Wow, I've never even seen such a thing before - I almost feel sorry for the spiders! And yes, hornets - aaaack - definitely create their own no-go zones when they nest. I wish I could turn all such things into bees, bees are so friendly by comparison. We had one trapped in the house yesterday, I put a drop of honey in a glass and 'cupped' the bee - who after a moment of panic found the honey and began to happily slurp it up as I took it outside.