Mowing Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later..... and today it was my time

[DarkBlack]

Just saw this one on the news. I couldnt imagine what ti was like for these people -

Massive bee swarm in Arizona attacks four people, killing one | Fox News

I wish they could have been a little more specific than just referring to them as "bees", but I know... they are just journalists...

 

[k0ua]

I wish they could have been a little more specific than just referring to them as "bees", but I know... they are just journalists...

To a Journalist, all stinging insects are bee's. And all types of construction machines are "bulldozers".. It does not matter if it is an excavator, Tractor loader backhoe, scraper, wheel loader, track loader or even an actual bulldozer.

 

[mx842]

well I just had my second run in with angry yellow jackets of the fall season a couple days ago. I was running my Wheel Horse through the woods cutting down the yearly growth of briars and huckleberry bushes and I didn't even know I had stirred up the nest. I was getting low on gas and went back to the shed to fill up and get a drink. When I went back to where I had left off I got off the machine to move a few logs that had blown over during the summer. I usually take stuff like this and throw it in the holes of blow downs from the last hurricane and use it to burn the massive stumps that are all over the place.

Well....I had been over this spot several times with the tractor and never even saw them flying around and now as I am dragging this big log over to the stump I had been piling limbs and brush around I look down and I am standing right in the middle of where their nest in the ground was. My body went numb as the panic attack swept over my body but a few cells in my brain managed to scream out BEEssssssss..... RUN!! I couldn't back up with the big log I was dragging so I just took off full speed ahead and ran right over the nest dragging the log behind. When I got near the stump pile I dropped the log and brush I was dragging and dropped it in passing gear and took off behind the big stump ball then pulled my shirt up over my head and waited for the first wave to find me. I peeked out after a few minutes to see what was going on and didn't see anything. I stood up and looked around the stump and still saw nothing so I got up and walked back over to where they were and where before there was like maybe 50 or so flying around the ground there was now what looked like millions of them. Well maybe not millions but it sure as heck a bunch more than I saw before. My tractor was parked right beside where the nest was and there was a few of them flying around it and a couple of them were biting and stinging it like that was going to do any good. I stood back for awhile and waited for them to calm down then went over to the tractor, jumped on and took off.

By now it was getting late so I decided to get a few things together for the barn fire that now I was sure was going to happen soon after sundown. I like the gas in the hole with soon after a spark from above approach when dealing with these kinds of threats so I get me some gas, a small cup to pour some in to throw on the flames when they start to die down and a few survivors start to fly back in. I threw my trusty propane torch loaded with one of those little camper bottles of propane and a quick start gun in my wagon, a gallon of gas, a really bright flashlight, I cut off about a 15 foot section of string off a big ball I had sitting on a shelf that I dip in the gas to use as a fuse. I packed my little cooler with some ice and a 6 pack and headed off for battle.

So far I had not gotten stung and I kind of wanted it to stay that way but that's the reason for the beer and ice. The beer was to kill the pain and the ice was to keep the swelling down once I started taking casualties. By now it was good and dark so I pulled up then backed the trailer up in a position where I could see what was going on and sip on a couple cool ones in the process. Before anything else I wet my fuse and laid it out across the ground in the direction of the nest then took my light along with the can of gas over to where I thought the hole was. At first I didn't see anything, no movement at all then after what seemed like 30 minutes I saw one buzzing around the ground and then vanish as he disappeared into the nest hole. I sprang into action, over to where he went in to look for the hole and just as I spotted it I noticed about ten thousand crawling all over the ground....I guess looking for their nest and about that time they became annoyed by the bright spotlight I had trained on them and they sprang into action like it was a bee magnet and a bunch of them flew up and started to attack it banging their little heads on the bulb cover trying to bite it. Then I felt a couple flying around my head and I decided to ditch the light, pour the gas and beat feet out of there and into the darkness before I got lit up. I threw the light off to the side hoping to throw them off my trail and waited in the darkness until things died down a little.

By now my night vision had kicked in and I could see the little spot where the one bee had gone in to the ground and it was right at the base of a small holly bush so I eased on over and as I bent down to dump the gas into the hole i could hear buzzing and as I was dumping gas into the hole I looked up and saw what looked like a few hundred bees crawling through the leaves and flying around the branches of that little holly tree that was now just a couple inches from my face. I think I wet myself, dropped the gas can and took off into the darkness just knowing the whole hive was in hot pursuit but after a ways I realized they were a screwed up as I was and had not taken up chase.

