Another reason for CLOSED CABS.

[BrokenTrack]

I am a boom mower operator for several towns here, and the tractor lacks an enclosed cab. For some reason hitting a beehive will stir up the bees, but while they fly all around the cab, bees/wasps/yellow jackets seldom fly into the cab area itself.

There have been a few times when I was wary about making the second and third passes in the area because they were still agitated, and I am allergic to bee stings, but as I said, they actually seldom fly into the open cab so I have always made those additional passes.

Now ticks...now that is another story. That is a real threat! You cannot change mower knives without seeing hundreds of them.

 

[groundcover]

Maybe we need to come up when a quick tach bee sprayer or flame thrower ! Should be a banner year for ticks after this winter BrokenTrack . Insect shield clothing is a good first line of defense.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Maybe we need to come up when a quick tach bee sprayer or flame thrower ! Should be a banner year for ticks after this winter BrokenTrack . Insect shield clothing is a good first line of defense.

Well I am a boom mower operator on public roads, so it is not like I do it naked! :laughing:

I do douse myself pretty good with tick repellent however, just to be sure.

 

[shaeff]

Finally got around to taking a picture of their "hive" embedded in the old trencher. One picture shows a bee flying around and as I watched they were bees. Not as angry this time as I creeped up and never disturbed the hive and watched from a distance inside the cab of the tractor.


View attachment 645031View attachment 645032

Man, I WISH I could find an old trencher on my property. That's pretty cool, and looks like with a bit of work it could potentially be put back into service. I don't frequently need one, but I've got a few projects kicking around on the back burner that would benefit from the use of such machinery.

Well I am a boom mower operator on public roads, so it is not like I do it naked! :laughing:

I do douse myself pretty good with tick repellent however, just to be sure.

I have to be in the woods a bit for my work on right-of-ways. Last week I came out of the woods with 12 ticks crawling on me. Time to bring out the Permethrin based spray. Something that I've taken up doing when it comes to tick season:

-When walking through the woods, stop every 15 minutes and brush off, check quickly. It makes a difference. (I did this and still came out with 12!!)

-Get undressed outside if possible. My neighbors can't see me so I do this, and dump my clothes into a large tupperware tote of which I've doused the interior with Permethrin based bug spray. Permethrin kills ticks, but don't wear it in the house if you've got cats. I'll often find dead ticks in the bottom of my tote box.

-If you weren't in an area with poison ivy, feel free to re-wear those clothes for a few days if you'll be in the woods. The spray will stay active on them for quite a while. If you're concerned about ticks making it into your house/ on your pets, I use an extra clothes dryer in the basement. Two dry cycles on high heat will also kill the ticks. It dehydrates them, they need moisture to thrive.

So far, my wife, dog, and cat have been tick free from me as far as I can tell. However, I did pick a live deer tick crawling on my pup's face while outside in January. This warm winter is going to make a horrible bug season this year. Brace yourselves.

 

[xrjohndeere]

Sounds like you hit a big yellow jacket nest. Mean little bastards. About the most aggressive stinging flying insect there is besides the Killer bee. Cab definitely saved your butt. I would find them, gas them, and send them to ****. Be careful.

 

[Cat_Driver]

shaeff if you lived close I'd say come on over and pick it up for free

 

[PJSprog]

Glad you're OK, Cat_Driver.

That is one of the main reasons we have a cab tractor. We have ground hornets in our pasture, and The Wife and I have both been stung out there. When it was time to shop for a new tractor, she insisted we get a cab, and used the ground hornets as her justification. She didn't need to push very hard. I don't encounter them every time I'm out there, but I'm not gonna lie, the few times that I have, I sat in that cab and blew raspberries at them while they were bouncing off the glass.

Well worth the additional cost.

 

[shaeff]

shaeff if you lived close I'd say come on over and pick it up for free

If I lived closer I'd take you up on that! It's a bit of a ride for me, though! 41 hours if I drove straight through!

 

[Smokeydog]

Wife and I came home to find a 40” oak tree as across the driveway. Our driveway is 1/2 mile long winding down thru the woods. Manage to cut a 4x4 path way around. The tree was being protected by huge hornets. We have never seen before in 60+ years. As big as hummingbirds. Called a tree service to cut the tree up, $1500 after someone gets rid of the hornets. Called an exterminator, yeah you don’t want to mess with them, we have a special suit because those have 1/2” stingers and they gang bang you. $250. Ok. Next day no show. Following day exterminator shows up but without a suit. Won’t touch it or help. ?!?! Very frustrating. Promised another day.

Waited to dark. Dressed my wife in my bee suit, me in my fastest shoes. The hornets come from truck about was 35’ up the trunk. From both sides we simultaneously doused with large coffee cans of gasoline. Then I went back a using an electric atv sprayer, sprayed 15 gallons insecticide. Daybreak sprayed another 10 gallons. Knocked a few scouts down.
That afternoon checked and no hornets. Bumped with tractor still no hornets. We cut the tree out of the way.
The nest was scabbed on side of the trunk about 4’ long. Dead hornets 100’s of them were Asia giant hornets, not native. Super Sci-Fi looking hornets. The tree fell with the nest toward the ground really made them mad.
Thankfully able to get work done without getting stung.
A cab tractor wouldn’t be bad idea.

 

[ovrszd]

Dang it Smokey, no pics???