the dust down to the nest and they all die. Better than burning down the house.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## Mike1950 (Mar 20, 2018)

I was cleaning a fence line on a piece of property I had. I was chopping about a 3 inch tree and I heard a buzzing noise- did not register at first but then it did and I just ran. at a safe distance I looked back and about 15' up there was a hornets nest about the size of a basketball. tree was moving it everytime I hit it with axe. went back to house and when I got back it was late evening and bees had calmed down. got close and one shot of number 7 out of the 12 gauge and nest and bees was just confetti floating in air. It is nice when you win and hornets lose. Those big suckers- hell you could use the 410 on them.....

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## rocky1 (Mar 20, 2018)

Had a nest in my field, burrowed in under the edge of a Sweet Gum that's about 20 ft. tall. Tried Wasp and Hornet Spray, wasted the whole can on them. Day or two later rode by, and they're buzzing in and out again. Was out in the field a day or two later with 5 gallons of diesel in the back of the Mule. Sweet gums are everywhere in the field, one less isn't going to hurt my feelings and I wanted the hornets gone. Stopped and dumped about a gallon of fuel on them rode by a week or so later, they're buzzing in and out like nothing ever happened.

Few weeks later I had a bear show up on my game camera, didn't think anything of it, it happens occasionally. Next time I rode by the sweet gum, there was a great big hole where that hornets nest used to be!!

Next time a bunny hugger tries to tell you bears are cute cuddly, tell them you know a guy had one dig a hornets nest that was almost three feet in diameter out from under a sweet gum tree, and ask them if they've ever seen anything warm and cuddly do that?!

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 3


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## Mike1950 (Mar 20, 2018)

rocky1 said:


> Had a nest in my field, burrowed in under the edge of a Sweet Gum that's about 20 ft. tall. Tried Wasp and Hornet Spray, wasted the whole can on them. Day or two later rode by, and they're buzzing in and out again. Was out in the field a day or two later with 5 gallons of diesel in the back of the Mule. Sweet gums are everywhere in the field, one less isn't going to hurt my feelings and I wanted the hornets gone. Stopped and dumped about a gallon of fuel on them rode by a week or so later, they're buzzing in and out like nothing ever happened.
> 
> Few weeks later I had a bear show up on my game camera, didn't think anything of it, it happens occasionally. Next time I rode by the sweet gum, there was a great big hole where that hornets nest used to be!!
> 
> Next time a bunny hugger tries to tell you bears are cute cuddly, tell them you know a guy had one dig a hornets nest that was almost three feet in diameter out from under a sweet gum tree, and ask them if they've ever seen anything warm and cuddly do that?!



I was about 12- gramps had a sale above the Kootenai river. there was an old abandoned road that went down to river. I decided I was going to hike down to river-2 miles+- and fish. about a 1/3 of the way down I started hearing this growling grunting noise- pretty woods wise but it was a new sound for me. I carefully started walking down road and noise got louder and louder. finally I looked straight out and about 20 30 yards out a small yearling bear was up in tree digging in dead tree and battling a bees nest - he was grunting and growling - swatting at bees and digging. all of a sudden bees got more intense and he started battling bees with both paws- gravity sorta took over- he reached out for tree but too late and down he went. it was a brushy treed slope- he dropped about 20' before he disappeared in brush squealing like a pig on the way down. hit the ground with a thud and beller- took off making a large racket down the hill. I laughed at the image the whole day. It was like one of the yogi bear cartoons but live real action...

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 4


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## Byron Barker (Mar 21, 2018)

If you got any straightish branches about 3 ft in length and 2 inches in diameter on that bush, let me know. I've been trying to source some lilac for a bow for years. Good luck with those wasps. We have 3 varieties like that in Taiwan and they are deadly. Fortunately, they tend to be pretty mellow as long as you don't piss them off....like cutting down their bush. The aboriginals make a type of medicinal wine with them. Tastes pretty good actually. Just get a strong, flavorless alcohol like vodka. Smoke the bush good and well for a good half an hour. Put on enough clothes to stop a knife blade and cover every inch of your skin. Get on some leather gloves and then just pluck them up and drop them straight on in the booze. Give it a year and enjoy.

Reactions: Like 1


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## CWS (Mar 21, 2018)

Mike1950 said:


> I was about 12- gramps had a sale above the Kootenai river. there was an old abandoned road that went down to river. I decided I was going to hike down to river-2 miles+- and fish. about a 1/3 of the way down I started hearing this growling grunting noise- pretty woods wise but it was a new sound for me. I carefully started walking down road and noise got louder and louder. finally I looked straight out and about 20 30 yards out a small yearling bear was up in tree digging in dead tree and battling a bees nest - he was grunting and growling - swatting at bees and digging. all of a sudden bees got more intense and he started battling bees with both paws- gravity sorta took over- he reached out for tree but too late and down he went. it was a brushy treed slope- he dropped about 20' before he disappeared in brush squealing like a pig on the way down. hit the ground with a thud and beller- took off making a large racket down the hill. I laughed at the image the whole day. It was like one of the yogi bear cartoons but live real action...


@rocky1 you will always get out done if you tell your story first. Same goes for fish stories.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## Mike Hill (Mar 21, 2018)

Byron Barker said:


> If you got any straightish branches about 3 ft in length and 2 inches in diameter on that bush, let me know. I've been trying to source some lilac for a bow for years. Good luck with those wasps. We have 3 varieties like that in Taiwan and they are deadly. Fortunately, they tend to be pretty mellow as long as you don't piss them off....like cutting down their bush. The aboriginals make a type of medicinal wine with them. Tastes pretty good actually. Just get a strong, flavorless alcohol like vodka. Smoke the bush good and well for a good half an hour. Put on enough clothes to stop a knife blade and cover every inch of your skin. Get on some leather gloves and then just pluck them up and drop them straight on in the booze. Give it a year and enjoy.


A liqueur made with hornets! Now I may have heard just about everything. But has given me an idea!

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Byron Barker (Mar 22, 2018)

Yeah, I guess there is some benefit to the venom they have. I've seen them do the same thing with 100 pacer vipers here although I've never tried the liquor from it. It evidently makes you sweat. The hornets here are incredibly deadly and they say an normal person will die after 5 stings as the venom literally liquefies your muscle tissue. Infusing it in alcohol somehow makes in inert and gives it some sort of medicinal properties. There is something similar they do with bee venom for people with arthritis. One treatment is a tincture of venom and the other is literally a direct bee sting to the afflicted areas. It evidently helps people a lot. When I lived in New Zealand and worked on a bee farm, there was a big push to market bee venom for arthritis sufferers.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 2


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## Mike1950 (Mar 22, 2018)

Byron Barker said:


> Yeah, I guess there is some benefit to the venom they have. I've seen them do the same thing with 100 pacer vipers here although I've never tried the liquor from it. It evidently makes you sweat. The hornets here are incredibly deadly and they say an normal person will die after 5 stings as the venom literally liquefies your muscle tissue. Infusing it in alcohol somehow makes in inert and gives it some sort of medicinal properties. There is something similar they do with bee venom for people with arthritis. One treatment is a tincture of venom and the other is literally a direct bee sting to the afflicted areas. It evidently helps people a lot. When I lived in New Zealand and worked on a bee farm, there was a big push to market bee venom for arthritis sufferers.



do you have arthritis @rocky1 ??? I assume you have had your shares of stings..

Reactions: Funny 1


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## rocky1 (Mar 22, 2018)

Oh yeah... I've had my share of stings! No arthritis, but working in this business all these years lots of stiff joints.


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