Yellow Jacket Nests While Bush hogging, whats your plan?

[NUTTERDW]

Sometimes the jump and run ends horribly so it is no joke if you are unprotected. This happened to a local person.

UPDATE: Police suspect bee attack led to death of man operating bulldozer

A few years ago a teen age boy of a man I worked for hit a hornets nest while brush hogging and tried to jump off but something happened and he went under the brush hog. His mother found him sometime later and the tractor was still running. I can only imagine what that family went through.

 

[4570Man]

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

It’s just a small hole in the ground. You’ll never see it. Your best chance is spotting the yellow jackets swarming around. If you’re moving fairly quickly they usually won’t sting you on the first pass an the next pass around you have the chance to spot them. That tactic is more successful on a lawnmower vs a slow moving bushhog.

 

[ultrarunner]

After the first time and taking lots of Benadryl afterwards I wear a Tyvek Bunny Suit and Grandpa's Bee helmet...

So far the suit and helmet prevented any more stings but have to be careful undressing because stragglers will hang on.

Small hanging nests a shot of WD-40 after dark and nest is done.

Also poured gasoline down the holes at night and a rock to cover...

 

[mahovy]

Once ran into one when I had the Gravely with its bush hog out front. I ran away with it sitting there running. When they simmered down some, I went and rescued it. Hate them. If clothed, they'll sting through your clothing.

Seem to be getting a fair number of them this year. Been wet and easy for them to dig their holes. A skunk dug one out in the raspberry patch. Huge hole. Took me more than 5 gallons of mulch to refill the hole.

Probably ground bees. They make honey underground, a delicacy for skunks. Yellowjacket’s make paper nests in trees or attics or house waves, etc. No honey in their nests. Ground bees are aggressive and will chase you. Yellowjackets are more concerned with the nest and queen. Neither one’s stings are enjoyable.

 

[mahovy]

It’s just a small hole in the ground. You’ll never see it. Your best chance is spotting the yellow jackets swarming around. If you’re moving fairly quickly they usually won’t sting you on the first pass an the next pass around you have the chance to spot them. That tactic is more successful on a lawnmower vs a slow moving bushhog.

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

 

[mahovy]

Probably ground bees. They make honey underground, a delicacy for skunks. Yellowjacket’s make paper nests in trees or attics or house waves, etc. No honey in their nests. Ground bees are aggressive and will chase you. Yellowjackets are more concerned with the nest and queen. Neither one’s stings are enjoyable.

Correction: house eaves

 

[How Harris]

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

It may be politically incorrect, but I keep a spray can of hornet/wasp spray in my (open) cab for just that reason!

 

[jimnor46]

Just read an article about a guy was stung an estimated 20,000 times and actually swallowed some, was in a coma for a while but see like he’s going to survive.

 

[JDAOWNER]

I'VE HAD THAT HAPPEN A FEW TIMES. I JUST KEPT ON GOING AND CONCENTRATED ON SWATTING AT THE ONES NEAR ME. GOT STUNG A COUPLE OF TIMES BUT NOT A LOT. CANT SHUT DOWN OR SHIFT FAST WITH MY OLD JD A. JUST RIDE IT OUT.

 

[TractorTYMe]

My plan? Make sure I have a tractor with a cab. Problem solved.

 

[bhurley52]

I came across some while mowing my field. I put the tractor in high gear and took off. I looked behind and there was one close enough to see its legs hanging down. That little bugger got me. When I got back to the truck, I grabbed some wasp spray and drove to their nest. Everytime they flew in or out I would spray until I didn't see any activity.

 

[Ginormous]

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

I don't want to think about the alternative!

 

[Surshot]

Open tractors and land clearing is not a good combination with hornets, bees or wasps. I have had my encounters with them.

Worse thing I ever saw personally was my grandfather pushed a dead palm tree over and the top broke off and fell onto the hood of the tractor. He came off that tractor shedding clothes in the field. Palm trees have little brown scorpions.

 

[TT45]

Probably ground bees. They make honey underground, a delicacy for skunks. Yellowjacket’s make paper nests in trees or attics or house waves, etc. No honey in their nests. Ground bees are aggressive and will chase you. Yellowjackets are more concerned with the nest and queen. Neither one’s stings are enjoyable.

Where did you get that information?
It is not correct. Yellow Jackets do build large underground nests. Honey Bees in the ground, maybe, but unlikely. Skunks are after the YJ larvae. Bumble Bees have undergound hives, don't think they make honey. Look it up and post good info you find.

 

[frcnLS]

I was using my Husqvarna 545FR forestry clearing saw with a string head clearing light brush and weeds along some trails on my property and hit a nest. Group wasps, meat bees, whatever they are.. little bastards nonetheless. At first there was one or two I saw through the metal screen face shield of my helmet and thought nothing of it.. then there were more. Fortunately there were not a lot. I started running up the short hill with the brush cutter still in harness. Even at my age it is amazing how fast you can run uphill carrying something like that when so highly motivated.. Got to the top, and still on the run shut the saw off, dropped it, and ran for the house. Got stung or bit (whatever they were doing) a couple of times and back in the house found another under my collar trying to get another bite in.

Another incident at my old tract home. Had a nest I did not know about. Set the hose-end sprinkler, turned it on, and they started flying out of the ground- about a dozen or so. It was a black vinyl hose with a yellow stripe. They were stinging the hose (assuming it was a snake). I turned off the water and froma distance I pulled the hose back. There were a couple with their stingers in the hose and they were flapping their wings frantically trying to pull their stingers out of the hose.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm not up on insect classifications but here Yellow Jackets live mostly in the ground and Paper Wasps build nest under eves and other stationary objects...

Maybe it's just name by local custom.

I received a frantic call when I was away for the night... a tenant called demanding I immediately remove a wasp nest... I explain I would see here in the morning as I was 390 miles away.

She calls animal control and then calls back I need to hire a pest control at 8 pm on a Friday night or pay for a hotel because not safe at the house.

I show up Saturday expecting a massive nest... what I found was the size of a 50 cent piece under a garage eve with a couple of cells...

She canceled her weekend BBQ and went on and on about nothing...

 

[rasnesta]

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.

It has been a few years but I was naked by the time I got in the house. They got in my pants and shirt and I was stung a lot everywhere. That night they were dispatched for good 10 times over.

 

[oneal hicks]

Been there done that more times than one. I never leave the Tractor just speed up and drive away. I have driven over Yellow Jackets and Bumble Bees (Whew) It takes time and often very unsafe too dismount and run you must stop the tractor to safely get off to run.

 

[kyryder]

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.

I hit a stump while operating a John Deere and was swarmed. Shut it down before running, they got me about 15 different spots. Left eye was completely swollen shut. They swarmed everything on tractor that was yellow, seat, badging, yellow key fob. I got the tractor back 3 days later after 6 cans of wasp hornet spray.
I know of no way to prevent, just bail safely after first contact.

 

[JasperFrank]

Your mileage may vary, but I have found Hornet and Wasp spray cans to be very ineffective. I don't know if they were reformulated to be less toxic to humans, but off the shelf sprays don't deter the ones we've got.