How to PREVENT a Hornet Attack

About three years ago, I had a hornet problem in my yard. I was stung a few times and so were some family members. I finally decided something had to be done. I began looking for the hornet’s nest as a starting point. I found it, but then realized I had no idea what I was doing. I browsed some sites on the internet and found a very informative site that gave me the information that I needed. In fact, I saved the information and here is what it said:

1. Locate the wasp nest by examining all protected areas in the vicinity of wasp activity.

2. Simply removing the wasp nest will not resolve the problem, because surviving wasps will reconstruct a new one.

3. The best strategy is to treat the wasp nest at night when all the workers and queen are present.

4. Spraying into hornets nests should ALWAYS be done at night. They are far less aggressive and are all at home. This tactic maximizes the effect of the pesticide application by killing most if not all of the wasps. If treatment is made at night, avoid shining a light directly on the nest or use a red filter on the flashlight.

5. Daytime treatments are successful when the wasp nest is treated or if the wasps present on the nest are killed. Then, the wasp nest is removed and the attachment area treated.

6. Returning workers looking for the wasp nest contact the residual and die.

7. Complete the job by removing the wasp nest, particularly if it is inside an attic, wall void, etc. This service prevents secondary infestations by dermestids or other pests.

So, what do we take away from this lesson? Basically, in order to get rid of a large number of pests, we have to kill them all. If any are left behind, they will re-group and strike at a later time when one might be unaware. One must kill all of the workers and the queen in order to attain riddance of the entire problem. The hornets must be destroyed AND their nest must be obliterated.

Well, I’m sure I’ve bored you enough with the hornet story. However, there’s a greater lesson to be learned from this reaction to a harmful insect. In the same way that we deal with hornets, we must deal with the war in Iraq. I’ve heard too many stories of having to play by the rules when it comes to fighting the insurgents over in Iraq. I have a plan in dealing with the insurgency that I will outline below. Let me know what you think.

If someone is firing on our troops from a house, we level the house and everything in it. If someone is firing on our troops from a mosque, we level the mosque and everything in it. A few things will result from this strategy. First and foremost, we will ensure the death of the one who is putting our troops in danger. In addition, those who are most certainly working with these terrorists will be gone as well. Next, after we have done this a few dozen times, the Iraqis might start kicking these insurgents out on the streets for fear of having their homes destroyed and their families killed. I like to call this operation dragnet. Instead of picking them off one at a time, our troops kill the shooter and anyone potentially aiding the shooter.

The first question I’ve been asked about this policy is one you might expect. Will the civilian death count in Iraq increase? The answer is simply…yes. The civilian death count will increase at first. Unfortunately, civilian deaths are a part of war. In World War II, there were an estimated 32 million civilian deaths. It was an unfortunate part of WW II, but guess what? WE WON!! Korean War: 3.5 – 4 million civilian deaths. Guess what? WE WON!! Vietnam War: 65,000 civilian deaths. WE DID NOT WIN!!

Anyone care to guess how many civilian deaths so far in the Iraq War? There’s no way of knowing how many civilian deaths the U.S. coalition troops have wrought, because the insurgents have been killing so many of their own people. Well, we know what the number of U.S. military deaths is because we see the number updated in the drive-by media everyday. The number is currently over 3,200. This number sucks. It would be a very good thing if we could have gone through this war without losing a single U.S. Soldier. The media would like you to believe that the U.S. military is taking the blunt of the casualties and deaths. One number we never hear on the news is the number of Iraqi Security Forces deaths and Iraqi civilian deaths. In the year 2006 alone, the combined total for Iraqi Security Forces and civilian deaths toppled 20,000. As I said, the Muslim Fascists over there are killing their own. Yes, I said Muslim Fascists.

Here’s my point. When you want to kill a group of hornets, you kill them all, because they might be back. Unless we start killing the insurgents and the terrorists that are shooting at our guys over there, we are not going to establish a presence for the new government, so that we can leave completely victorious. I don’t agree with the way this war has been fought in Iraq; that doesn't mean I don't agree with the principle. I think it was the right thing to topple Saddam Hussein and his regime. In that regard, we have already won the war. However, until we stop worrying about “offending” our enemies, we are definitely NOT prepared to be completely victorious.