EddieWalker said:
I hate going through areas like that just because I know I'm gonna get stung or bit by something!!!! My normal preperation is to cover myself with DEET and carry a fresh bottle of wasp spray.
Two summers ago I graded three underground hornets nests at three different times. I somehow magically didn't get stung any of the times. The one time I was guaranteed to get stung, but my wife came walking down the new trail, and I turned of the tractor to chat for a minute. As we were standing there, she got stung. At first she just cursed whatever stung her, but then suddenly got very faint and had to sit down. I then noticed swarming hornets about 8 feet from her. She was unable to walk, so I had to pick her up and carry her to a safe area. Then I ran back up to the house, got my truck, and drove it through the woods to get her to take her back up the house. We learned that day that she's allergic to bees (or hornets, at least) in spite of getting stung many times throughout life without any reactions before. Her walking down to chat saved me from driving right back over the swarming nest, although I think I would have rather had that happen instead!
I'm alright with bees' nests and things, but the underground hornets are absolutely frightening! And now the new thing we have as of two years ago is giant hornets. These things are truly gigantic, and they come out at night and fly around lights like moths. I was out tonight working on putting in a walkway, and I needed to cut some pavers in the garage. When I went in to cut them, there were about a dozen of these ridiculously huge things all flying around.
I've yet to get stung by one, but when it happens, apparently their venom is acetic and burns flesh. Outstanding!
