Always wear a long sleeve white shirt, white pants if you have a pair. They go after dark items. When I've run over them I just keep going at the maximum speed I safely can. Only been stung once on the tractor and it has no cab. Haven't had the same luck when walking with ground nesting, aerial yellow jackets or bald faced hornets . Too often have found the nests the hard way. Still maximum stings about 3. Early morning get out the bug spray before it gets the sun on them. We have someone in the county that will come and collect the nests for the venom to make shots for desensitization but they are often a few days out.
Yellow Jacket Nests While Bush hogging, whats your plan?
- Thread starter HawkinsHollow
- Start date
Luke McGluke
New member
Ran into a nest clearing a brush pile. Got stung twice before I made a beeline to the house for some 3M #77 spray adhesive. They fold up like a cheap kite when that hits them. Then sprayed the entrance to the nest. They get madder than he!! when they stick to each other, the entrance, and the ground. Blahahaha!
Agthacher1
New member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2019
- Messages
- 3
- Tractor
- Kubota L4701
Just be glad you weren't on a horse. You'll probably out distance them faster than on a tractor, but watch out for the unscheduled dismount that usually follows.
Alan46
Elite Member
what a great idea, 3M #77 spray adhesive.
They fold up like a cheap kite when that hits them.
charles todd
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 385
- Location
- Louisiana
- Tractor
- LS P7010C, Farmall 504, Allis Chalmers 180, Komatsu PC38UU-2
This.
One of main reasons I went cab tractor. I have watched bald faced bumble bees attacking the glass more than once. Yellow Jackets... Not as concerned.
CT
DKCDKC
Platinum Member
Love all the suggestions of a cab as a bee preventative. I work my tractor in fields and forest. Trees would take off any cab within hours. Cabs are simply not practical for many folks - and they are an added expense. I have hit bees while cutting... So far I've never been stung since I was only part of a large mass moving away from the nest. I do use care and avoid the area on the next go-round. But I've had bee experience. One time my young son became stuck on top of a yellow jacket nest and couldn't get up to run away. I was washing a car nearby in a bathing suit. I knew what I had to do - but that it was going to hurt. I ran and grabbed him and pulled him into our house, then spent some time killing the bees that came in with us. My son was stung 150 times or so and spent the night in the hospital as a precaution. I got hit about 60 times but had no overall reaction and just put ointment on and went home. The real worry with bees is if you have an allergy to them. Fortunately, I don't.
First thing to remember is to keep your cool. Second thing is you know you have to get away ASAP. Third thing is you know you're gonna get stung and you have to minimize the number of times. This happened to me once on my JD 2030 open station. The shortest avenue of escape was uphill and I figured the tractor would go faster than I could run. I shut off the PTO, shifted to a higher gear, throttled up, and got the hell outa there, all the time waving my arm, or arms when I could, like a crazy man. Once I was about 100 feet away and on a flat surface, I put the tractor in park, hopped off the tractor, pulled my shirt off and swung it all around me. That took care of the few that had followed me that far and I only got stung 3 or 4 times under my shirt on my arms and back. Went back later that evening and sprayed the nest with Wasp and Hornet Spray. No problem now with the air-conditioned cab on my JD 5525. 
OP
HawkinsHollow
Veteran Member
I am always very attentive of how I am feeling after yellow jacket stings. I have a couple horror stories of friends that have never had reactions to it almost dying from it. I now always have an Epi-Pen in my truck now, it could save mine or someone else's life. While we are on the topic, what do you use to treat/ease the pain from stings?