Stinging varments verses cabs

[Richard]

With some of the recent posts about wasps, hornets... Got me wondering about a cab.

Just how secure (if at all /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) is a factory cab against intrusion of the little creatons?

If you are out working in the field, cab doors closed, air conditioning on and you run over a nest, are you essentially protected inside the cab? Are there any/many intrusion points that something that small (and determined) could get through?

 

[beenthere]

Puzzles me. Why would the bee's be determined and want to get through? Do they somehow know that 'you' are in there? Or just that there is a hunk of something that disturbed their nest? Seems to me they would only 'go after' the machine, and as to 'following' it very far, I doubt it. Just my thoughts. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Richard]

all I can vouch for is when I was on the tractor and drove over their nest, they seemed more interested in what was in the seat, than what had actually violated their nest /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

So if that happened again and I was in a tractor with factory cab, I was wondering if it was a better sheild. I can see where it is (should be ?) a significant help against them, so I'm wondering about a matter of degrees. Then the flipside crosses my mind, that if any DID get in there, they'd have no easy way out and perhaps make a bad thing worse?

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi...


An enclosed cab provides a lot of barrier for keeping things out... the cab itself probably has few... if any... openings for 'em to get in...

But... some tractors have plenty of openings itself into the enclosed cab area... take a look at yours...


Dave...

 

[Soundguy]

The one time I ranover a yellow jackets nest with the tractor an mower.. They did fly at me.. and not the 5' x5' mower that had just disturbed them... go figure..

Soundguy

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The one time I ranover a yellow jackets nest with the tractor an mower.. They did fly at me.. and not the 5' x5' mower that had just disturbed them... go figure..)</font>
I would think that's because after you hit them they saw YOU moving, not the mower. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif John

 

[YanmarFever]

I did a burnout on the nest in my backyard 10 minutes ago
with a mini truck. Rear wheel over nest and pop the clutch.
They came out with stingers ready to kill, but I was in the truck ! Sooo.. I made a second pass & sprayed them with the foam spray. They did not come after me at all inside the cab
I think that they see in infrared or something because I had the air on and the windows up. (its 93 outdide)
Ernie

 

[DiskDoctr]

Beenthere,

Why go after the operator? CO2 (Carbon Dioxide).

That's what guides bees to attackers.

If you're sneaking up on a nest to kill it, hold your breath and don't breathe towards the nest.

Also seems that if bees can tell the difference between flowers and sticks, they can tell between people and steel /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Cabs give you precious seconds to shift into HIGH GEAR /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

-JC

 

[cowboydoc]

I've hit yellow jackets, bees, wasps, etc. nests numerous times in a cab tractor. They've been all over it but never had one get in.

 

[Phred]

Richard is right the cab gives you complete protection from this problem.

Most cabs have a rear "window" right behind the seat that can be adjusted to let you run wires out the back. This is not the large rear cab window, but a smaller one just below it about a foot tall and 2-3 feet wide.
I run wires for my baler out this window from the control box in the cab. This is done by compressing the wires into the weather striping around the removable glass window frame. The result is water tight and therefore also wasp tight.

When this window is adjusted properly the cab is as tight as a car.

Fred

 

[mahlers]

Protection against things that sting (or stink) is a big benefit of a cab. I've disturbed hornet nests and had hundreds of them swarming around the cab. If I was out in the open, I would have gotten stung really bad. I also do a lot of work around an area where skunks have built burrows in the side of an old retaining wall. When I'm in the cab I feel *much* better about bothering them.

 

[Phred]

Its interesting timing on this thread......i.e. its all your fault richard for starting this post!

I was working on a baler the other day and I know that wasps love that thing. So everytime I go near it I usually have a can of spray handy... well not this time.
So I open up the side cover carefully, expecting the usual swarm ..... nothing. I look every place they have made a nest in the past being carefull not to stir them up and find nothing..... life is good.

So I pull up the tractor, hook up the baler, open up the back and proceed to spend about thirty minuites of grease gun / lube time.... no wasps. I then go to pull out the brushes that keep tension on the twine... BAM from out of no where one hits me on the arm. I manged to scramble up into the cab as about 10 of these bad boys coming flying out of a little hole in the side of the baler looking for blood. The nest is hidden some place in the inner workings of the baler apparently close to the twine arms.

I beileve they are paper wasps.
The intersting thing is that they a) appear to know where I park the baler, and (b) appear to key into motion. They were stinging away at the tractor.
So what to do with no spray and the brush in hand?
Well I have found that if I drive off about 1/2 mile or so, I can loose them. So here I go driving this baler around trying to loose these little &^%$ so I can put the brushes back and finsih up this job. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Worked great.
But when I returned the baler back to its usual spot here they come again stinging away at the tractor..... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
Chemical warfare appears to be the only solution.

By the way of you have this same thing happen benadryl tablets work well. Just glad it was one bite and not 5 or 10.

Fred

 

[dixiedrifter]

Why didn't you fire up the baler first to make them mad...

That'd be the easiest way to find them.

 

[Richard]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Its interesting timing on this thread......i.e. its all your fault richard for starting this post! )</font>


/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Glad you were able to lose them though. Chemical warfare can be a good thing huh?