It Bee That Time of Year Again

[Highbeam]

When I went in they didn't even test for anything. I told him what happens when I am stung and he just wrote the prescription. Pretty painless. If your whole leg swells up with one sting just imagine 6 in the kneck. How much time do you have before your throat swells shut? I don't want to find out.

 

[JimMorrissey]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you get stung in the wrong spot it could end all your wasp and hornet worries. )</font> What do you mean by that....?

 

[JimMorrissey]

Wow, you're right. That is not a good thought. So tell me more about this....What perscription did you get and for what?

That was the third time I've been stung by wasps this year and this is the only year it's ever happened. So many of the **** things living in the barns on this property.

 

[Highbeam]

The doc gave me a prescription for two epi-pens. It is a little pen shaped thing used to give yourself a shot of epinephrin. Epinephrin is pretty much synthetic adrenalin. Supposedly it should work to limit or stop the allergic reaction. Also stops or limits the allergic reaction to other allergens. I am supposed to call 911 if I need to use this pen and then they come out just in case the epipen was not enough.

Is this how you all understand it to work? Doctors aren't willing to sit around and lay out scenarios anymore. Basicly, if I think I'm going to die, use it and then call 911.

 

[Farwell]

It could be fatal for the person getting stung if they are allergic.
Farwell

 

[wushaw]

Jim, you sound like you are alergic to wasp venom. It may be in your best interest to get checked out by a doc.
If your barns can be closed up fairly tight then you might want to setting off some foggers... they work, I did this in my shop this summer for dirt dobbers and whatever else.

 

[IndyChris]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If your barns can be closed up fairly tight then you might want to setting off some foggers... they work, I did this in my shop this summer for dirt dobbers and whatever else. )</font>

What kinda stuff you using? I am trying to keep notes for the battle next year /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Seem to have the barn clear, now they are bothering me around the house! Go figure huh...

 

[Plan_B]

To get rid of yellow jackets, use soapy water. Soapy water will suffocate the bees and not do as much harm to the environment. The treatment is best done at night when the bees are less active and are inside the nest. I mark the entry hole in the daytime with a stick placed flat on the ground pointing in the direction of the entry. Mix about 2 1/2 to 5 cups of liquid soap (don't skimp on the soap) in a 5 gallon bucket. Put the water in the bucket first and then soap. Stir well but don't agitate too much or you'll have too much suds. I recommend that you invert the bucket in one quick move over the entry hole and then leave immediately although I have poured the liquid directly into the hole. It may take two treatments to get them but one usually does the job. I have also sloshed the soap mixture onto wasp nests and it will kill them almost instantly. I haven't tried it but I think that Murphy's Oil Soap would work too. It's vegetable based and probably less harsh than dish detergent. Bee Careful!
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[jimmysisson]

Another beekeeper checking in. Honey bees out gathering pollen and nectar rarely sting unless you hit them or threaten them. A different set of honey bees guards the colony, and they will sting to defend it. A honey bee dies when it stings you as its guts are attached to the stinger. Wasps and hornets can sting repeatedly.
Yellow jackets and most bumblebees (which rarely sting) live in the ground. Hornets live in paper nests in trees or buildings. Mud dauber wasps make the tunnels for their larva on trees or buildings.
A good strong honey bee colony has 50-75,000 members and you can open it up barehanded on a hot day and never get a sting. If you ate a banana recently, though, you'll get a bunch cause the banana smell like their danger pheromone - the way they warn each other something's threatening them.
Most people realize honey bees are beneficial. I don't know what darn good a hornet is but I don't kill 'em unless they're after me. Bees are real interesting, but not if you're allergic.
Jim

 

[1bush2hog]

"cause the banana smell like their danger pheromone"

Interesting! Is this only for honey bees, or for others as well?

Any similar sight/smell "triggers" for yellow jackets?