Bee/hornet fog

[rmihalek]

Is there a product available to tree climbers that can get them out of danger is they come upon a hive of bees/hornets? I was thinking of some kind of aerosol fog similar to the smoke that beekeepers use that would buy the climber a few extra minutes to get his/her wits about them and safely decend.

 

[moss]

Best strategy is do a pre-climb assessment to determine if bees are in the tree. Then when you're climbing it pays to be observant of bee activity especially if it's an older tree with hollow trunk or branches. You'd have to sit inside any insecticide fog that you create (if it was possible). Generally speaking treeworkers encounter more danger from bees than rec climbers because they can potentially cut into hives. Most of the bee sprays are designed to destroy the nest rather than as self-defense. Attacking bees, wasps and hornets come in from all angles, and they are usually already on you by the time you figure out you're under attack. I don't know how you could knock them all down with a spray.

If you carry a couple of huge cigars and lit them at once you could probably create a defensive smoke cloud if there was no wind You might get dizzy doing it.
-moss