One thing I can count on...

[gwstang]

...somewhere close by, there is a hornets' nest! There always is. I find one nest close to the house, usually within 50 yards. They are sort of hard to see being in bushes or up a little in a tree. But, I know there is one. Every year I am bush hogging the trails in the woods behind the house, or cutting along the fence lines in the fields and can pass by numerous times and not spot one. But, suddenly there one is and usually I am right up against it too. You know, face to face with the one guard that sits on the hole starring at me and buzzing his wings rapidly in a warning. I mean like 3 or 4 foot from my nose. I carefully ease backwards praying the tractor doesn't bump the bush/tree any worse than it has too. I leave them if they are out of harms way but my wife walks the dogs and will demand that I remove said danger from her pups. They don't seem to be that easily stirred up as I have bounced the nests pretty good mowing close and never had the dreaded swarm to attack. I saw first hand what an angry nest of hornets can do. A fellow at work was riding along cutting his trails in the woods and ran face first into a limb that had one He had knots all over his face/head. I tried not to laugh as I did envision me being in that situation...but really could not help it. :laughing: Yeah, I know sooner or later it will be my turn as much woods/trails as I have on the 71 acres here. I am seeing several of the bald face hornets buzzing around the barn and structures, so i know there is one around here.
Anyone ever have a close encounter with hornets?

 

[DrRod]

Yep. They build nests in a couple of Christmas trees every year so you need to be careful when mowing and spraying. They have also taken up residence our big semi-open garage. I can remember lots of old cartoons featuring Mickey or whoever being chased by hornets and that's just how it is. If you disturb them, they will take up after you and chase you as a group for quite a distance. I've dashed for the house several times and had the kids swat at me and them with brooms until they depart. Not for the meek.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've had more encounters than you care to hear about... For some reason though they generally leave me alone. Whether leading or following, often it's the person with me who gets stung. There have been many times that I went in for a piece of equipment that somebody dropped to escape a nest. I've cut small bushes with long handled loppers to move nests... Or driven a piece of cordwood onto ground nests to kill the queen if it was too near a house.

One dry year with an excessively high amount of nests, you would be walking away from one nest and step on another... I was with somebody one Friday who got stung 7 times on our first cruise point and kept working... The 8th time later that day was too much and he said "We're outa here! That same year a coworker hit a hollow tree with a nest in it while blazing property lines and got stung in the eye.... OUCH!!!

 

[POC]

There was one on my neighbors house when I was a kid. The neighbor boy and I took a piece of pipe, clogged the end with dirt and used it as a mortar tube. We would light and drop bottle rockets down the pipe, hold it up right below the nest, wait for them to shoot into the next and pop, then run around the corner of the house to hide from them. Good times, until it caught on fire....

 

[gwstang]

I've had more encounters than you care to hear about... For some reason though they generally leave me alone. Whether leading or following, often it's the person with me who gets stung. There have been many times that I went in for a piece of equipment that somebody dropped to escape a nest. I've cut small bushes with long handled loppers to move nests... Or driven a piece of cordwood onto ground nests to kill the queen if it was too near a house.

I've got several large cedars that look like the Christmas trees, very bushy and it would be easy for them to hide in there. I better check those too.

 

[Pilot]

Check at your local hardware store for traps. They make one now that has pheromones to attract wasps, hornets and yellow jackets.

My trap (old kind that only catches yellow jackets) has about 25 queens, which means that many nests won't be around my place this year. Most effective until workers come out. Very dependent on location; if you aren't catching any, move the trap. I have one sweet spot on my 10 acres that does the job. Other locations may only catch a couple; this one will get about 50.

I see you are in Alabama. Probably too late this year, but those up north can probably benefit.

 

[Depmandog]

Back in the day our 4H program had a float trip down in the Ozarks. My foster sister was in the front of a canoe and went head first into some low hanging trees and was stung in around her face and neck multiple times. She had an allergic reaction with her neck and face grossly swelling to almost double its normal size.

The leader laid her down in the bottom our our canoe (I was with the leader) and down the river we paddled as fast as possible. Water was low in spots, and in many areas one or both of us would have to jump out and drag Diana and the canoe across the rocks. She was starting to have trouble breathing, and I was fearing the worst.

We had sent a scout ahead of us, and he had spotted a sign that pointed across a field that said "ranger station 1/2 mile". Not sure why he didn't run for help when he got there, but I was grateful that he had found the sign so I ran to the ranger station as fast as I could.

Fortunately, a Forest Service ranger was there, and we hopped in his jeep and headed to the river. She was still breathing, but it was very raspy and labored. You couldn't recognize her or even make out any facial features she was swollen so much. The swelling started at her shoulders to the top of her head, like a triangle. Really kinda gross. We flew to town and thank the Lord the doctor was in her office. A couple of shots and in 30 minutes almost all of the swelling was gone.

We needed one of those epi-pens, doubt they had them back then. She was fine. I was beat but very glad that I was there to help.

 

[JRobyn]

Pilot, please share any details you can about placement of your successful trap. I follow the Rescue placement instructions to the letter, but have only rarely caught queens. We use several of both the old-style yellowjacket traps and the newer WHY traps.

Are you using just the pheromone, or meat, or some other bait?

- Jay

 

[Jstpssng]

Back in the day our 4H program had a float trip down in the Ozarks. My foster sister was in the front of a canoe and went head first into some low hanging trees and was stung in around her face and neck multiple times. She had an allergic reaction with her neck and face grossly swelling to almost double its normal size.

The leader laid her down in the bottom our our canoe (I was with the leader) and down the river we paddled as fast as possible. Water was low in spots, and in many areas one or both of us would have to jump out and drag Diana and the canoe across the rocks. She was starting to have trouble breathing, and I was fearing the worst.

We had sent a scout ahead of us, and he had spotted a sign that pointed across a field that said "ranger station 1/2 mile". Not sure why he didn't run for help when he got there, but I was grateful that he had found the sign so I ran to the ranger station as fast as I could.

Fortunately, a Forest Service ranger was there, and we hopped in his jeep and headed to the river. She was still breathing, but it was very raspy and labored. You couldn't recognize her or even make out any facial features she was swollen so much. The swelling started at her shoulders to the top of her head, like a triangle. Really kinda gross. We flew to town and thank the Lord the doctor was in her office. A couple of shots and in 30 minutes almost all of the swelling was gone.

We needed one of those epi-pens, doubt they had them back then. She was fine. I was beat but very glad that I was there to help.

She's lucky. Bee sting allergies are scary, they can kill an allergic person in no time. You can be fine all of your life, then suddenly become allergic. As I'm sure you know, an up to date first aid kit now includes Benedril. (SP?)
Also, if you have an epi-pen and allow somebody else to use it you can be in deep crap just like providing somebody with any other prescription medicine.

 

[Teachu2]

She's lucky. Bee sting allergies are scary, they can kill an allergic person in no time. You can be fine all of your life, then suddenly become allergic. As I'm sure you know, an up to date first aid kit now includes Benedril. (SP?)
Also, if you have an epi-pen and allow somebody else to use it you can be in deep crap just like providing somebody with any other prescription medicine.

I'm a high school teacher, and recently became certified to administer Epi-pens. The school now keeps two on hand for emergencies. The training gives me Good Samaritan status, and covers the District as well.