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Its that time of year again!

Started by WV Sawmiller, June 16, 2022, 07:43:17 PM

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WV Sawmiller

 

Be careful working around your piles of stacked lumber and such including any equipment that may not have been moved in a couple of weeks. A leaf blower is a great way to find them from a distance and to defend yourself till you can get some spray or such to kill them.

  I spotted this softball sized nest right over the shelf when I keep my birdhouses stored. Fortunately I saw it before I got too close.

Instead of going back to the house for some spray I poured half a cup of poison dust in a cup and threw it on the nest. (A little hard to see but it is the light tint on the bottom of the nest.) I came back half an hour or so later and could not find a live hornet anywhere. I'll leave the nest up tonight in case any stragglers come back in. When they walk across the poison they take it in the hive and kill the queen and others inside.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

thecfarm

I've got 3 small ones I have to take care of tonight.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WV Sawmiller

   Yeah when I went to take the picture I spotted a new one with only one wasp on it but was able to kill her outright with a handy sticker.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Southside

Saw a YouTube video of a guy who put an M80 on the end of a stick and held it just outside of the wasp nest, the shock wave killed every wasp and destroyed the nest without damaging the house siding.  
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

btulloh

High explosives should be the first choice in most situations. lol  With an adequate supply of C4, WD40, and duct tape, almost any problem can be solved. 
HM126

Ianab

Couple of years back I noticed a smaller version on my workshop ceiling..Only about the size of a golf ball, so only the original queen, and probably some eggs / larvae. 

Mixed up some Permethrin wasp killer in a garden sprayer, set the nozzle for a nice tight stream, and shot a good blast into the exit hatch. There was some angry buzzing, then a sick looking wasp staggered out, did some break dancing on the floor, and expired.   That was the end of that problem.  ;D

Wasps are a problem in NZ as they aren't native, have no natural enemies, and the winters aren't usually not cold enough to kill them off. 
QuoteThe world's largest recorded wasp nest was discovered at Waimauku (near Auckland). It was 3.75 metres tall and 1.7 metres wide.

That's about 12ft tall and 5 ft wide for the US folks. 
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

sprucebunny

And bee on the lookout for swarms moving into the hole in the siding the woodpecker started last month and the flying squirrel finished...



 

You really don't want bees living in your walls.
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

Don P

This was a few weeks ago. My partner had just uncovered the old honeybee hive in the wall. Asking around it was about 5 years ago, so it was about a decade ago  :D. Dead and funky, a host of other bottom feeding critters move in to use or feed on whatever is left of the colony. Then old and new hornet and wasp nests in every bay. I was working back under the cleaned out honeybee bay about 2 weeks later, heard buzzing and it was the pithed off new hornet nest. They are active right now. Then there were the pythons  :D



 

Another thing this time of year. I was drinking coffee this morning, looked above my truck and dying leaves caught my eye. The wind the other night had broken a good sized limb that is dangling.

kantuckid

Quote from: Southside on June 16, 2022, 11:32:14 PM
Saw a YouTube video of a guy who put an M80 on the end of a stick and held it just outside of the wasp nest, the shock wave killed every wasp and destroyed the nest without damaging the house siding.  
Where can you source an M80 (the real ones) these days? Last ones I bought was a very long time ago in MO.
We don't have many Pythons in KY...  ::)
Kan=Kansas;tuck=Kentucky;kid=what I'm not

WV Sawmiller

   I was putting away the last of my crafts from last weekend's demos at 2 flea markets in my storage shed and heard a buzzing and looked up and found another one about the size of a baseball about 10' from the first one. I tried to coat it with some poison dust too and one came out and nailed me lightly on the R side of the head. Sort of a glancing blow. We will see if I got enough on the nest to kill them and if not I'll take more drastic measures.

  I had not torn down the original nest but noticed about half of it is already gone. I assume birds had torn into it to use the wasp paper for nesting material. I have seen it in bird nests before. I don't know if any kind of birds ever tear in to get the grubs but you'd think there would be.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Don P

That one bouncing off your head was probably a guard. Usually when I've been really wrapped up in them I can think back and recall the guard did bounce off me trying to warn me off but being big and dumb I had missed the warning in time.

GAB

Found a hornest nest I estimated at roughly the diameter of a football and about as long on the underside of a tree limb.
One 12 GA skeet load and most of it was gone with a few floating.  Second round took care of them.
GAB
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

WV Sawmiller

Don,

  I have had them bounce off as a warning but this one went ahead and stung me while she was in the neighborhood. >:(
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

WV Sawmiller

  I guess I got enough dust on the new nest to kill them as I went out today and 2/3 of it was already gone to build bird nests or other wasp nests or wherever they go but more important the hornets/yellow jackets were gone.

