Killer bees

37 chief · Jun 16, 2010

Here in my town in S. calif today the killer bees lived up to their name. A back hoe operator set off a hive by running over it. There was a landscap person working near by, and he was stung 500 or so times, and died from the stings. This was across the road from I did a discing job about a month ago. The news report said if you can run 400 yards the bees will give up chasing you. Maybe in the 60's whdn I was a teenager I could have done the run. On second thought if bees were nipping byback side I'll bet I could still run that far at 67. I have a bee hat I sometimes carry to keep them away from my face. I think I will make it a habit to have the hat avaliable, on each tractor I use. Stan

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Jun 16, 2010

I remember when I was maybe 10 riding on a tractor with my uncle cutting hay. We found a bumble bee nest in the ground. There must have been a bulge or something like that since they just poured out of the ground. He saw them before I did since he literally kicked the tractor out of gear and shouted RUN! The bees didn't follow us. They swarmed the tractor for what seemed like forever.

paul · Jun 16, 2010

Don't see too many bees around here, southern MN.

30 years ago were a lot of wasps. Now, just some.

Saw a lot of bumble bees this year tho, many more than I ever have. Don't know much about them, if they live in colonies too, or what.

Happy to be up north some where those killer type imports aren't supposed to get to. That doesn't sound good.

--->Paul

Anonymous-0 · Jun 17, 2010

I wonder if a big can of insect spray would repel them enough to put it in Hi gear and get away.. I always keep a can of bug spray in the toolbox on my tractor.. for the purpose of killing those &^%$ bugs that fly around your face for hours of mowing.. They is a fuzzy purple fly here that will stay in your face all day, if you do not kill him.
Just a thought, to carry a can of spray.

tjdub · Jun 17, 2010

> There must have been a bulge or something like that since they just poured out of the ground.

Yeah, they make what looks like a pouch out of dead grass for the young. I got an up close view of one when I was a kid when I found one up in the hay mow. Not sure it was worth the look though. My family still brings it up every time anyone discusses bees. My eyes were literally swollen shut they say. I don't remember much of it except for seeing the nest.

550Doug · Jun 17, 2010

Insect killer in the can has become quite expensive, so I now use a can of Brake cleaner and it seems just as effective. I mainly use it on wasps.

Mark - IN. · Jun 17, 2010

We're pretty lucky in northern Indiana. We don't have killer bees yet. We do have yellow jackets and hornets and the sort, but they're amateurs compared to those killer bees you folks have.

A couple of years ago I needed a couple of railroad ties for fencing that I had stacked up for awhile. Them yellow jackets are ground and wood borers, because when I started moving ties, woo hoo they weren't happy with me. They had a huge nest underground with multiple entrances and had bored out a huge part of a tie where they built a huge nest. I got the son of a guns, but I'll tell you that I sure ended up smearing a paste on me made of meat tenderizer that took most of the stings out, not all, but most. And those son of a guns will chase you too. Not any 400 yards, but a good 100 or so feet. They're not nice, but then again, nicer than what you folks have.

Mark

Anonymous-0 · Jun 17, 2010

I have a lot of yellowjack nest in the fields at bush-hogging time and they don't like that one bit. Keep a can of starting fluid handy to cover my escapes.

ASEguy · Jun 17, 2010

Looks kinda like cow patty. I found one busting up an old porch. They didn't like the rat a tat tat of the jackhammer. They stung me 1/2 dozen times and my arm was sore for a day after. When they calmed down I poured muratic acid in the spot where they came up since that's all I had. It killed most of them.

Ivan in Mich · Jun 17, 2010

I usually brush hog the ditch bank a couple times a year and last year had a real close encounter with a nest of bald face hornets. The loader bucket missed the nest by about an inch or so. The next day the nest was all ripped apart by a skunk or a coon. This year I don"t think I will let the grass get as tall.

Wesley Stephens · Jun 17, 2010

A couple of days ago I was working on our 1967 F-600 dump truck. I'm a short fellow, so I was sitting on the ground with the frame on one side of my head and the driveshaft on the other. A "ground bee" as we call them stung me on the jaw and I couldn't go anywhere due to the tight space, so I kept working and took some antihistamine later. The next day the whole side of my head was swollen up. We run into that type of bumble bee once in a while and if they start stinging you, you have a mess on your hands. Red wasps and guinea wasps are everywhere, but a little ether usually takes care of them. For some reason, stinging insects love me.

Tim in OR · Jun 17, 2010

when I worked in the truck shop, we found that WD-40 is good for dropping yellow jackets. It doesn't kill them right off, but they can't fly so you can step on them when on the ground. ether is fun, but doesn't always kill them. I have sprayed ether on them and had them drop only to fly back just before hitting the ground.
Tim in OR

Killer bees

37 chief

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Brian Jasper co. Ia

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paul

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Anonymous-0

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tjdub

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550Doug

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Mark - IN.

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Anonymous-0

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ASEguy

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Ivan in Mich

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Wesley Stephens

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Tim in OR

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