SIGforum
Hornet nest on power transformer
August 13, 2019, 02:08 PM
selogicHornet nest on power transformer
I'm a retired Substation Maintenance Foreman . Entergy Corp . Fascinating line of work . Take care , brother .
August 13, 2019, 02:21 PM
just1tymquote:
Originally posted by selogic:
I'm a retired Substation Maintenance Foreman . Entergy Corp . Fascinating line of work . Take care , brother .
Understood and back at you. FPL had the Maintenance Forman classification for many years until we basically ran two man crews out of Ford Econoline vans. The classification morphed into Lead Electrician classifications which I held at the time I left. It was a fascinating job. All my peers have sadly passed or retired. We had some great time together many days of working around the clock and having the freedom to travel every day all over Miami and south to Turkey Point. We were in charge of 36 Substations in our area, and were all over the place. Never static, always on the go, day and/or night..
Regards, Will G.
August 13, 2019, 02:48 PM
Oz_Shadowquote:
Originally posted by selogic:
The only real issue with that nest was if a power company guy stumbled into it on a dark night . It isn't an electrical hazard . You live in Michigan ? They should wait until winter and remove it safely .
It's all fun and games until I weedeat the fence line. I prefer they be sent to hell now.
August 13, 2019, 02:53 PM
Oz_Shadowquote:
Originally posted by HRK:
I know a guy at LMMFC, just saying...
Reminds me of earlier years and potato cannons. They're probably illegal or something now.
August 13, 2019, 03:24 PM
selogicquote:
Originally posted by just1tym:
quote:
Originally posted by selogic:
I'm a retired Substation Maintenance Foreman . Entergy Corp . Fascinating line of work . Take care , brother .
Understood and back at you. FPL had the Maintenance Forman classification for many years until we basically ran two man crews out of Ford Econoline vans. The classification morphed into Lead Electrician classifications which I held at the time I left. It was a fascinating job. All my peers have sadly passed or retired. We had some great time together many days of working around the clock and having the freedom to travel every day all over Miami and south to Turkey Point. We were in charge of 36 Substations in our area, and were all over the place. Never static, always on the go, day and/or night..
We had 3 Foremen , 12 mechanics , and were responsible for 150 substations ranging from 4kv to 500 kv , including one nuclear plant switchyard and two gas fired plants . I was burned out after 40 yrs in the industry .
August 13, 2019, 06:45 PM
egregorequote:
One of the smoother moves I pulled as a kid was using a Wrist Rocket slingshot to shoot a hornets nest.
August 13, 2019, 07:15 PM
Snapping TwigIf the power company gets to it quick enough - fine.
OTOH, a super soaker squirt gun loaded with a strong mix of Malathion should suffice.
August 13, 2019, 08:16 PM
WolfpackerRHINOWSO and HRK have the correct train of thought here for this issue.
August 13, 2019, 08:40 PM
ensigmaticI kinda like the flame-throwing drone solution, m'self

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher August 13, 2019, 08:57 PM
bkmooneyI work for an electric utility, and I can tell you we would much prefer that you call us than try to deal with it yourself.
We used an exterminator to remove one last year.
War Eagle!
August 13, 2019, 09:57 PM
just1tymquote:
Originally posted by selogic:
quote:
Originally posted by just1tym:
quote:
Originally posted by selogic:
I'm a retired Substation Maintenance Foreman . Entergy Corp . Fascinating line of work . Take care , brother .
Understood and back at you. FPL had the Maintenance Forman classification for many years until we basically ran two man crews out of Ford Econoline vans. The classification morphed into Lead Electrician classifications which I held at the time I left. It was a fascinating job. All my peers have sadly passed or retired. We had some great time together many days of working around the clock and having the freedom to travel every day all over Miami and south to Turkey Point. We were in charge of 36 Substations in our area, and were all over the place. Never static, always on the go, day and/or night..
We had 3 Foremen , 12 mechanics , and were responsible for 150 substations ranging from 4kv to 500 kv , including one nuclear plant switchyard and two gas fired plants . I was burned out after 40 yrs in the industry .
Yea, my Service Center was the most southern Substation outpost in the south of FPL's territory. I moved and transferred to this center because of the people and having only 30 Substation employees. Had a lot of friends in Substations all over Florida and had tentative plans to transfer North when nearing retirement but had to be put out to pasture early due to health stuff. At my previous Service Center we had a couple of coal fired plants and the 500kv Stations but where I ended up was a scaled down Service Center with a few coal fired and Turkey Point Nuclear. They were shutting down most all of the coal fired plants when I was still employed and we had a lot of sub contractors on the property doing new construction. They mainly kept us around because of all the experience and training we all had over the years. In the end we were mostly doing troubleshooting and repair/replacement of the equipment when needed. Wish I could've stayed on to retire as planned but it wasn't so. Still a great job and we had the potential to earn as much as we wanted, which was great!
Regards, Will G.
August 13, 2019, 10:38 PM
tenmmSpray it with the garden hose until it falls off.

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Do you only play? Or can you shoot too?
August 13, 2019, 11:02 PM
BeancookerPellet rifle. One or two pumps. Not enough to damage the transformer. Just enough to really mess up the wasp house. Repeat until you shoot it down.
Should be good for a few hours of entertainment.
quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
I'd fly to Turks and Caicos with live ammo falling out of my pockets before getting within spitting distance of NJ with a firearm.
August 14, 2019, 05:58 AM
AugenShoot bottle rockets at it until one penetrates the nest. The shockwave will do the job

August 14, 2019, 06:15 AM
MicropterusLeave it alone. The colony will die off and the queen move on in the fall, and they won't reuse it next year.
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"I enter a swamp as a sacred place—a sanctum sanctorum. There is the strength—the marrow of Nature." - Henry David Thoreau
August 14, 2019, 06:34 AM
PowerSurgeThe power company will more than likely deal with it. If they need to replace that transformer they won’t want to deal with the hornets at the same time.
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The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 14:1
August 18, 2019, 12:03 PM
Oz_Shadow4 utility workers came. One guy blasted with a can of stuff on a fiberglass pole. 5 minutes later he knocked it down. They were the bald face hornets. Glad its gone. Amazing how light the nest is. It was full of larva looking things.