Yellow Jacket Nests While Bush hogging, whats your plan?

[John Fitzgerald]

It's happened to me a couple of times while push mowing. After running away, while getting stung initially, I wired down the handle, and left the mower running over the hole until it whacked them all.

 

[Chriswt314]

.If clothed, they'll sting through your clothing.

If you tractor without clothing, please remember sunscreen.

 

[Eagle1]

I wear my shorts and socks.........

 

[OzarkChris]

Anyone have a pic of what the nest looks like? might be able to avoid if we know what to look for.

I actually like this cast aluminum one best - no survivors!

 

[splotch]

I was on my Ventrac mowing a steep incline side says. I had to endure the little ba$t@… stinging me until I could get the mower on safe ground. I went about half a football field before I realized I was still moving along the incline lol. I finally got it to a safe position and ran. I had them in clothes and every where. When I made it in the house I was in my underwear at this time one flew out from my boxers. I haven’t been stung since that day but I visually check any area I mow for activity. I also try to mow late or early. To this day a sweat bee can send me hauling a$$….

 

[frcnLS]

About a month ago I saw a couple of small mounds of fine soil (like tiny pebbles) that resembled an ant hill about 1½" tall, but with a opening hole the size of the body of a Sharpie marker. I curiously put a pine needle down the hole and it stopped a good 5 or 6" deep. 'Huh?' I thought to myself. I smoothed it over with my boot covering it up, stepped on it to compress the soil and left it. It reappeared a day or so later... Around that time I saw the largest yellow jacket I have ever seen- about the length of three 'normal ones' but with substantial girth. I realized it was a queen creating a nest. Got the wasp spray and held down the nozzle until the hole was filled and covered it up.

 

[Pleease]

Happened to me several years ago while weedeating a steep little bank behind our house. Didn't hear anything - gas machine - and was wearing gym shorts and t-shirt. They got me about a dozen times, some inside the shorts (but not, well, you know). Hurt pretty bad!

I'd never reacted much to a sting or two, but in a short while my face started swelling pretty badly as did my tongue - could hardly speak. Wife rushed me to the ER, they gave me a shot (steroid I think) and everything deflated in a hurry.

Scary stuff! Hope it doesn't happen like to you guys, on my tractor - especially on the big hill at the lake!

 

[gmcmhn]

Get a couple cans of insect bomb, the kind to push the tab and it mists on its own. Spray yourself and then spray over your shoulder, the yellow jackets will be following the heat, yours and the tractor. The bee keepers outfit is the best suggestion so far.

 

[MarblemountLane]

Ground hornets are no joke. Dad was hooking behind a Cat in 1947, got into a nest and they lit him up like a Christmas tree. They raced him to a hospital in an old Buick Eight, managed to save him. Didn’t get stung again for 20 years, but 1967 was a bad summer in Washington for ground hornets, and we got into them on the Cow Heaven trail. One sting, and he started getting all the same symptoms as in 1947. He never had an allergy before. Further experience proved he had been sensitized specifically to ground hornets. He could still weather a bee sting (he actually kept honey bees for a number of years).

Trail horses know what it means when someone yells “Bees!” Suddenly there is a lot of stomping, furious tail action, and everything goes into overdrive.

BTW jumping off is always risky. Between hydraulic valves and the aftermarket Ford ROPS someone added to my Massey 204, the only place to exit is to the right, ahead of the rear tire. Fortunately, the 204 has ReversOmatic (not sure they knew the word “hydrostatic” in 1959) and will stop if my foot is off the pedal. But stopping is not always instantaneous.

 

[Bobrown14]

Just keep going in the tractor watching the yellow jackets from the cab

This ^^^^ I ran over 2 HORNETS nests the last time I brush hogged. Watched those big fuggers bouncing off my cab windows. They were pissed. The nests were huge basketball sized - I ran one over cut it in half the other 1 I ran into with my fel.

While they were bouncing off the windows I realized they might find a hole or 2 in the floor board where shifters and pedals go thru.... I moved on to another area and steered clear of the nests. Next day went back and both nests were gone. I'm thinking bear helped out with that.

 

[4570Man]

Yellowjacket nests look like a paper basketball, ground bees go down a hole or multiple holes.

