Bees

Has anyone noticed that yellowjackets have been really bad this year? I was outside with my cat and we came about an inground nest. He got stung twice and I got it 4 times. Once right on the end of my nose. Some aggressive bees.

Guess the cat outran you huh?

ha ha, actually, I threw the aged cat (18 years old) about 10 feet in the bushes away from the bees. I then ran to the front door and found it was locked, Standing in between the 2 doors watching the bees smashing their faces against the glass--- I was saying...now you can't get me until I then realized they can think and reason out problems. In between the 2 doors was me and about 20 bees.

I reasoned this was not working and then moved out with them chasing me. I ran with now a broom and a plastic bag to the side from where I came swatting them all the way. I picked up about another 20. I saw my scared little kitty right where I tossed him; scooping him up I ran onto the side porch and ran in that door with them all trying to get in.

When my older son came home we poured bleach down the hole and put a big plant pot over it. About an hour later I checked on this and was amazed when I saw about 100 bees trying to get in the pot.

Since it is going to get alittle cooler tonite I really hope they decide to fly to a warmer climate and are not there tomorrow. They are very aggressive and very nasty.

I am now able to see where I was stung alittle easier since some of the swelling is going down and I was stung 12 times. I was stung on my nose alone 5 times! I look like hell.

Scary picture Terry! Only thing scarier would be a picture of my nose.

http://www.dunwich.org/tv/hitch/index.html

Sounds like some kind of Alfred Hitchcock movie that was never made.

12 times is a lot to be stung...glad the the nest is history with the bleach. The bees that didn't make it in the nest will slowly die off in the next day or 2.

Maybe they were africanized yellow jackets...which are far more aggressive than regular bees.

Ouch!!

I've only been stung a few times in my life, mostly by those big yellwowjackets. The first time was when I was picking grapes in western Michigan. I was popping grapes in my mouth and not paying attention. One of them had a yellowjacket on it and it stung the inside of my mouth.

The only time I was ever stung by a honeybee was when I walked past a hive with a lot of coconut sunscreen on. They were all over me and I had to run like hell.

I got stung twice by two yellow-jackets at customer's home two weeks ago.

For some reason I'm having problem with my foot now on that same leg. I was stung twice in the sock above the boot. Felt disgusting for days....now I have a sharp burning pain in the pad of my foot.

No signs of imflammation......just some tender masses in the bottom of the foot. It's been bothering me more lately than not. I'm not going to the doctor's until the foot turns black and toenails fall off....so don't bother telling me I need to go.

The last time for me, was while shutting off the water at the meter.
It was right near a nest in the ground, and I was in the flight path.
Just twice though, how are you doing Cookie?
I can't imagine twelve.

When I was building houses, my daughter was weeding and found she had been sitting on a nest. I had to grab her and bring her in the house. They were swarming her, but didn't pay any attention to me as I was pulling her toward the house.

I guess I am too sweet.

They got me good. Terrible bees... Terry your daughter was soooo lucky. That could had been something else for you both. It doesn't seem to take much to set those bees off. My poor little kitty was just sitting there and he took his paw and just touched one. That put everything in motion. lol. He is fine but the vet said it could had been bad for him due to his age especially when I catapulted him the length of a football field, lol.

I never saw anything like this in my life. I got a flowerpot over the nest and was just out there spraying the remainders with a spray. Funny thing I saw one so I sprayed him then out-of-no-where came 3. I am now very trigger happy... and have become a dead-eye. With each one I hit I say: Die you sucker you bit my cat! ( I love him so much) that I took 12 hits for him.

But, I would do it again if I had to.

I hope I don't...

Yesterday I was not feeling well I think due to the bee stings. I was very very tired, I couldn't even turn on the laptop! Imagine that, me not on the computer so, I knew I was sick...

I am looking better today. I can even see now since the swelling went down on my nose. It helps to see what you are eating, lol. and driving.
Yet last night when outside spraying them one had the nerve to turn around and come at my face. My nose. I could only think...OH Gosh not my nose!

I ran and hid. Inside...

About your foot Rugged I won't tell you to go to the doctor's because you won't listen anyway, lol. Besides, trust me on this one, not much I think they can do unless one of those gets infected. I still have a baking soda paste on my bites. The ones I can do it on. One actually climbed up my pants. The nerve,

I think they have been really bad this year from talking to numerous other people.

(Good likeness Cass of me screaming... lol.) Yesterday, when I bought the 100 cans of bee spray at HD the clerk was staring at my nose. He then had to ask. I thought to myself...he had to ask? I was snickering walking out the door thinking that I really should had confused him by throwing in a rat trap...

Lordy, I had a nasty hive of yellowjackets on my patio once. I sprayed a can of killer in the hole but I feared that swarm would attack out of anger anyone walking nearby! I thought yellowjackets were wasps.

Never had a problem with the honeybees though. I even looked right in a tree knothole where a nest was living and they ignored me.

Sorry to hear you got stung.

Son and I were fishing a few years ago. I walked past a nest of bees, and kicked it over, unbeknownst to me. My 7 yr old (at the time) son walked into the cloud of bees I had kicked up, and got stung 6 times. I grabbed him and ran into the small river we were fishing. I got stung twice. It was scary at the time, but we laugh about it now.

So sorry to hear about your son getting stung. I hope I can laugh about this too sometime from now. But, my problem is not yet over. Now, I got baby bees that hatched, I got some chemicals I am using tomorrow to poor into it and hopefully, that will help. I got a yellowjacket trap hanging from the trees and one pushed into the ground. This is war...

You should read the landscapers' threads about dropping a mower wheel into a yellowjacket nest. At least we aren't in New Zealand

My foot/leg is finally better.......must of been residual and not going to the doctor was perfect "wait and see" fashion for me. Was surprised how long that problem lasted though.

We used to use gasoline and just drop it in the hole.....there were usually two openings to the nest and would pour gas and light it at both ends. No matter what....they would die.

Found a nest just above my electric meter socket, must be quite large as there are 8-10 flying in and out at any given time.

I went into my garage and I can hear them in the attic area above the ceiling.

I will wait till winter to deal with them I think.

Go to big box or local lumber store get expanding foam filler, late at nite seal off hole with foam, if they try to fly away they can't, because the foam
makes their wings to heavy and they stick togeather,
any time you deal with bee's they are normal nocturnal type insects,
so it's always best to do so at nite!!

JERRYMAC

bees ...Kerosene and deizel fuel....

About 2002 , we moved into our new house...

I had my 2 year old girl out in the back yard and she was

exploring along the fence.....

She stepped right into a bees nest and I was about 10 feet away....

I noticed that she was crying and then realized she was swatting at those little bastards....

I had to run over as quick as I could and swoop her up
and get out of the area as quick as possible...

She was stung about 8 times on the neck and face
and a few around her diapers too...


Took her inside and gave her some liquid benadril....
put her in the tub and kept an eye on her for about
an hour.... she never had a bad reaction....

I thought I was going to have to sedate my wife she freaked out worse than the baby.......


those bees died a horrible death that night...

a gallon of deizel fuel and some Kerosine right down the hole then setting it on fire took care of them

I agree with the more chemicals the better. The foam killer spray works well. As mentioned, wait until evening and fill up any and all holes into the nest you can find. This will probably have to be repeated nightly for a week or so. I used this approach successfully with a very stubborn colony of carpenter bees.

MM, I would had freaked too if one of my kids were stung like that. Someone would be picking me up off the floor. I was at HD today refilling up my arsenal, tonite is the nite. I have a pretty good game plan and enough of chemicals to kill a horse. I even got fireworks which I have thought of using. Blow em up.

Rugged, I am glad to hear you are doing better. It took me a while also. But, my immunity system sucks so that might be part of it for me.

Cass, I won't ever visit you. Not if your attic is humming... lol.

While at HD I was checking out the fall flowers and sure enough there were quite a few yellowjackets. So, guess who didn't buy any flowers. I refuse to immigrate them. One actually was putting down his landing gear a tadbit too close to my... nose. How rude.

By the way, it isn't big. lol.

I subscribe to the Freecycle group on Yahoo where you can offer an item or place a wanted ad for an item. Two days ago I placed an ad: WANTED item, a Bee suit.

Tonite I got a response, I think this might make you chuckle, I was on the floor laughing. Here goes:

hi do you work with bees or have bees do you want more cause there is a hive on the city steps next door to me let me know if so i will give address thanks

Is she NUTS? I am writing back, " Maam, I got plenty thanks."

Hope you recover soon Cookie.

Many years ago in Michigan, my neighbor discovered a nest in the ground at his place. We did the same thing Mark did with the diesel and gas mix. Touch it off and bye bye bees. Yellow jackets are very aggressive and aren't to be played with. Some people only need a bite or two to go into anaflactic shock. Then they die.

These guys stayed in the ground, so I have to assume they aren't nocturnal.

bob...