I went back to the trailer to sit back and survey the situation. Right now it looked like the bees were one up on me because they had my gas can and my light.....but I still had the high ground and my 6 pack. After awhile I decided I needed to retrieve my gas can then my light before the bar b q could begin so I went back to the shed to get a long stick to hook on to the can with to pull it to safety. That didn't work out too well so I decided to just buck up and go in on my own to grab it.....I mean, what's the worst that could happen??

I buttoned up my shirt took a big ol gulp of courage then sprang into action. I grabbed the can, kicked the light out of the way that was now being eaten by what looked like about 3 or 4 hundred mad hungry bees and hauled azz leaving a trail of gas behind me as I retreated. I carried the can to the trailer and lit my fuse and at that point I knew victory was mine. A giant ball of fire erupted and consumed all that was in it's way along it way. After awhile only ashes remained where once a...........well I ain't gonna say a million or so bees once crawled but it was a whole dang bunch of them. Now only charred bee bodies and ashes remained.

The next day there were many that survived and there were still a large number of bees crawling and flying around that little holly bush so I knew the party had to resume that night also. That evening right after dark I took the wheel horse and drove over where the nest was and chopping down that holly bush they thought they were hiding in so I could have a clean shot at the remaining area for the nights fire show.

The second night took care of most of the remaining bees but even after a third attempt there were still some flying around. I go over there every now and again with my torch and wait for one to fly in. As soon as he hits the ground I hit him with a 800 degree sunburn and take joy watching him try to sting his way out of that one.

I was lucky with this nest and take comfort knowing this time I came out on top.........So I'll drink a cool one on them knowing that next time I probably wont be so lucky.:cool2:

 

[kebo]

HAHAHA!! Great story mx, enjoyed reading about "the beer and the bee's" LOL! And glad you didn't get stung too!

 

[Cherokee140]

To a Journalist, all stinging insects are bee's. And all types of construction machines are "bulldozers".. It does not matter if it is an excavator, Tractor loader backhoe, scraper, wheel loader, track loader or even an actual bulldozer.

And all guns are assault weapons.

 

[Cherokee140]

We had some ground living wasps a few years ago. Living right under some equipment, after removing the equipment, they got very angry and I bailed....they attacked the tractor for hours...till it ran out of gas. Then they left and went back to the hole. I got the bright idea to hop in my old Bronco and drive over the nest. This was a pretty hot day and I had the AC running in the truck...good thing too. As I sat safe inside and watched them attack the truck I could hear them getting chopped up by the blower fan from the AC. I have zero doubt they would have made it in if the blower had not been running. They hit the truck as long as it was parked there and chased it all the way down the drive way.

After that we had located the hole and using diesel and gas mix, we BBQ'ed the little devils. Also came across a nest while mowing one year long ago, again glad I had a tall machine with a cab and AC, they attacked that tractor for the rest of the day.....they NEVER gave up. Used the radio to call someone to come with some bug spray and kill the ones that still stayed with the machine. Just insane. Killed those the same way but with waste oil and gas. They called me a wuss and all kinds of names, but I refuse to get out of the tractor....after they got to me they are like HOLY &*^#*(@((#&*&.....where is the napalm I left in Vietnam. Took them about 10-15 to kill them all.

Really anything that will burn will work.

 

[whitepine2]

And all guns are assault weapons.

You got that right and if you carry a jack knife your a terrorist with a machete.

 

[whitepine2]

And all guns are assault weapons.

You got that right and if you carry a jack knife your a terrorist with a machete.

 

[bumperm]

You got that right and if you carry a jack knife your a terrorist with a machete.

Dang, got me more'n a few of them repeating firearms and a couple of knives too . . . that must make me a cross between a whirling dervish and Tasmanian devil, all I need now is a nasty (censored but rhymes with "grass") attitude.

"When seconds count, the police are only minutes* away."
*on a good day

bumper
(former cop)

 

[rd_macgregor]

RC Helicopter VS Wasps - YouTube I thought of this thread when I saw this...not as thorough as a gasoline fireball, but an interesting approach, none the less.