   I had a tree fall on my bee shed and knocked down a power line including across a stack of lumber and my mill last week. While I was out with the tractor and FEL I removed the top off the shed then opened the door to check for damages. Once opened I spotted a small nest with three big red wasps on it. Since I was wearing leather work gloves I swatted at them and killed 2 but one got past and popped me on the R cheek. I grabbed some green leaves and crushed them up and rubbed it on. I don't know if it helps neutralize the acid in the venom or not it did seem to ease the pain a bit. Sort of like people putting chewing tobacco or snuff or shewing up a cigarette and putting on a sting. May be all old wives tale.

   That reminds me when I was in Afghanistan we'd have weekly camp safety meetings I'd chair along with our safety gurus. In the summer we'd get a fair share of wasp stings mostly from yellowjackets or their Asian equivalents in and around the garbage cans at the end of the B-Huts and such. Our safety guys reported them as "Punctures" which maybe they were but I thought was a dumb categorization because it made it look like we were walking around stepping on nails and such. We should have just had a category for "Insect stings or bites".
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

Howard, I've posted this a number of times on the FF and I guess it's time again. On bee stings, wet the area and sprinkle on Adolph's meat tenderizer (WITH MSG) spread it around a little. If you get this on within a couple of minutes the pain will barely even begin to rise before it fades away. I keep a can of it in the truck for just such purposes. Works like a charm, but you have to get it on as quickly as you can before the venom works it's way around.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

Tom,

  I had heard that the enzymes in AMT would break down the venom but never had any handy or tried it. Since green leaves are readily available they are an easy test and after we get the results from 2,475,312 FF members we will have a pretty good idea whether it works or not. ;)
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Ed_K

 Don't grab three leaves  ;D .
Ed K

WV Sawmiller

  I try to grab 3 or more leaves to mash up but be sure none of them come from vines or limbs and were growing in clumps of three. ;)
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Don P

When its available jewel weed is mountain aloe.

WV Sawmiller

   Thanks. I never heard of jewelweed but when I looked it up I recognize it as Touch Me Not which are common around here. I hope I never have to test it for another wasp or hornet sting though.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

samandothers

Well, this is timely.  Just yesterday I was bragging about only seeing the remnants of yellow jackets nests left by the skunks in recent years and that I had not been stung in a while.  Well, today mowing the yard I discovered an inground nest.  I had mowed within a mower's width of it.  I stopped to pull some weeds when they decided I had overstayed my welcome.  Got me 4 times but I'll have the last word and treat the nest with a bit of gas. :-[

WV Sawmiller

   Been there - done that.

  I got a little Gravely tractor with a 30" brushog on the front. Mowed into a rose bush with yellowjackets under it and one got me so I slapped it in reverse and backed right into a nearby walnut with a big hornet nest on a low limb and got 3 stings from them. ::) I kept expecting to turn it over in a copperhead den. That was my kind of day. :(
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

WDH

Once I was on the tractor bushhogging a firebreak and ran over a yellow jacket nest.  Next thing you know they are all over me stinging me on the head and face multiple times.  I knew that I could not outrun them on the tractor so I threw the tractor in neutral and jumped off the tractor, landing on my left leg with all my weight which tore my left calf muscle.  I was unable to run or walk, so I had to crawl away as fast as I could.  Fortunately the running tractor was their focus and I limped crawled away.

Unfortunately, in my haste to depart and unknown to me at the time, I did not get the tractor out of neutral so it proceeded until it hit a tree dead square on and dug itself into the ground until i could crawl over and turn it off :).  My calf muscle  on the back of my leg turned every color in the rainbow, purple, black, green, etc. and bruising went all the way down to the top of my foot.  I paid the price dearly for disturbing that nest. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

WV Sawmiller

   About a week after we married my MIL was mowing her backyard in northern Ala and ran over a yellowjacket nest and they swarmed up her loose pants legs stinging her. She was a pretty large lady but she just shed her pants and ran to the house. The push mower did not have an automatic kill switch so it sat over the nest running till it ran itself out of fuel. They went out that night and retrieved it. Fortunately she did not have any near neighbors to see her.

  Which reminds me of the time our first exchange student, a Swede, mom and sister came to visit for her graduation. She was a large lady and decided to "take sun" while my wife and I were at work and the kids were in school. She laid a blanket in the back yard in Jacksonville NC, laid down and undid the straps on the top. All was well till my wife's 10-12 month old German Shepherd decided it would be a great time to play tug of war. I don't know if any of my neighbors observed or not. It would have been a great video I am sure.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

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