Episode 42: Beware Of Murder Hornets

About This Episode

In this episode of Ask Grumpy, Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener, answers a question about the scary murder hornets. Plus, theAmerican Beauty berry, Grumpy’s favorite plant this time of year.

Question Of The Week

Any suggestions for controlling murder hornets? Our neighbors have them in their Chinese privet bush.

Grumpy Gardener Answer: All my listeners know I hate privet. But anyway, I'll tell you what I would do, if this was my yard, I'd get myself a flamethrower, and I'd emulate both the privet and the hornets in one fell swoop. Get rid of 'em. Now, having said that, let's talk a little bit about murder hornets. The term murder hornet, is something that was created on social media purely for click bait. They took an insect, they called it murder hornet, and the reason they did that is because this hornet, which is the biggest in the world, happens to feast on honeybees. And when it attacks a nest, it usually goes and bites off their heads.

So anyway, that's how they get this name but, here's the thing: you have almost 0.00000 chance in this country of ever encountering Asian Giant Hornet, which is the correct name, because they are native to Japan and maybe some parts of Korea, and that's where they live. The only time we've ever found them in this country is on the West coast. And how that happens is a queen Asian Giant Hornet hitches a ride on a shipping boat. They cross the Pacific, she flies off and starts a nest. And when they discover this nest, people go bonkers. They call out the cavalry and that nest is immediately eradicated. What is probably more likely is our smaller hornet called the black-faced hornet. It's black and white, and it makes this characteristic nest that looks like a big loaf of bread. And in the bottom of it is one single entry hole. Now these black-faced hornets, they eat a lot of bugs, and they're good in that way. If you come too close, or you happen to nudge that privet, they will sting you mercilessly. So here's what you have to do if you want to get rid of these black-faced hornets. First of all, you have to get yourself a jet spray can of wasp and hornet killer. You have to either convince yourself or someone else that you're willing to sacrifice who's much braver than you, and tell her she has to get underneath that nest, generally at dusk, because they are less active and most all the hornets are inside. Take careful aim-and you soak the entry hole of the nest. And that immediately kills all the hornets inside. So, follow this strategy, and let me know how it went. I hope to hear from you again in the future.

Plant Of The Week

Purple American Beautyberry

And this is a native plant, for the South, especially in the Southeast. It's quite common out in the woods. But the one that people mostly know is the purple one. And this is a plant that grows to be a rather large shrub, probably six feet high and wide. It has little pink flowers in late spring. And then towards the end of summer and into early fall, it just gets laden with these really beautiful, purple berries. So it becomes quite showy and also the berries are good. They're actually edible. People will go out there and make jelly and stuff from them. I won't, but they will. They're also very good for birds. The birds love 'em. So the one that you'll most often see either when you're walking in the woods or you're at the garden center is the purple American Beautyberry. The botanical name is Callicarpa americana. But there is a white form. It's a natural form. The selection name for this is called Lactea, which, I think is something like Latin for milk or something, but it's L-A-C-T-E-A and instead of having purple berries, it has white berries. It grows to be the same size as the other one. It likes the same conditions. It'll take, usually parts onto shade. It likes to have kind of moist soil. And, this one blooms a little bit earlier. It tends to bloom in the middle of the summer, and it has white blooms. And then following the white blooms when they fall off, it has berries too, only they're bright white.

About Ask Grumpy

Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 20 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode.

Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.