Bees.....

[woodchuck357]

Back in the dark ages, when I was a young man, a friend built a screen cage about 6 ft high by 8 to 10 ft square. We went out at night and bagged a small hornet nest, hung it in the cage, he fed them meat scraps and provided colored paper and water so they could expand their nest. When winter came the hornets were sprayed, the nest sliced into inch thick sections which he framed and sold as art, sure looked fancy. One of the donated center slices sold at a charity auction for over 500 bucks! That was a lot more money in the fifties than it is now.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I love good ole bee stories! Did I ever tell you guys about the summer of 1961? Well anyways, It was a very educational year me. I was only 11 at the time so my mind was like a blank slate and needed to be molded. My father, who saw the world just a little bit different. He took it upon himself to learn me about explosives. He went into the house and came out with a box of cherry bombs. Cherry bombs were sort of legal back then, located in the hills of rural Appalachia. Next he took a piece of bailing wire and attached a cherry bomb to the end of a long pole. He lit the fuse, and stuck that pole right up next to a bag of them there white face hornets. Kaboom! You can imagine what happened, hornets everywhere. I still laugh today think bout that lesson. Later on the same day he gave me another lesson. He showed me how to do a little fishin, using the same bee exterminating tools. The fishing results were much better of course. Those ole crappies just floated to the top.

Huhyuck, huhyuck--------And I'm sure your mate is the best wife, sister and mom you've ever had, right?

 

[squad143]

Encountered another nest today removing a large hazardous limb from a maple.

After cutting and lowering the limb I heard the "oh too familiar" buzzing. Looked up and saw a pretty big swam about 15' above me. A few we're coming within range, so I sped things up, removing the block. Got lucky, only got stung once before untying the block and bailing out of the tree.

 

[jimbo666]

ive got stung by wasps near the eyes 2 time last week on a take down .. took 3 days big nose half closed eye.. fine now...i burned the nest ...next day another nest ...#### 2in2 burned down heheh

 

[formationrx]

...

saw this skateboard in the can... thought id see if it was any good... i was gonna give it to my neighbors kids... well these bastards came swarming out and thought they'd help me out by nailing me 3 times on the arm first thing in the morning... it woke me up quick...

 

[bootboy]

I hate the little bastards. But once you've been stung, ice the affected area and use lots of hydrocortisone cream. Makes it tolerable till it goes away. Benadryl at night helps the itching and helps ya sleep. Advil also helps reduce inflammation.

My reactions get progressively worse, so now I have an epi-pen, two pack actually. Hope I never need it.

I destroy any nest I find with impunity and vengeful hate.

 

[Grace Tree]

Was taking some big leads off an ancient maple Thursday. Cut a hollow branch and felt pain up under my helmet. I didn't see them at first so I didn't know what was happening until I looked down and saw them on my shirt. They got me five times. I wish my lift had a "get out of Dodge" mode. Went back up with starting fluid and burned them out but those stings on my head hurt all day and itched like crazy the next day. Home owner asked me to knock down an old apple tree the next day and when it went over out came the bees. Didn't get stung. 'Bout set the stump on fire burning them out. Wife reached into some baby clothes at a garage sale Sat. and got stung. That time of year.
Phil

 

[JakeG]

I had a nice encounter with bees (see link below). They chased me over 150 yards and the stinks hurt for 8-9 days so I wonder if they were Africanized bees..?

After this ordeal I'm pretty jumpy but it's gettin better lol... Just bee careful.

http://www.arboristsite.com/forestry-logging-forum/241026.htm

 

[capecodtree]

bee stings

Back in the day when i got stung i would get a local reaction, swelling,redness,etc. As time went on the reactions got bigger and lasted longer until eventually my throat swelled almost shut after a sting to the ear. I drove myself to the hospital were i went into aniphilactic shock. All this for one sting, and using my epi pen.
When i first started using an epi pen it was an actual syringe, needle about an inch long, a turniquet and anti histamine pills were also included in the kit. you had two doses in one syringe. once you had injected yourself once, you turned the plunger? part of the syringe past a plastic stop and you could inject dose #2, kinda cool.
Even though I do more sales than climbing these days my epi pen gets packed with my lunch every day.

 

[B Harrison]

Get some sting sticks. You break them and rub into the stink immediately, the pain is gone in the amount of time it takes to rub it in.

As for an epi pen they are for an allergy. You very well could be allergic as most people don't swell that bad. I got stung yesterday by yellow and black (yellow jacket) and it did little more than piss me off. Made my finger sore until I got home then treated with After Bite XTRA as I am out of sting sticks. It works the same way and almost instantly the pain was gone. I picked this stuff up at the Food Lion grocery just a couple days ago.

Common Brown Hornets are a bit of a tough one as are Bald Faced Swamp Wasps, which nest 98% of the time in trees. I am unsure exactly what there called but there are really big wasps around the size of humming birds that feed on cicadas and other large insects (maybe rodents) I would hate to get stung by one of these. Big Ass Wasp Owns Cicada - YouTube but these live in the ground.

 

[Grouchy old man]

That's a cicada killer wasp. Don't think they will bother you or anything other than cicadas. Only the females have stingers.

