Tree Sling'r
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'm good with yellow jackets, I'll just gas them or cut from the other side of the tree or leave the top for the landing. Bald faced hornet's on the other hand...laters!!!!
Attacked by Hornets nest
- Thread starter OntheLevel
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I'm good with yellow jackets, I'll just gas them or cut from the other side of the tree or leave the top for the landing. Bald faced hornet's on the other hand...laters!!!!
RandyMac
Stiff Member
It is always good to do some recon, if you see them ahead of time you can deal with them, like have a cat bury them. Too many times while bucking, I would look down and see a bunch of the little bastards pouring out from under something.
Tree Sling'r
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yes sir. I pack Gypo Jugs on my belt and they have come in handy a few times dealing with. At the stump, back baring was another good way if they were on the other side. Saw chip ammo!!!
Stings
Exactly right! Five yrs ago about 50 yellowjackets got me while I was trying to get my wife out of their "attack zone". The rotten *#$*^% suckers go for the eyes first. Their stings are not as painful as some other wasps & hornets, but I am allergic & ended up in the ER. By the time they got the IV in my BP had dropped to 40 over 20! I'm lucky to be here to comment on the "experience". If someone would line up all of the yellowjackets in the world I would happily pull off their wings, one at a time, & then conduct a slicing & dicing clinic with a saw with a dull chain!! Don't know if anyone has seen or identified the Cicada Killer wasp, but they are about 2in long & around 3/8in diameter with a very distinctive yellow & black set of markings. They are similar in size to the big black horseflies that show up in Aug. in Michigan & about twice as fast! They look like they could put a big time hurt on you, but are usually not aggressive toward humans.
Exactly right! Five yrs ago about 50 yellowjackets got me while I was trying to get my wife out of their "attack zone". The rotten *#$*^% suckers go for the eyes first. Their stings are not as painful as some other wasps & hornets, but I am allergic & ended up in the ER. By the time they got the IV in my BP had dropped to 40 over 20! I'm lucky to be here to comment on the "experience". If someone would line up all of the yellowjackets in the world I would happily pull off their wings, one at a time, & then conduct a slicing & dicing clinic with a saw with a dull chain!! Don't know if anyone has seen or identified the Cicada Killer wasp, but they are about 2in long & around 3/8in diameter with a very distinctive yellow & black set of markings. They are similar in size to the big black horseflies that show up in Aug. in Michigan & about twice as fast! They look like they could put a big time hurt on you, but are usually not aggressive toward humans.
RandyMac
Stiff Member
Stump####ers!!!! aka Spruce flies will brighten your day.
forestryfun
ArboristSite Member
I've experienced a lot of painful things- got road rash skinned to the bone, broken bone, stepped on several 4 inch nails and shattered heal bone, got some bad saw wounds, but the most painful thing I've ever felt was a carpenter bee sting between the eyes. I went up on a ladder to fix my roof. Out of nowhere the sucker got me, and by the time I fell off the ladder my eyes were swollen shut. I don't wish that kind of pain on anyone. I can't imagine if it was one of those giant Asian hornets!
Anthony_Va.
XPW Fan Club
We've got into so many YJ nest at work that I've long ago lost count. I do remember some memorial moments though.
One was a buddy of mine that got into a nest this summer. We had tried to burn them out the evening before. The next morning we went back and there was a piece of cardboard laying over the hole that was partially burnt. My buddy walks up like a big dummy and picks up the paper. It had hundreds of YJ's hiding underneath it and they just swarmed him.
He took off running and had a big cloud of bees around his head. He had to go to the ER but he was OK. Got him 30 some odd times. We went back to get his shirt a few hours later and there was still three or four bees circling his shirt. Then YJ's are relentless.
I've also seem them get after livestock. i watched a swarm at this same job chase a gang of goats off the hill and into the barn. The poor guys were kickin and screamin.
The worse thing I've ever done is to pull up onto a nest of them while strapped in a skidsteer. All you can do is hit the throttle and pull back the drive handles as fast as you can They usually get you because it's hard to get away.
I even have developed a fool-proof way to destroy an underground nest of them. You take a 20oz bottle and fill it with gas. You have to hit it real early in the morning before they are out. have to be real sneaky too. Find the hole, take the bottle and quickly screw it into the bee hole. Pour a little gas trail away from it and light the trail. It'll blow the bottle up in the air 20ft. It'll knock out damg near all of them.
One was a buddy of mine that got into a nest this summer. We had tried to burn them out the evening before. The next morning we went back and there was a piece of cardboard laying over the hole that was partially burnt. My buddy walks up like a big dummy and picks up the paper. It had hundreds of YJ's hiding underneath it and they just swarmed him.
He took off running and had a big cloud of bees around his head. He had to go to the ER but he was OK. Got him 30 some odd times. We went back to get his shirt a few hours later and there was still three or four bees circling his shirt. Then YJ's are relentless.I've also seem them get after livestock. i watched a swarm at this same job chase a gang of goats off the hill and into the barn. The poor guys were kickin and screamin.
The worse thing I've ever done is to pull up onto a nest of them while strapped in a skidsteer. All you can do is hit the throttle and pull back the drive handles as fast as you can
They usually get you because it's hard to get away. I even have developed a fool-proof way to destroy an underground nest of them. You take a 20oz bottle and fill it with gas. You have to hit it real early in the morning before they are out. have to be real sneaky too. Find the hole, take the bottle and quickly screw it into the bee hole. Pour a little gas trail away from it and light the trail. It'll blow the bottle up in the air 20ft.
It'll knock out damg near all of them.
I think yellow jackets wait till there are about 30 or so in my clothes to sting, then they all sting at once. Iv looked down and seen my frayed cuffs completely lined with yellowjackets. If they do decide to come slow, the first few stings are barely noticeable really.
I like the idea of the choke trick, but a 660 won't allow such operation.
As for the black & whites, they pack a bit of a punch. I watched the rather heavy set skidder driver flat MOVE while being attacked by bald faces. Got him multiple times in the dome. I had to find his glasses haha. Funny thing was, I was inches from the nest while topping the tree just minutes previous. I reckon they where a little disoriented from the fall haha. Iv had a bald face nail me inside my nose, I looked like a baboon for 3 hours and was truly out of it the next day. Matter of fact, I cut a piece of #### pistoled poplar across a line the next day that prompted a full on lawsuit. Short lived but furious. ####em...
I like the idea of the choke trick, but a 660 won't allow such operation.
As for the black & whites, they pack a bit of a punch. I watched the rather heavy set skidder driver flat MOVE while being attacked by bald faces. Got him multiple times in the dome. I had to find his glasses haha. Funny thing was, I was inches from the nest while topping the tree just minutes previous. I reckon they where a little disoriented from the fall haha. Iv had a bald face nail me inside my nose, I looked like a baboon for 3 hours and was truly out of it the next day. Matter of fact, I cut a piece of #### pistoled poplar across a line the next day that prompted a full on lawsuit. Short lived but furious. ####em...
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