Yellow Jackets can build a paper nest like hornets make but they more commonly build in holes in the ground.

 

[TrueAmericanVeteran]

Saw this online. I guess wasps built a nest around an old mask in an attic. Just thought I'd throw it in.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Saw this online. I guess wasps built a nest around an old mask in an attic. Just thought I'd throw it in.

We would call that a yellow jacket or hornet's nest, I have never seen wasp build a nest like that.

 

[Loaderman22]

Does it seem to anyone else that the yellow jacket spray cans used to work better? 15-20 years ago that stuff would drop them immediately. Now I spray a nest and half of them shake it off and start flying around.

CRC Braklean available at any auto parts store. The red can, gives them instant cancer and they drop. Works better than most bee sprays. I had European hornets.... Had... Dropped them mid air.

 

[AndyMA]

I once ran a hedge trimmer into a hornets nest in some shrubs. You can imagine how annoyed they were. About 20 stings. Each one felt like a sledge hammer blow

 

[squireg]

My approach with YJs has always been to stay on the tractor or riding mower and get as far away as possible before stopping. Still get stung but not many. You would think they would just go for the machine but no, they go for the human. For maybe 10 or more years I would get stung once or twice every summer or so. No big deal right? But one year I got stung twice while mowing the yard. Stopped, ran into the house, put baking soda on the stings, and then went back out to find the nest hole and got stung two or three more times. Went back into the house, started taking a cold shower, and noticed I had broken out in hives all over my stomach and back. Plus my gums started swelling and lips were getting numb. When my wife saw me she ran for the Epipen she had always kept since she is allergic to bee stings and deer flies. Jabbed it into my thigh, gave me two benadryls, and drove me to the ER which had about 30 people in the waiting room. The triage nurse took one look at me and immediately ushered me to a doctor. They gave me some prednisone and kept me for a few hours and the we drove home. So now I carry an EpiPen with me all the time. Not a fun way to avoid a long ER wait. Haven't seen many YJs in the last 3 or 4 years, but we have had more skunks. So maybe they are doing a good job keeping them away.

 

[rodneyn]

What is your plan of attack? Shut tractor down and run? Downshift and pop the clutch?

I got my first experience of running over a yellow jackets nest while bush hogging. I was in a super low gear so I shut the tractor down and ran. Probably got nailed 8 or 9 times. I was able to wait for 1`0 minutes and was able to get on and drive away without another sting. I am just wondering what everyone else does in these situations. It is not fun, that is for sure.

Ground hornets are sensitive to colors and noise. Was told not to wear dark brown around hornets perceived as threat to them. Been stung as child and adult now forced to carry an epinephrine pen when mowing in the field. Doctor told me it’s not uncommon for farmers to get stung enough and not survive die on tractor seat. I also know that don’t like orange tractors either they amassed on the hood once i agitated the nest. Without epinephrine pen I could not survive another wave of being stung. Over past 40 years took over 400 stings. Stay safe hornets can be aggressive if agitated.

 

[IndyIan]

I have been pretty lucky, I've never stung on the tractor, but I have driven close to a couple small paper wasp nests and seen them go after the tractor for a few moments as I had drove away. I did recently brush hog a trail right by a ground wasp nest, but I knew it was there and I just went full speed in mid range until I was 50 yards past. A few gave a half hearted chase but gave up pretty quickly.

 

[Chas Kerr]

Back in Alabama in 1978 my wife was mowing the honeysucle patch by holding the handle down while the mower was tilted up. Then she would drop it slowly to chop it up. Well, this time it dropped right on the nest. She had the little 1year old in a red ryder wagon padded with a sheet blanket. The 3 year old boy was doing his thing while watching his Momma. I got the following description from neighbor Soula who watched it all. The wife hollered out run boy run!, the wife picked up the 1 year old girl by the arm and ran with her right behind the boy. Soula said she could see the little girl flying over the short new growth pine trees will in her Momma’s hand. She got bit several times but the kids were spared! Soula wet the tobacco from a cigarette and dabbed it on the wife’s bites to sooth them. When I got home from work boy howdy did I get an ear full!!

 

[Rod in Forfar]

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