Bald-faced hornets almost never build nests in the ground. Their nests are aerial, typically hanging from tree branches, shrubs, or building eaves anywhere from 3 to 60 feet off the ground. If you’ve found a nest in the ground with black-and-white insects flying in and out, you’re most likely dealing with yellowjackets, which are close relatives that look similar but have very different nesting habits. In rare cases, bald-faced hornets have been documented nesting in rodent burrows or compost piles at ground level, but this is uncommon enough that a ground nest is almost always something else.
Why Bald-Faced Hornets Don’t Nest Underground
Despite the name, bald-faced hornets aren’t true hornets at all. They’re a species of aerial yellowjacket in the genus Dolichovespula, and every species in that group builds above-ground nests. Their nests are the familiar football-shaped, gray papery structures you might spot hanging from a tree limb or tucked under a porch overhang. A queen starts building a small nest in April or May, and by late summer the colony grows to 100 to 400 workers, with the nest expanding to match. The entire structure is made from chewed wood fibers mixed with saliva, creating layered paper combs wrapped inside a protective outer shell.
Cornell’s Integrated Pest Management program notes that some bald-faced hornets will occasionally nest in rodent burrows, compost piles, or leaf piles on the ground. But this is the exception rather than the rule. If the nest you found is inside a hole in the ground with insects streaming in and out, the odds overwhelmingly favor yellowjackets.
What’s Probably in Your Ground Nest
Eastern yellowjackets and other ground-nesting species build large papery nests underground, often in abandoned rodent burrows or beneath foundations and patios. The telltale sign is a steady stream of insects flying in and out of a single small hole in the ground, sometimes with guards visibly stationed at the entrance. These colonies can contain thousands of workers by late summer, far more than the few hundred in a bald-faced hornet colony.
The two are easy to confuse at a distance. Bald-faced hornets are 5/8 to 7/8 inch long with bold black-and-white markings on their face and body. Common yellowjackets are slightly smaller with black-and-yellow striping. If the insects buzzing around your ground hole have yellow bands rather than white, you’re looking at a standard yellowjacket nest. Even if you’re seeing black-and-white coloring, size and nest location together point strongly toward yellowjackets when the nest is underground.
How Dangerous Ground Nests Are
Whether the insects are yellowjackets or bald-faced hornets, a ground nest poses real sting risk because it’s so easy to stumble over. Mowing the lawn, walking through the yard, or letting kids play nearby can trigger a defensive swarm. Bald-faced hornets attack when you come within about three feet of their nest and can sting repeatedly because their stingers are smooth, unlike a honeybee’s barbed stinger. Yellowjackets behave the same way. Both species become more aggressive in late summer and early fall as colonies peak in size and food becomes scarce.
Stings from either species are painful, and for people with venom allergies, they can cause a life-threatening reaction. Multiple stings are common during a defensive encounter because disturbing a nest triggers a coordinated response from many workers at once.
How to Handle a Ground Nest Safely
The safest approach is to mark the area, keep people and pets away, and deal with the nest after dark when all the insects are inside and cooler temperatures make them sluggish. For a confirmed ground-nesting yellowjacket colony, one low-risk method is filling the entrance with fine, dry sand at night. Another option is applying an insecticidal dust to the entrance after dark and then plugging it with steel wool. Both approaches trap the colony inside and prevent workers from emerging.
If you attempt removal yourself, wear clothing that covers all exposed skin, including gloves and a head covering. Never shine a flashlight directly at the nest entrance, as the insects will fly toward the light and attack. And never pour gasoline into a ground nest. This is a persistent piece of bad advice that creates a fire hazard, contaminates your soil, kills surrounding vegetation, and poses a far greater danger to your family than the insects themselves.
For large or hard-to-reach nests, or if anyone in your household has a known venom allergy, professional pest control is the practical choice. Professionals carry protective equipment rated for both chemical exposure and stings, and they can confirm exactly which species you’re dealing with.
The Colony Won’t Last Forever
Every yellowjacket and bald-faced hornet colony is annual. The entire colony, including workers, males, and the old queen, dies off with the first hard frosts of autumn. Only newly mated queens survive by hibernating through winter, and they will build an entirely new nest in a new location the following spring. Last year’s nest is never reused. If you discover a ground nest late in the season and it isn’t near a high-traffic area, simply avoiding it for a few weeks until cold weather arrives is a legitimate option. By November in most of North America, the colony will be gone on its own.