BEES!

[rrlund]

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

Ask again nicely without all the ?????????????? It looks like you're demanding an answer from me.

 

[Dick L]

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.

glad your not laid up from that. sounds like it was close.

In a bale or bales of hay is they were when I got it twice late summer when I tried to pull a bale out of the horse trailer. I am only feeding one horse out of the trailer and when the bale out is gone or one leaf my son inlaw tosses one out for me.

 

[rrlund]

glad your not laid up from that. sounds like it was close.

In a bale or bales of hay is they were when I got it twice late summer when I tried to pull a bale out of the horse trailer. I am only feeding one horse out of the trailer and when the bale out is gone or one leaf my son inlaw tosses one out for me.

I got the steel on this morning. They were real active, but they didn't swarm. I'd work for a few minutes and let them settle down. They're those little yellow honey bees. I guess they must be more docile than your average bee.

 

[old]

Ask again nicely without all the ?????????????? It looks like you're demanding an answer from me.

I ask if they where really bees of if they where wasp which is more likely. Bees get a bad rap way to often and being a former bee keeper it makes a difference to me

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I would get completely rid of them before I put up any metal. You might fall from the ladder again, and/or they may get you next year! I had a nest of some stinging insect that was worse than a hornet. Hornets will chase you if you disturb them. These would just sting you while standing in the large doorway to the barn as they flew past. They were in some old square bales in the back of the barn. It took 2 tries for an exterminator to get rid of them. I have killed a lot of nests before, but these were way too aggressive for me. But my usual way is to use the wasp/hornet spray that shoots 15 feet. It works the best by far, and, keeps me a safe distance away. What you have is some kind of bee/ hornet / maybe yellow jacket. Yellow jackets don't buzz when they attack. Wasp nests I usually knock down and jump back about 10-15 feet and just smash the nest. Getting them at night really is the best idea. The exterminator could not identify mine, so he took one back and had their specialist ID it. Surprisingly, or maybe not, it was not native to Northern Ky where we live. Good luck, Mark.

 

[Dick L]

I got the steel on this morning. They were real active, but they didn't swarm. I'd work for a few minutes and let them settle down. They're those little yellow honey bees. I guess they must be more docile than your average bee.

Two or three years ago a swarm of honey bees took up residence in a tractor gas tank that I had cut a patch out of. I was using the tank as a bench beside my water hydrant. I understand the ones that will sting without being pinched are a protector bee. When I was drawing water from my chair they would fly past me to the back of the tank without stopping. When I first noticed them, I had some that buzzed around me while I was drawing water but didn't land on me. They didn't survive the winter.
On another life story for another time, my grandfather told me not to swat at a bee that had not landed on me.

 

[rrlund]

Two or three years ago a swarm of honey bees took up residence in a tractor gas tank that I had cut a patch out of. I was using the tank as a bench beside my water hydrant. I understand the ones that will sting without being pinched are a protector bee. When I was drawing water from my chair they would fly past me to the back of the tank without stopping. When I first noticed them, I had some that buzzed around me while I was drawing water but didn't land on me. They didn't survive the winter.
On another life story for another time, my grandfather told me not to swat at a bee that had not landed on me.

Ya, I was kind of surprised when that one stung me. I'd been working for a while. I was leaving them alone and they were leaving me alone. He didn't like something I did I guess. He landed on my wrist and got me. They were thicker than hair on a dog when I was putting that steel up yesterday morning, but they just buzzed around and didn't bother me. Good thing though. My hand is still swollen a little and itching like crazy. I don't know that I'm allergic, but I must not be real tolerant either.

 

[Texasmark]

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.

Arm and Hammer brand baking soda and a little water. Rub it in good. Works in a heartbeat. Works on batteries too to wash off any acid accumulated. I keep a box in the shop.

 

[rrlund]

Arm and Hammer brand baking soda and a little water. Rub it in good. Works in a heartbeat. Works on batteries too to wash off any acid accumulated. I keep a box in the shop.

I did that. The wife went right to the house and got some as soon as it happened. I kept it out there in case it happened again. Wouldn't have done any good anyway I guess. She went to town yesterday and got some Cortizone 10 to rub on it. Seems like it just makes it worse. I had an ice pack on it last night while I was watching television until it was numb a couple of times, Running hot water on it is about the only thing that helps. It hurts so good! Pain is such a rush!