 

[woodchuck357]

Kill the wasps but save the honey bees!

when I encounter a hive or swarm of honey bees that I don't have time to mess with, I call one of the local bee keepers to help save them to a bee gum.

Bee gum=bee hive box; they used to be made from hollow gum trees

 

[isaaccarlson]

I got stung again yesterday. paper wasp got me in the left cheek. I remembered right away what you guys told me to do and put liquid soap on it, then hydrogen peroxide, then gas, then peroxide again. Then some hydrocortisone and took some benadryl. My wife said a prayer for me not to swell up.:msp_thumbup: There is only VERY minimal swelling. Barely noticeable, just a light puffing around the sting. The lady at walgreens thought it was funny when I told her all the things I put on it.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[popwarlick]

Y'all think I'm crazy

I know I'm from the south but ,no kidding,if you get stung ,if you r anyone chew tobacco or dip or smoke,as soon as you get stung,take some tobacco juice,know it sounds gross,and rub it on the sting.i ant lying, it takes the swelling and the hurt out of the sting.Its the nicotine that does it..

 

[husqvarna335xpt]

Popwarlick is correct grind a dip in it and carry on...

 

[Fireaxman]

That's a cicada killer wasp. Don't think they will bother you or anything other than cicadas. Only the females have stingers.

Cicada killers have a very nasty sting, as do mud daubers and carpenter bees. They are just not as aggressive as bees and paper wasps because they do not defend a colony, they are more solitary. Pin one down and see what happens. Ask me how I know.

Only the females of any species of wasp or bee have stingers. The stinger is a modified ovipositor. Just that with colonizing bees and wasps it is the females that defend the nest (for obvious reasons).

I pretty much leave the honey bees and cicada killers alone. They have a purpose, and they are not usually aggressive. But the wasps and hornets deserve to be extinct. Been stung too many times by them for no good reason.

Cicada Killer Wasp stinging a Cicada - YouTube

 

[StrataTree]

Ok...on Friday the 16th I got stung twice by yellow jackets, never had an allergy before. I had no warning as to what was about to happen other than a metallic taste in my mouth. About 2.5 minutes later I was unresponsive, in full seizure and foaming at the mouth. My coworkers saved my life that day. I was rushed by ambulance to the trauma center, spent nearly two hours there then about 5 more in a recovery room. The E.R. Doctor visited me in recovery and told me I barely survived the ordeal! I had a very severe anaphalactic shock reaction out of the blue. We are encountering a ridiculous number of yellow jackets this year. I now have two epipens everywhere. I have yet to return to work. Doc says I am at risk of future severe reactions and should look for a new line of work.... A 14 year old girl died in California from this recently at summer camp. 11 adult epipens were used and she still died. To far away from medical help. I am now evaluating my options. Bummin in Oregon:msp_sad:

 

[pdqdl]

Do not use one unless its been prescribed to you, and yes you need to get to hospital if you do use one, its only for emergency use.

I had an employee get stung last week; he never told me he was acutely allergic.

So he raced to the nearest pharmacy; he reported he could only wheeze "EPI..PEN" when he got to the pharmacy. They began to ask him where his prescription was, he didn't have it with him, so he tottered over to where the benadryl was, then he passed out.

I guess it is a good thing the fire department was right across the street. When the paramedics gave him the epi-pen shot and proceeded to take him to the hospital, he declined to go. Said he couldn't afford that, thanks for the help guys, and came back to the shop.

I didn't object when he went home early, and I didn't complain when he took the next day off. I haven't yet decided what to do about his allergy issues yet.

 

[StrataTree]

Well there are many considerations...sounds like he is at risk of future shock reactions and the onset of symptoms could happen much faster next time. My doc said 5-15 min is the norm for a fast reaction. Some times two hours can pass before the shock reaction begins. I was told that 2.5 min. Is very rare for that severe of a reaction to set in. I have since heard stories of guys that drop even faster...so fast that they can't self administer an epipen in time. Two steps after a sting and they are on the ground, unresponsive, and in seizure. I recommend you carry epipens, 2-4 of them at least. Have your staff get trained and certified to administer. These do no harm... No reason why everyone shouldn't carry 'em. Mountain biker died here locally same day as my reaction. He knew he was allergic, but didnt have pens on him. Got stung, didnt get help in time. I feel like I don't want to put my body through that experience again anytime soon. They had to O.D. me to stabilize me and my heart reacted to the drugs and it got tense in the E.R. For a bit while they dealt with that. I also feel for my coworkers. If I return to work they will have the responsibility of perhaps dealing with me having an anaphactic shock reaction the next time I'm stung. I feel like its a lot to ask. It could be said that it is a distraction to the crew. And perhaps puts others at risk of injury due to the distraction that my predicament may cause. Pondering......

 

[popwarlick]

Bad boys

Man this year has been tough,yellow jackets n wasps.Other day I had to cut a big oak,when I rolled my saw down to take the bottom of the notch out I guess the exhaust was blowing down their entrance.Not good,couldn't see them for all the chips,but it didn't take long to figger it out.They got under my chaps plus etc. Quit counting at 21 one one arm.Im like y'all,yella jackets I can do without