Hornets are subject to special protection under the Federal Species Protection Ordinance (BArtSchVO) and the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG). The animals may not be caught or killed and their nests may not be damaged or removed. Violations of species protection legislation can result in substantial fines.

The question of the raison d'être of animals is repeatedly raised in inquiries. Animals that are not obviously useful or at least cute often find it difficult to find a raison d'être in human perception. However, nature never creates "pointless components". For biodiversity, every animal and plant species is important as a piece of the puzzle of life.

Hornets are hunters and regulate the populations of other animals, some of which become a nuisance or even harmful to humans. A strong hornet colony feeds its brood around 500 grams of flies, mosquitoes, moths, wasps, forest pests and other insects per day. This amount of food is roughly equivalent to the needs of five tit families.

A single hornet's willingness to sting is comparable to that of a bumblebee. Despite increased educational work, the rumor still persists that hornet stings pose a threat to humans. In fact, hornet stings are no more poisonous than those of other wasp species and three to four times less poisonous than those of honey bees. However, hornet stings are more painful. This is due to the hornet's longer and thicker sting compared to other wasps and bees. In addition to the venom, the venom sac also contains a high concentration of the pain-inducing substance acetylcholine.

Rodents were exposed to hornet venom in questionable experiments. A young rat survived 60 stings without suffering permanent damage. In another experiment, a mouse weighing 25 grams was stung by six hornets. This also survived the event without permanent damage.

Stings can be life-threatening if they occur in the throat or if the person stung suffers from a severe insect allergy. For this group of people, the risk would be the same as for a bee or wasp sting.

However, the statistical risk of being stung by a hornet is low.

Hornets are peaceful lodgers. They flee when threatened and only sting if they are squeezed or disturbed in the immediate nest area. This "sensitive zone" is located within a radius of one to four meters around the nest. The more animals there are in a nest, the more likely the state is to defend itself.

You should not stand near the nest in the flight path to the nest entrance. Quick movements can also put the animals on alert. The same applies to touching the nest entrance and vibrations of the nest or vibrations/exhaust fumes in its vicinity (e.g. from a petrol lawnmower). If you approach a nest slowly from the side, you can usually watch the busy activity of the animals without being perceived as a danger. There are always a few female guards at the entrance to the nest. It is possible that they will approach an unknown intruder to check whether it poses a threat.

Hornet nests are annual structures. The active phase of the hornet colony, from the founding of the nest to the dissolution of the colony, lasts from around May to October. Depending on the weather conditions, this period may vary slightly.

At the end of the year, all but the newly hatched queens die off in the fall. The young queens undertake nuptial flights in autumn and found a new colony from the fertilized eggs in their bodies after the end of hibernation.

Abandoned nests are not reoccupied. Old nests may therefore be removed without permission once they are completely empty.

If there is a nest near a home, hornets occasionally fly into living spaces after dark. In contrast to other wasp species, hornets are nocturnal. Older workers in particular still fly in residual light, which the human eye already perceives as absolute darkness. Artificial light sources such as lamps or television screens then magically attract the animals. If such encounters occur frequently in the home, windows should only be opened after dusk when artificial light sources are switched off. Windows can be protected with a fly screen at a reasonable cost. These screens not only help against hornets flying in, but also keep other animals such as mosquitoes or garden dormice out of living spaces.

Unlike all other wasp species, hornet colonies occasionally move again in summer. They do this if the chosen location is not suitable for the nest after all. An initial site often becomes too small in the long term. Some workers then begin to look for an alternative place to live. Once this has been found, a new nest is created and the animals in the old location gradually move with the queen.

Since, in contrast to the queen's initial nests, a large number of animals move into the replacement nest at the same time, these nests grow very quickly. The process of moving is called filial formation.

Hornets always start their nests in a dark cavity. For this reason, young queens often choose shutter boxes when looking for a nesting site.

If the box is stable and the roller shutter can be dispensed with, the nest does not necessarily have to be removed.

A hornet's nest in a roller shutter box can become a problem.

Hornets are not very exemplary when it comes to their hygienic behavior. They drop considerable amounts of droppings and urine from the hornet's nest and dispose of dead larvae in front of the "house entrance". Moisture and bad odors also arise in the box itself. If the box is not sturdily built, the animals may gnaw on the wood or chipboard and eventually gain access to the living space.

The possibility of relocation should therefore be discussed with the Lower Nature Conservation Authority at an early stage.

The sooner you get in touch, the better. This way, the best time for relocation can be determined.

It is even better if the construction of a hornet's nest can be prevented at a very early stage.

If it is discovered in spring that a single, particularly large hornet (queen) is repeatedly flying in and out of a roller shutter box, it is often possible to prevent the nest from being founded there. To do this, the box must be made inaccessible to the animal as soon as it has flown out of the nest. This happens every 20-30 minutes and it takes about the same amount of time for the animal to return. When the queen has flown out, the shutter can be lowered by 1/4. The slit of the shutter is then completely sealed from the outside with kitchen paper or old cloths. It must no longer be possible to get into the shutter box. If the queen returns, she will look for a way into the shutter box. If you have worked thoroughly, she will not succeed. After a few orientation flights she will give up and fly away. As the queen will also try to get into the box in the following days, it is important to maintain the protection for about a week. After this time, she will no longer try to return to the box.

As long as it is really only the queen that flies in and out of the nest, such a deterrent measure can be initiated independently. The animal has the chance to open a new nest site.

If there is already more flight traffic at the roller shutter (several smaller hornets), then this type of deterrence no longer works and is also no longer permitted.

If you have already had several nests in a roller shutter box (hornets or other wasps of the species that nest in caves), then a more permanent protection of roller shutters by attaching brushes or sealing lips, which also optimize the insulation of boxes, may also be recommended. Under "Further information" you will find links to You-Tube articles that explain the systems.

You can also obtain advice and support on installing such systems from specialist retailers for roller shutters.