First eradication of an Asian giant hornet nest in the United States

On Oct. 24, the Washington State Department of Agriculture conducted the first Asian giant hornet nest eradication in the United States. The nest was located inside of a tree cavity near Blaine, WA.

[silentghoust]

Even with all of humanity's progress. The good old scientific method of hitting it with a stick still has its place in every endeavor.

[bojcio]

Imagine not knowing whats going on and seeing these dudes in the middle of the forest kitted out like that...

[andrewsinclair]

For anyone wondering why they're hitting the tree trunk with a board, it's to make sure every last hornet flies out of the entrance and into the vacuum. They've wrapped the tree in plastic wrap to keep the hornets from escaping out of any other possible exit holes.

For anyone wondering why they're sucking them up into a vacuum instead of spraying them with poison, filling the hole with insulation foam, burning down the whole forest, detonating a nuclear warhead, etc., it's because they need to be able to study the remains of the hornets (usually they die in the vacuum) and it's harder to do that when they're full of poison, burnt to ash, or otherwise disfigured/vaporized. This is also why they kill the stragglers with carbon dioxide instead of pesticides, because they're also going to cut down the tree and take the part with the nest in it back to the lab.

EDIT: I have learned new information on this section and will thus be correcting the post:
For anyone wondering why they all have red flashlights, it's because the wasps can't perceive the color red and therefore won't be aroused by the red lights. I had previously claimed that the red lights were meant to induce aggression, but that was incorrect. Wasps tend to react aggressively to the colors red and black, but that's mainly because anything red looks black to them. They associate the color black with mammal predators like bears, badgers, skunks, etc. that will try to eat wasp larvae if they're hungry enough. But since wasps can't see red at all, the red flashlights would therefore not be perceptible to the wasps, and thus their purpose is most likely to avoid detection rather than aggravate them.

UPDATE: For anyone wondering why they appear to be wearing spacesuits, those are actually special suits designed in China for dealing with Asian giant hornets. A regular beekeeper suit with a mesh veil and hood won't protect you because they can sting through the material, and if they land on your face veil and try to sting, they end up squirting venom into your eyes from 3 inches away. These special suits are made of a thicker material and have a plastic face cover to prevent that. They also come with a battery powered ventilation system.

[calebrabion]

You'd think this was a UFO crash zone.

[akenjah]

I'm glad to see NASA are the ones volunteering to remove these Hornets.

[MRG]

You know it’s government, when you see one person working, and 10 ppl standing around, strictly for moral support. LoL jk sorta

[rpm]

"Those stick hits...far too accurate for normal exterminators. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."

[shawn_hu]

the hard part of this job is not to let a single queen escape.

[KekaisWorld]

This is how I imagine we would harvest wood from another planet

[realmofAsher]

Exterminators : *look like biohazard agents

Also exterminators : _bonk_

[pleiades]

americanes be like: YOU PICKED THE WRONG HOUSE FOOL

[jwalkingwalker]

the low buzz of the generator and the percussive in and out of time thumping, sounds like an obscure live doom metal album.

[pabbischannel]

When you have to dress like Imperial Stormtroopers to eradicate a hornet's nest, you know that you are dealing with some next-level bugs!

[jeremynewhouse]

Bigfoot is gonna be pissed when he answers all those tree knocks

[Dave-whsb]

The Stay Puft beekeeper suits are sweet.

[kevangogh]

I live in Northeastern Japan, we have these all over the place here. I've got 3 traps set up, caught a lot of them. For some reason they're bad here in October (now). They are indeed nasty looking things but they don't seem to aggressive unless you jack with them. They will absolutely wipe out honeybees, however. Keep one thing in mind - if you've got one nest there in Washington state, that means there are others. This is probably only the beginning, most likely they're going to be in your future for a long time.

[radulacatusu]

Somehow, shipping containers must be checked. Europe has it too.

[noname-xomp]

Imagine going for a walk in the woods when you come across a dozen people dressed like the Michelin Man hitting a tree with a stick

[ghostcoast]

The only reason they found that nest is it's right next to a house, imagine the nests in the middle of the forests miles away from any road or trail. I hate wasps with a passion and this is going to suck big time 20 years from now

[tylerplayz]

I like how they where using a 2x4 from home depo