BEES!

[rrlund]

Some steel blew off the back of the barn last winter. I got the cattle out of there Monday and started getting ready to wean this years calves and put them in there. Didn't want to get on a ladder to work on it until there were all out. I got up on a ladder and started pulling some ragged stuff down and there was a huge bees nest in some straw and baler twine. Luckily they didn't swarm on me. I went and got a can of ether and sprayed that on the nest, but there were too many of them.

I worked slow and careful and whenever too many of them got going, I backed away. I finally had to work right up close and one of them got my right on the back of the wrist on the right hand. I fell from about three rings up on the ladder and fell on the can of ether in my back pocket on the cement. Nothing hurts but the sting. That didn't bother me until I got in and washed up a little.

I've got everything ready to put the new steel on in the morning. I just hope they've calmed down overnight in the cold and don't get going too bad before I get it done.

 

[Richard G.]

Some steel blew off the back of the barn last winter. I got the cattle out of there Monday and started getting ready to wean this years calves and put them in there. Didn't want to get on a ladder to work on it until there were all out. I got up on a ladder and started pulling some ragged stuff down and there was a huge bees nest in some straw and baler twine. Luckily they didn't swarm on me. I went and got a can of ether and sprayed that on the nest, but there were too many of them.

I worked slow and careful and whenever too many of them got going, I backed away. I finally had to work right up close and one of them got my right on the back of the wrist on the right hand. I fell from about three rings up on the ladder and fell on the can of ether in my back pocket on the cement. Nothing hurts but the sting. That didn't bother me until I got in and washed up a little.

I've got everything ready to put the new steel on in the morning. I just hope they've calmed down overnight in the cold and don't get going too bad before I get it done.

Be careful Sir.
We hurt ourselves trying to not get stung.

 

[rrlund]

Be careful Sir.
We hurt ourselves trying to not get stung.

It made me think about the guy who was in the hospital room with me when my apendix burst in 1997. He fell backwards from the first step of a step ladder and landed on his wallet on the porch. I doubt the wallet was as thick as that ether can.

 

[Phill Tibbetts]

Get a can of wasp and hornet spray. It will shoot 10 -15 feet, saturate the nest and wait 1/2 hour, problem solved.

 

[rrlund]

Get a can of wasp and hornet spray. It will shoot 10 -15 feet, saturate the nest and wait 1/2 hour, problem solved.

The wife sprayed some at it. We'll see if it works. I usually have better luck with ether.

 

[JD Dave]

Most likely hornets, wasps or yellow jackets, not honey bees. Honey bees will not usually nest in those spots but the nasty hornets will love that environment and when disturbed can be aggressive. Try not to kill honey bees as they are prime pollinators.

 

[MM-TX]

Yellow jackets and wasps make nests. Bees will make comb in parallel rows hanging from something like a beam. Probably yellow jackets. Mean devils!

 

[RobCons]

Hit them with spray tonight. Most come back to the nest at night. They are reluctant to fly in the dark too. Use a red light to help you see. A regular white light, a lantern, can be set off to the side to attract them if they do decide to fly.

 

[DanielW]

I agree with above. You want (/need) to spray in the evening after they're all tucked in for the night. If you spray in the day, half (or more than half) of them are out and about, won't get touched by the spray, and will come back swarming you when you start to spray the nest.

 

[da.bees]

Most likely hornets, wasps or yellow jackets, not honey bees. Honey bees will not usually nest in those spots but the nasty hornets will love that environment and when disturbed can be aggressive. Try not to kill honey bees as they are prime pollinators.

That's why he's using ether, just putting them to sleep until he's finished.

 

[Bill of TN]

I had a nest of yellow jackets in the barn. Got stung several times and had one land on my glasses and sting the bridge of my nose. Normally, when they're in the ground it's a simple fix. This time was different. Went and bought a bee suit......no more yellow jackets. I mentioned the yellow jackets laughed at the spray I was using......just made them mad.......the bee guy told me to buy spectra pro spray. Stuff really works.

 

[jhwis]

Some steel blew off the back of the barn last winter. I got the cattle out of there Monday and started getting ready to wean this years calves and put them in there. Didn't want to get on a ladder to work on it until there were all out. I got up on a ladder and started pulling some ragged stuff down and there was a huge bees nest in some straw and baler twine. Luckily they didn't swarm on me. I went and got a can of ether and sprayed that on the nest, but there were too many of them.

I worked slow and careful and whenever too many of them got going, I backed away. I finally had to work right up close and one of them got my right on the back of the wrist on the right hand. I fell from about three rings up on the ladder and fell on the can of ether in my back pocket on the cement. Nothing hurts but the sting. That didn't bother me until I got in and washed up a little.

I've got everything ready to put the new steel on in the morning. I just hope they've calmed down overnight in the cold and don't get going too bad before I get it done.

I run into nests quite a bit while shearing Christmas trees.

 

[Ray,IN]

I run into nests quite a bit while shearing Christmas trees.

That's a mean job IMO.

 

[Tony in SD]

When you are belted to a pole high off the ground and disturb a stinging insect nest, it is an event you remember for a very long time

 

[sms]

The wife sprayed some at it. We'll see if it works. I usually have better luck with ether.

Is it really either? Or starting fluid? Real either they used to drop like stones from just a whiff. Starting fluid, no where near as good. I also found that bee spray that has been on a shelf too long seems to lose its potentsy

 

[Hemmjo]

Have you got a shop vac and some some about 2" PVC pipe laying around? Put a 90˚ fitting on the end of the pipe. hook the shop vac to that fitting. Set the pipe close to the entrance to the nest. Turn on the vac. They will be sucked into the pipe. ZOOM down toward the 90, but wil be unable to make that turn, and will crash into the end, there their broken bodies will be sucked into the vac bucket. I have used this many times around home.

Link> Bee Collector

 

[showcrop]

Have you got a shop vac and some some about 2" PVC pipe laying around? Put a 90˚ fitting on the end of the pipe. hook the shop vac to that fitting. Set the pipe close to the entrance to the nest. Turn on the vac. They will be sucked into the pipe. ZOOM down toward the 90, but wil be unable to make that turn, and will crash into the end, there their broken bodies will be sucked into the vac bucket. I have used this many times around home.

Link> Bee Collector

I use my shop vac on the in ground nests. I use just the two wands. When they hit the inside of the vac they mash on the opposite side of the bag.

 

[Jim in LA]

Black bumblebees love to build in hay. Saw some oblivion on YouTube that discovered a ground bumblebee nest. They had orange bands rather than yellow and they were mean looking. He was admiring them and even picked up part of the egg cluster. They eventually taught him not to disturb a bumblebee nest.

 

[old]

Some steel blew off the back of the barn last winter. I got the cattle out of there Monday and started getting ready to wean this years calves and put them in there. Didn't want to get on a ladder to work on it until there were all out. I got up on a ladder and started pulling some ragged stuff down and there was a huge bees nest in some straw and baler twine. Luckily they didn't swarm on me. I went and got a can of ether and sprayed that on the nest, but there were too many of them.

I worked slow and careful and whenever too many of them got going, I backed away. I finally had to work right up close and one of them got my right on the back of the wrist on the right hand. I fell from about three rings up on the ladder and fell on the can of ether in my back pocket on the cement. Nothing hurts but the sting. That didn't bother me until I got in and washed up a little.

I've got everything ready to put the new steel on in the morning. I just hope they've calmed down overnight in the cold and don't get going too bad before I get it done.

So was it really BEES or more then likely wasps????????????????????

 

[Mcrafty1]

Brake clean/parts clean/shop solve works extremely well.