Chased from my cutting spot...by BEES!!!

[GrizzlyAdams86]

Never been a big fan of bees, and today's encounter doesn't help things. One of my cutting spots has a few windfall red oaks (from 18"-24") that I have been slowly cleaning up since I cut a trail back to it last spring. The windstorm back in July took out 2 more red oaks that beheaded a small basswood tree on the way down. But to get to those 3 trees I had to cut a trail through the top of a windblown oak that has been down for at least 3 years. Today I was trying to clear a spot to turn the 4-wheeler around in where the top of the 3-yr old windfall was and I noticed I had left a few pieces off to the side from one of my earlier trips here. Went to pick one of them up, and there was a nasty suprise waiting under it. Some ground bees had decided to make there nest under it and were none to happy about me finding it. Ran about 20 yards back to the 4-wheeler, stopped, and then got stung 4 times and had one try to fly up my nose before retreating back to the house, sans 4-wheeler and saws (and left one saw on the other side of the nest). Didn't want to leave my things out there until after dark, but then I remembered I still had a few smoke gerandes from my paintball days back at the house. Grabbed a few of them, a carhart jacket and went back out to the woods. A few smoke gerandes later I was heading back to the house with all my gear on the 4-wheeler. Anybody have a beekeeper's suit they could loan out?

 

[ts39136]

Ouch!! Glad you got your saws.

I got to a tree today, right next to the road, was just about ready to swing the hatchet to start clearing brush when I saw a basketball sized bee's nest. I'm not one to mess with bees.

 

[Rio_Grande]

I hate Bees, but my most recent nemisis are ground ants..... I hate em and they bite hard.

 

[TreePointer]

Did you get a good look at one? Are these "bees" actual honeybees?

 

[jhoff310]

I had a similar experience a month or so ago. I was at our local compost site dropping off some very punky wood. I lifted a piece out of my trailer and it came apart. Next thing i know I am being stung left and right. I took off for the truck and got in and pulled ahead 20' or so. I assessed the situation and then returned to unload. They got me good, 14 times to be exact. 4 on the right bicep, 2 on the right ear, 1 above the right eye just below my eyebrow, 2 on the ankle, 2 on the stomach, 1 on the back, and 2 flew up my shorts and got me on the upper inner thigh. I was allergic as a kid, I did swell up but nothing to be too concerned about. It was kinda scary though wondering if I was going to have a reaction or not.

Jeff

 

[GeeVee]

Bees sting to the upper-inner thigh?

Did your wife accuse you of using Extenze?

 

[Coldfront]

It's a bad time of year for bee's, wasp's, hornets. Got stung last week by a couple bald face hornets, and Saturday I stung on the same forearm by a bee. The bee sting swelling itching was gone in one day, the hornet sting took about 4 days before the swelling and itching went down.

 

[GrizzlyAdams86]

Did you get a good look at one? Are these "bees" actual honeybees?

Quick search on yahoo of "wisconsin ground bees/wasps" turned up little. They were about 1/2"-5/8" long. Had a nest of the same type of critters in the yard once years ago dad fixed by parking a push mower over the entrance and leaving it running for a while.

 

[bluestem]

My guess is that they were yellow jackets. Nasty little f.... guys. Very territorial too. I had the same experience as you with these things, but not with bees. I hate them!

 

[ts39136]

Since we're on the subject, I found out a trick that helps with the stings. I bought a snake bite kit and it came with a sucky thing (looks like syringe with cup on end). I tried it once on a sting and it worked wonders, you could see the liquid comming out and there was no swelling. Since then I've tried it a number of times, works very well. I used to swell up bad for days (eye swelled shut once for almost a week), but this trick seems to have helped for me.

Amazes me how those pesky creatures go for the face. I've been stung in the face more than I'd like to count. I still have a faint bag under the one eye from when I was stung as a kid.

 

[deerlakejens]

Basic thing to look for (if you aren't running too fast) is: Bees have hair, wasps (like yellow jackets) and hornets do not. Bees have a barbed stinger so they can only sting you once as the venom sac, which is attached to the stinger is actually ripped from their abdomen when the barb is "planted". Wasps and hornets can sting repeatedly and survive. If stung by a bee, you will see a tiny thread from the stinger to the venom sac. DO NOT PINCH IT, you will only squeeze more venom into your flesh. Scrape it off with a knife or fingernail. Ammonia, vinegar, or a baking soda paste will all help to reduce swelling and itching. Remember, bees are very important pollinators and wasps and hornets are important predators and scavengers as well as pollinators.

 

[DangerTree]

I was on the roof of a cottage 2 weeks ago after a wind storm on the lake. A large willow branch broke and laid across the roof. I used a pole saw from the ground to skin it back to the roof and then climbed up a ladder onto the roof. I began to cut the 10" limb back toward the tree when my right hand started burning real bad. I looked down and it was covered in yellow jackets! I dropped my saw and began flailing like a maniac while running across the roof. I ran out of roof. The ladder was now being guarded by wasps and several had chased me across the roof with nowhere to go I removed my hat and started smacking them until they gave up. But now my MS200 is running with almost a full tank of gas in it. The vibration and noise and maybe the fumes pissed them off and they swarmed the saw. After assessing my wounds and there were many, I decided to use the pole saw to turn off the MS200. After about an hour they backed off enough to rescue the saw. The wasps were under a sheet of plywood that was laid upon the roof to patch a hole as such any attempt to spray them was futile. I told the owner to either get an exterminator or wait until the frost comes. That branch is still there.

Moral of the story set up your ladder on the other side of the roof.

 

[Geez]

Since we're on the subject, I found out a trick that helps with the stings. I bought a snake bite kit and it came with a sucky thing (looks like syringe with cup on end). I tried it once on a sting and it worked wonders, you could see the liquid comming out and there was no swelling. Since then I've tried it a number of times, works very well. I used to swell up bad for days (eye swelled shut once for almost a week), but this trick seems to have helped for me.

Amazes me how those pesky creatures go for the face. I've been stung in the face more than I'd like to count. I still have a faint bag under the one eye from when I was stung as a kid.

The reason bees go for the eyes is instinct. Bears are natural predators of bees and the bees know that, because of the heavy fur, the most vulnerable place is the eyes. The also relate to dark clothing because bears are dark. This is the reason beekeepers wear light or white clothing. Also, when a honey bee stings you, it loses it's stinger. But at the same time it gives off a pheromone (scent). This scent specifically tells other honeybees that one of their sisters gave her life in defense of the hive. That's why, once you're stung, other bees are more likely to chase you down like a dog on a scent.