Sum of the bits!!

I've needed to mow for over a week now, and we've had nothing but rainy evenings. Either that, or I've had to work. Today I got out of work a little early and the weather was beautiful. Time to mow!

I've got a small area in the back yard that's nothing but mulch and weeds. I stopped the mower and snatched a few gnarly vines out of the mess, and then it (they) hit me. Ow!! Frack!!

I'm sure it was quite a spectacle for the fellow out back staining his house. I'm glad he didn't fall off his ladder laughing at my "ow-crap!" dance.

The best I can tell, I got hit three, maybe four times. Jiminy Cricket these places hurt! Makes me want even more to just torch that area of the yard. Google tells me yellow jackets are "beneficial insects," but that doesn't make me like this little jokers any better.

Can of Lysol, a lit hurricane candle, and a flame retardant suit and mask.

Give 'em Hell!

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Google tells me yellow jackets are "beneficial insects," but that doesn't make me like this little jokers any better.

Google is a lying bitch. Those things are creatures of satan.

We have a bumper crop of the little flying fuckers here! More than ever. Wasp traps are selling out in all the stores.
I can get two inches of dead ones in multiple traps in 24 hours.

I almost started a thread of my own on this same topic.

I was mowing the back yard two weeks ago and got hit on each ankle.

Then last Monday while I was walking the dog, we both got stung. Him on the snout, me on the top of my left hand, between the thumb and forefinger.

My hand swelled up about 2.5 times normal. I lost two days of motorcycle riding because I couldn't fit my hand in the glove.

Find the opening of the Nest... it may just be a hole in the ground. fill hole with Sevan Dust.. they will carry it in.. and all die.

Been there. Ripped most of my clothes off while hitting myself from head to toe like an AL Wifebeater. The actual wife in screen porch rolling in laughter - yeah, I'm coming in the for YOU and bringing my little friends!

Gasoline, Nuclear, whatever it takes after that. Yeah, the yellowjackets too.

I don't often get tangled up with stinging flying insects these days, but when I do, it's full scale genocide on any bug I see for a couple weeks. Sting me? I kill you, your momma, your kids, etc...

I got hit by 15 at once last summer.

Still get chills down my spine remembering that...

Partial remedy-2 liter coke bottle (plastic) just below where the neck curve ends cut it off, now take the cut off top and neck down insert it in the bottom. Add soft drink, sugar water, beer and place it close to the yellow jacket nest they can get in but not out.

 
The one time in her lifetime of riding horses (bareback, English, Western, Australian Stock), the only time she's been tossed was when she was patrolling in Wheaton Regional Park (Mongomery County MD). She and Willie stepped on an in ground nest, Willie got stung several times and off she went. Dislocated shoulder, fractured humeral head, and a big long black bruise on her left arm as she landed on that side, where she carried her duty weapon. In line at the checkout at Giant, the cashier had the nerve to ask if I did that to her. I am not fond of yellow jackets in general.
 

My wife has been stung twice this summer. Me, I patrol the property with Ortho Home Defense spray. They don't have the guts to sting me, but I follow them to their final destination and spray everything within 6 feet of their landing site. This year we have an over abundance of both Wasps and Paper Wasps.

A couple of incidents:

Got nailed while working in our back yard, several times. Finally found their nest in the ground. Marked it & later that night I poured a bunch of bug killer into the nest hole. End of that problem.

In Germany, went into the woods with Father in Law to inspect a firewood pile he had bought. Found a HUGE paper wasp nest in the middle of it. We ran, pursued by the little bastards.

I went to the PX and bought a couple cans of bug killer spray. Took them out to the woodpile, along with my.22 placed the cans on both sides of the nest, backed off and shot both cans with the .22. End of that problem.

neighbor was killed a few weeks ago by them, hew was 74

he was supposedly not allergic, but hit a nest cleaning some brush and got hit, over 30 times according to the medical examiner,

they thought it may have been some odd strain of wasp, so they sent a few dead ones off to find out,

just yellow jackets,


bastards,

So. Last night involved a dose of Benadryl, a "slathering" of hydrocortisone cream, a milkshake run, and a heck of a nap.

I've got one sting on my left leg and two on the right, and somehow the left itches worse. No swelling, thankfully, but plenty of "itch and annoy."

Fargin' little bastiges!

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:
I don't often get tangled up with stinging flying insects these days, but when I do, it's full scale genocide on any bug I see for a couple weeks. Sting me? I kill you, your momma, your kids, etc...

I was weedwhacking the ditchbank several years ago and stirred up a nest of them.

I immediately discovered two things I didn't know about myself:

1. I can shot-put a 10 pound weed whacker 100 yards without a windup.

2. I can beat said weed whacker to it's landing site.

Was the weed whacker still running when it landed, Paul?


I went over to the rent-all place. They said they didn't have a flame thrower I could rent.


Meanwhile, I'm itching like crazy, and it's hard as heck to not scratch.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Was the weed whacker still running when it landed, Paul?

String head hadn't even stopped spinning...

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
...I went over to the rent-all place. They said they didn't have a flame thrower I could rent.

Maybe not, but you can buy this one: