Company volunteers to remove large hornet nest from vacant Wilkinsburg townhouse
Wilkingsburg, Pa. (KDKA) - A massive hornet nest on a Wilkinsburg townhouse has been generating a lot of buzz.
People who live on Laketon Road in Wilkinsburg wanted their new neighbors to buzz off. Hundreds of hornets built a nest on a vacant rowhouse and now the residents are finally getting evicted.
"Very relieved, I can enjoy the rest of the days barbecuing and doing something. I haven't been able to do anything here," said Thaddeus Crumbley.
A bald-faced hornets' nest was too close for comfort for Crumbley and his neighbors. He shared his concerns with KDKA-TV last week.
"I saw the story, and I saw the family had called a pesticide company and they quoted them $300," said Joseph Kellems, co-owner of Veteran Property Services.
The owners of Veteran Property Services stepped up to remove the nest for free.
"It feels good, you know when you do stuff for people it just gives you that good feeling, so we try to do this a lot," said Dawan Johnson, co-owner of Veteran Property Services.
The hornet nest was hanging from the eave of a vacant rowhouse, right next to Crumbley's place.
The stinging insects moved into the neighborhood two months ago and the nest kept growing every day, making it too dangerous to try to remove without a bee suit.
"We do honeybees, everything stinging and these are the only ones that come barreling towards your face," Kellems said.
Their plan of action is unique as they have a vendor ship with an immunotherapy company.
"We ship them off to the vendor and they do what they do and help out people that are allergic," Kellems said.
"We'll walk up a ladder, put a laundry bag around it. He'll knock it off with a shovel into the bag, and I'll tie the bag off and that's pretty much it and we'll freeze them in dry ice," Johnson said.
While it didn't quite go as planned, families are just glad they're neighbors are gone.
"Wish it would have went into the bag smoother, the hive was a lot bigger than I thought it would be… kind of changed everything, got to adopt to those things," Kellems said.
"I really appreciate you coming out and taking care of this so I can enjoy the rest of the weeks doing something active," Crumbley said.
Kellems said if there's a large hornet nest on your property, don't attempt to remove it without a bee suit.
He said if you feel comfortable removing a nest, make sure wait until dusk or after dark because that's when they are less active and most of them will be in the nest.