Ground hornets - Ask Extension
Can ground hornets be rescued or moved? Thanks
Knowledgebase
Ground hornets #911662
Asked July 28, 2025, 9:06 AM EDT
Can ground hornets be rescued or moved? Thanks
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
Hornets create aerial nests in trees or shrubs or inside tree cavities, so you are probably seeing either ground-nesting Yellowjacket wasps or Cicada Killer wasps instead of hornets. The former are social and share one communal nest, which they defend readily by stinging; the latter are solitary (several may nest in the same yard, due to appealing habitat, but each female tends to her own burrow) and are very unlikely to sting.
Neither can be relocated, because Yellowjackets will not tolerate a nest being dug up and moved, and Cicada Killer wasp burrows can't be dug up because there is no structure (like the fragile paper envelope surrounding a Yellowjacket nest and its combs) to remove. You can learn more about the life cycle of each wasp on the pages above, which includes management options when necessary.
Miri
Neither can be relocated, because Yellowjackets will not tolerate a nest being dug up and moved, and Cicada Killer wasp burrows can't be dug up because there is no structure (like the fragile paper envelope surrounding a Yellowjacket nest and its combs) to remove. You can learn more about the life cycle of each wasp on the pages above, which includes management options when necessary.
Miri
