Man dies after being stung over 500 times

[20 20]

Just a question for those with some experience:

I might be faster than my tractor for the first 50 yards, but after that it is going to be much more distance between me and the hive if I stay on the machine.

Is it better to abandon ship, or drive away fast?

That's a good question. It may be better to abandon ship, the hornets/bees may see the tractor as the real threat and pay more attention to it? One time when I took out a huge yellow jacket nest with my dozer they were attacking the dozer but never once stung me. Not saying dozing an active nest is wise, just something I did

 

[beppington]

After my recent 3 hornet stings, reading ya'll's stories is giving me the hee-bee gee-bees. I took a can of KGRO Hornet & Wasp Killer spray back to the ones that got me, sprayed them from my truck the first time, with my window barely cracked (Ha-ha! They've got me scared!) Anyway, that spray is awesome stuff: It comes in a foamy blast (8-10 feet) that land & sticks on their hive & actually seems to expand once it hits (like Great Stuff). With even just a 1-2 second blast you can really cover a hive. The foam itself seems to bog the hornets down before the poison can even get to them. My blast covered their entrance hole & the ones that were outside couldn't find their way back in. 4 hours later when I checked back in on them, their were none to be found, not even on the ground.

The problem: Hmmm, now just where did they go??

 

[Treemonkey1000]

After my recent 3 hornet stings, reading ya'll's stories is giving me the hee-bee gee-bees. I took a can of KGRO Hornet & Wasp Killer spray back to the ones that got me, sprayed them from my truck the first time, with my window barely cracked (Ha-ha! They've got me scared!) Anyway, that spray is awesome stuff: It comes in a foamy blast (8-10 feet) that land & sticks on their hive & actually seems to expand once it hits (like Great Stuff). With even just a 1-2 second blast you can really cover a hive. The foam itself seems to bog the hornets down before the poison can even get to them. My blast covered their entrance hole & the ones that were outside couldn't find their way back in. 4 hours later when I checked back in on them, their were none to be found, not even on the ground.

The problem: Hmmm, now just where did they go??

They are waiting in your wheel well ready to zap your hiney

 

[MMagis]

Just a question for those with some experience:

I might be faster than my tractor for the first 50 yards, but after that it is going to be much more distance between me and the hive if I stay on the machine.

Is it better to abandon ship, or drive away fast?

Abandon ship! At least that's been my experience the numerous times I've hit a nest. They seem to concentrate on the tractor and I usually only have to run 30-50 yards to get away from them. The most I've been stung from one nest was three times, but all of those came quickly.

 

[woodchuckc]

Anyone have those giant things flying around like I do? Some people call them secada killers, some call them trantula killers, and some call them wasp killers! Whatever they are they're very big(about the size of a humming bird) and very intimidating. Never been stung by one yet. Does anyone know what these are or are they aggressive?

Yes, cicada killer wasps can sting. I got stung by one about 5-6 years ago while weeding a flower bed - they are ground wasps and it had a hole under one of the flowers. Although it didn't swell too much, it hurt worse than any red wasp or hornet sting I have ever gotten. Also, about a month ago my wife was moving some things in the basement and picked up a pair of my boots. Apparently one was inside one of my boots and it stung her on the finger (glad I didn't put them on with it inside!). I killed it, and she cried for about an hour afterward (along with a pretty good cussing fit!).

They are pretty intimidating-looking, but are not so aggressive like yellow jackets, most wasps, and hornets. I have some every year that hang out around my hummingbird feeders - a tennis racket works pretty well on them!

 

[timswi]

The neighbor at the last house ran over a yellow jacket nest and got hammered ....He had been drinking Budwiser all day, and I mean alot of it...He went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night unable to breath and had extensive swelling. At the hospital, the doctor told him that the alcohol acted as an anti-venom and he was allergeic to the yellow-jackets...So, the brown bottles aren't always bad

 

[General Lee]

Anyone have those giant things flying around like I do? Some people call them secada killers, some call them trantula killers, and some call them wasp killers! Whatever they are they're very big(about the size of a humming bird) and very intimidating. Never been stung by one yet. Does anyone know what these are or are they aggressive?

Around these parts we call them horse hornets. I think their real name is the European hornet. They can be aggressive. They are attracted to light at night and will swarm to it if their nest is nearby. At night I hear them tapping on my house windows because of the light from the inside. Its louder than a tap though........

http://www.google.com/images?q=euro...S:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sou

 

[The Haymaker]

Wasp spray is of no use. If you're close enough to spray them it's too late, they're on you. The only thing you can do it keep an eye out for them swarming around the ground, and hope to get stopped before you get to them. I've hit more nests and been stung more times than I care to remember. 90% of the time it's yellow jackets, though one year I hit 7 hornets nests on the ground, plus a few yellow jacket nests. It took me a while to get good at spotting them, but it's been a couple years now since I've been stung. It's my number one focus while mowing these days.

Nothing a shot of birdshot won't cure.....

 

[jimmysisson]

Though beekeepers (me) get tired of pointing it out, honeybees don't nest in the ground, and neither do Africanized bees. I hate a wasp as much as the next man, but work around my honeybees without gloves, inside their home.
Most any of that kind of insect will defend its home to the death. But when they're out gathering nectar they tend to get out of the way rather than fight you. Honeybees die when they sting, the fellow who got the three hornet stings could have been hit by just one of those buggers.
Jim

 

[Bird]

Jimmy, in my early teens, I, too, learned to work bees, harvest the honey, dip floating bees out the cow's water trough, etc, and we never used gloves or any other kind of protection. But I only did it because my dad didn't give me any choice, but I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore.:laughing: