So, I was lucky

[Roger2561]

This past Saturday my younger brother and I were cleaning the area where we process the firewood.  As we were raking the debris into piles to be picked up my brother mentioned there are a lot of bees flying around.  At first glance I thought they were flies but upon closer inspection I realized they were indeed bees; yellow jackets!  We inadvertently destroyed their nest.  Those are bad guys to be around.  They are always in a state of *pithed off and will sting just because you happen to be there.  Now fast forward about 4 hours.  I was stacking some firewood and felt something spongy in my hand.  It was a hornets nest, perhaps 5 inches in diameter.  I thought it was an old nest until I saw 2 hornets fly away.  So I tossed the nest on the floor where I was stacking the wood, stomped on it with my booted foot and noticed 6 more hornets in the nest.  Thankfully they were all dead due to me stomping on it.  It must have been only through the grace of God that I didn't get stung at all Saturday morning.  The way my luck was running I nearly bought a lottery ticket but I didn't have any money on me.  Roger   

[Magicman]

Yes, indeed you were very fortunate.  I do not have much experience with Hornets, but Yellow Jackets are some bad dudes.   :-\

[Brucer]

....  The way my luck was running I nearly bought a lottery ticket but I didn't have any money on me.

So you lucked out a third time :D :D.

[yukon cornelius]

not to say I have never been stung, but I have always had that luck. they will buzz me and go on. my wife however, every single time will get stung. several times they will buzz me and go straight to her and get her.

[mesquite buckeye]

I have to get a colony of killer bees out of our house soffit..  :-\ The fabulous Darlene is quite allergic.

[beenthere]

Sevin dust is what I used.
To dispense it on a large colony of yellow jackets inside and under the roof overhang, I placed some dust in a 1/2" plastic pipe (10' long) and blew it into the area with a blast of air.
Immediate success.

[WV Sawmiller]

    I like BeenThere's technique and will keep it in mind for future use. Many years ago when we first bought our place here in WV I was doing a running battle with Multiflora roses. I bought a Gravely tractor with a 30" bushhog mounted on the front. It was doing a fine job eating up the roses I could reach on h=our steep hillsides. I ran it up into a clump and hit a yellowjacket nest in the ground. They swarmed and I got stung so I slapped the little tractor in reverse and backed out of there. I was doing okay till I bumped a young walnut tree with football sized hornet nest on a low limb and pithed them off and got several stings from them. I finally got out of the area but kept expecting to turn over and get pinned under the Gravely in the middle of a copperhead den. it was that kind of day.

Glad to hear Roger was more fortunate.

[tree-farmer]

Great story Sawmiller, ever consideded doing it over and video taping...would go viral no doubt.  ;D Thanks for the grin after a long day.

[sandsawmill14]

 :D :D :D days like that make you ready for bedtime and hoping for better luck tomorrow dont they sawmiller :D :D :D   i hit a stump with yellow jacket nest in it and killed tractor engine one time got 23 stings before i finally jumped and gave them the tractor  ;D went back and got the tractor after dark

[timberlinetree]

It's lot of fun hitting them while brush hogging :'(. Its tuff to get away in first gear.

[sandhills]

This thread reminds me of what my dad always said about haying (horse drawn equipment), they always gave the youngest kid the raking job because that was the easiest, but was also the most dangerous because they'd always kick up bees somewhere and spook the horses, fall off the seat and land in the rake.  There's a ranch west of us that still uses teams for all their haying and feeding, believe me it's a big ranch, but I always think about bees when I think of that.   

[LaneC]

My daughter and I were putting the last brood box on today after inspecting the hives. Maybe 10 seconds left of finishing up and BAM, right on the hand. I have never swelled up like this from a bee sting. It is almost like a small ball and very painful. I pulled the stinger out, but this one is a doozy. I kept my composure and called her (the bee) a little witch :D.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tree-farmer,

    Great idea. I will need a stunt double. Are you up for the challenge? I'll run the camera and you fight the vermin. We'll post it and if it makes any money I'll give you some of it. Does that sound fair?

     This thread reminds me as a kid in Fla when we'd get in fire ants. I never understood how they communicated but the first one on you never bit. Waited till you were covered then they'd all bite at once.

    A couple days after we married my MIL (who was a pretty large and very wonderful lady) mowed into a yellow jacket nest in the back yard in N. Ala. The first she knew they were up her pants legs and stinging. She shed them and ran for the house with the mower running (Mowers back then did not have safety shut offs like modern mowers) and it ran till out of gas and they retrieved the mower later at night. Fortunately they lived in the country with no close neighbors to enjoy the show.

[Stuart Caruk]

Ran into a huge yellow jacket nest with my Cat when I was clearing brush, didn't realize what it was until I got stung. Finally bailed off and ran like heck. 47 stings. Swelled up like a pumpkin. Fast forward a couple years and I did the exact same thing, this time in my Bobcat with the door closed air conditioning on and hepa filters working great. Saw the nest explode when I hit it. Angry yellow jackets everywhere. I quickly backed out of there, then realized they had no way into the cab so I exacted my revenge on their kin...

That fully enclosed cab has saved me 3 or 4 times since then.

[21incher]

I had a yellow jacket nest in the ground last year that I mowed over and was thankful I had high lift mulching blades on and a hydro transmission. Funny thing was when I checked it the next day the hole had been opened up to about 6 inches diameter and the bees were all gone. Some kind of animal must have dug them up and ate them all.

[clww]

Skunk.

[WV Sawmiller]

Clww X2. Don't know how they do it but skunks love them. They will also raid beehives. Scratch on the porch and as the bees came out to defend the hive he just laps them up.

[Roger2561]

I had a yellow jacket nest in the ground last year that I mowed over and was thankful I had high lift mulching blades on and a hydro transmission. Funny thing was when I checked it the next day the hole had been opened up to about 6 inches diameter and the bees were all gone. Some kind of animal must have dug them up and ate them all.

Last evening was the first chance, since Saturday morning, to mow around where the yellow jackets were located and I noticed that the hole was 3 inches in diameter and no yellow jackets to be seen anywhere.  I kinda figured something with a cast iron stomach got to them and had a feast.  Man that must have tasted like hot sauce on steroids.  Roger   

[nmericle53]

Yep, them things do hurt. When we were building our house there was a bundle of insulation on back porch. Since I was the designated insulator I put it there so I could get to it easily. I needed a little more to stuff around the door frame so I grabbed a hand full. All of a sudden it felt like a million ants had attacked my feet. Yellow jackets are demons. Neighbor had benadryl pills so I took two. I guess it was good I took two because I slept for almost 24 hours. At least I had some relief for a bit. My ankles were so swollen and had fever in them. They are bad dudes.

[Autocar]

I pulled a tarp out from under my work bench Wensday and yellow jackets came out like boomers and nailed me . The last few days Ive been digging at them like crazy Ive never had them to itch like they are this time. I fixed them with some starting fluid.

[GAB]

I noticed a wasp nest up in a tree once. 
Skeet loads in the 12 GA at dusk took care of them.
I've used carburater cleaner and a high pressure paint gun (while painting) as weapons against them there flying aggressive pests.
Gerald

[petefrom bearswamp]

About the only thing skunks are good for.
Had a ground nest in one of my woods roads a few years ago and put gas down the hole at night.
The next day a skunk had dug the nest out.
Maybe should have used ethanol free gas