 

[cjunrau]

I did that. The wife went right to the house and got some as soon as it happened. I kept it out there in case it happened again. Wouldn't have done any good anyway I guess. She went to town yesterday and got some Cortizone 10 to rub on it. Seems like it just makes it worse. I had an ice pack on it last night while I was watching television until it was numb a couple of times, Running hot water on it is about the only thing that helps. It hurts so good! Pain is such a rush!

put honey on it. that is what i have done a few times and seems to help. We used to just put mud on it.

 

[showcrop]

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

Well, since Bees are winged insects that form a monophyletic clade Anthophila within the super family Apoidea of the order Hymenoptera, with over 20,000 known species in seven recognized families, there is probably just as good a chance that they were bees as wasps.

 

[rrlund]

put honey on it. that is what i have done a few times and seems to help. We used to just put mud on it.

I put baking soda on it again yesterday then sat down and watched television for a while until it dried and crumbled. There were three holes in my skin. I only saw one bee. Near as I can think, the other two holes were from barbed wire from last week. It's still a little red and swollen, but the itch is mostly gone. I probably should have let the baking soda dry good when I put it on the first time, but I kept on working.

 

[MeanGene1]

When I got my Farmall 450, it was on a seed/fertilizer test farm in Modesto, which included an orange grove, and the whole area is bee heaven. It had been there since new, very straight and low hours, with a HD 3-pt hitch with a sprayer attached, and 4-row cultivator in front. Hadn't been started in over a year, so here we go. It has the battery box with the seat mounted on the lid, so I sat a battery up on the platform then went around and climbed up on the 3-pt. I got the lid unbolted and laid the seat/lid over to the right, and leaned down to get the battery- then I noticed the long-legged wasp nest the size of a softball attached to the bottom of the lid, and now about 2" from my elbow, and completely covered with those evil-looking critters. I'm 6'2" and 250, so the owner and his son got great amusement as I jumped over the left rear tire, complete with a very un-graceful landing. The son was a bit on the crazy side, and waded in like John Wayne with two cans of long-distance hornet spray- he got stung 3 times, but took care of that nest. We stood back for a few minutes and watched as long-leggers were going in and out of every opening on the tractor, 13 nests in all- up in the dash, below every opening in the hood, inside the rear wheel centers by the wedges, everywhere. After about an hour and 10 cans of wasp juice it was reasonably safe to approach. Got it loaded and home, and went out with spray and the air hose blasting and spraying up under the hood, in the wheel centers etc. until they were gone, about 2 weeks. Funny, as scary-looking as they are, they seem to be slow-moving and not particularly aggressive, but they will sure make you jump

 

[MARK ROBKE]

When I got my Farmall 450, it was on a seed/fertilizer test farm in Modesto, which included an orange grove, and the whole area is bee heaven. It had been there since new, very straight and low hours, with a HD 3-pt hitch with a sprayer attached, and 4-row cultivator in front. Hadn't been started in over a year, so here we go. It has the battery box with the seat mounted on the lid, so I sat a battery up on the platform then went around and climbed up on the 3-pt. I got the lid unbolted and laid the seat/lid over to the right, and leaned down to get the battery- then I noticed the long-legged wasp nest the size of a softball attached to the bottom of the lid, and now about 2" from my elbow, and completely covered with those evil-looking critters. I'm 6'2" and 250, so the owner and his son got great amusement as I jumped over the left rear tire, complete with a very un-graceful landing. The son was a bit on the crazy side, and waded in like John Wayne with two cans of long-distance hornet spray- he got stung 3 times, but took care of that nest. We stood back for a few minutes and watched as long-leggers were going in and out of every opening on the tractor, 13 nests in all- up in the dash, below every opening in the hood, inside the rear wheel centers by the wedges, everywhere. After about an hour and 10 cans of wasp juice it was reasonably safe to approach. Got it loaded and home, and went out with spray and the air hose blasting and spraying up under the hood, in the wheel centers etc. until they were gone, about 2 weeks. Funny, as scary-looking as they are, they seem to be slow-moving and not particularly aggressive, but they will sure make you jump

Yeah, wasps aren't as fast or mean/aggressive as bees, but still need to be avoided! Mark.