Ignore them. Hornets are not aggressive unless you bother the nest. They capture caterpillars and other garden pests.

I recently moved a plant that they may have began a nest in, I don't know. They seem aggressive, staying close by our back screen door all through the day, and when ever we go to that door they start hovering around it. Our dogs are afraid to go back there, so we have to take them out front on a leash, instead of letting them out into the fenced in back yard. You mentioned they capture caterpillars. I have brought in butterfly plants, maybe that is why they are attracted to our backyard now.

Hornets are, for the most part, beneficial insects aiding in control of many species of insects in our gardens. The only people they might be a real problem for are Anaphylactics.
They are hanging around your door because you have something that is attracting them. If you cannot determine what that is, and eliminate it, hanging a cotton ball soaked in ammonia may aid in discouraging them from hanging around there. Unnecessarily spraying the nest of wasps, hornets, bees, is not a very environmentally correct thing to do.

Thank you for that info. I am off to buy a bag of cotton balls and a gallon or two of ammonia!

Are you sure that they are hornets?

I have been thinking they were hornets, looked them up on the web, however we were talking with someone yesterday and they said maybe they are yellow jackets. They are pretty big, and appear to have white and black stripes, or maybe yellow and black stripes, on the latter part of their bodies. I have just not gotten too up close and personal with them to tell. Just went out to look at them, seems more white than yellow. We had some last year and I saw them going into the ground at one point. Very frustrating not to be able to go out our back screen door into our backyard. As soon as we go to the door they launch from where ever they have been and just hover around the door.
Lauri

I found one that had died in our screen room today. Here's a pic. Is this a hornet?
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Since there are many different species of Hornets it can be difficult for the average lay person to make a good ID. That does look similar to some of the "Hornets" I have seen but your best place to get a good ID is your state universities Cooperative Extension Service.

Hornets usually prefer live prey, paper wasps drink flower nectar or suck the blood out of caterpillars, yellowjackets are the things that hang around picnic tables.

You could make a simple trap with a 2-liter soda bottle: Fill about 1/3 full of water with some dish detergent in it. Tie a piece of cotton string around a piece of raw meat or fat, suspend it over (not in) the soapy water, and tie the other end around the neck of the bottle. Hang the bottle away from where people are. All I've ever caught with these is yellowjackets, our black hornets ignore it, as do the paper wasps.

You also might try sitting quietly by your back door and see what they are doing and where they're going. I had some wasps crawling through the vents into the hot water tank closet to build a nest.

Sue

Sue, Yellow Jackets also aid us in controlling various other insects. In the spring they prefer protein as a diet but in the fall that seems to switch more toward sugars.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Yellow Jackets

This morning I saw one of them carrying what appeared to be a large bug into the nest. I wish the nest wasn't right close to the back screen door, they go after our dogs when they go out to the backyard, making the dogs afraid to go into the backyard, thus creating "presents" for us to clean up in the house, on the hard wood floor. I will try that soda bottle method. I keep forgetting to buy ammonia at the store to try that method. I know some don't like the idea of getting rid of them, as it is not the environmentally thing to do, however, poops and peeps ruining our hardwood floor is not too terribly enjoyable either.
Thanks for all the info..........Lauri