Worried about wasps and bees

[AllenArmory]

I'm getting close to buying my first tractor to manage my property, which is around 40 acres, mostly woods. I'll be using a grapple and rotary cutter to make trails through the woods. I'll also be mowing the few acres of pastures I have.

I'm starting to worry a bit about wasps and bees. I do have both on my property, but they are easy to avoid while walking around. I'm more worried about running into or over a nest while on the tractor.

I have been stung once already (mud dauber), but didn't really have a bad reaction from it.

My property is in northeast Texas near Lake Fork, if that matters.

Any tips from you veterans out there?

 

[rekees4300]

Buy a tractor with a cab ... problem solved.

 

[nybirdman]

Buy a tractor with a cab ... problem solved.

There is your answer/

 

[AllenArmory]

Buy a tractor with a cab ... problem solved.

I really want one. Aside from budget, I was told by several people (including my dealer) that a cab wouldn't be a good idea since it would get scratched up in the woods.

 

[Deerherd]

I really want one. Aside from budget, I was told by several people (including my dealer) that a cab wouldn't be a good idea since it would get scratched up in the woods.

I drive my tractor in the woods all the time and don't scratch it at all. If you are one who folds their ROPS down and Rambos through the woods moving stuff out of way with hands and arms and tractor parts than a cab is not for you.

But if you take the time to trim your trails to clear a raised ROPS, you already have cleared enough for your cab. If you can afford it get the cab, don't even think about it anymore. Sitting in air conditioned comfort on a hot day under siege by a angry swarm of ineffective wasps beats an open station don't you think?

It would be a great time to turn down the stereo, put down your cool beverage and call your dealer and any of your "peeps" who tried talking you out of the cab.

Get what you want. NOBODY regrets getting a cab.

 

[motownbrowne]

I finished mowing around the hives my buddy keeps at our place in my bee suit after I got stung in the face a couple of times. Not a good as a cab, but quite a bit cheaper.

 

[rekees4300]

I really want one. Aside from budget, I was told by several people (including my dealer) that a cab wouldn't be a good idea since it would get scratched up in the woods.

You are in Texas? Any Killer Bees around your area yet? If so, a cab could literally save your life.

 

[AllenArmory]

You are in Texas? Any Killer Bees around your area yet? If so, a cab could literally save your life.

Yes, I'm in NE Texas. I haven't seen any killer bees, though.

 

[NorTracNY]

I'm in NY, so maybe I'm off here. Honeybees (Africanized bees included) generally hive up off the ground. I'm away of just one hive being found at ground level and that was under an old tree.

 

[jeff9366]

I average one bad encounter with ground bees each year. Typically 6-15 stings per encounter.

Typically this occurs when I move rotting logs with the FEL and they swarm out of the ground or when mowing brush, when bees come from nowhere.

I always have Benadryl and water on the tractor. When I am stung I take Benadryl and head home, into air conditioning and near the telephone, immediately. Multiple stings can create multiple adverse health effects in twenty minutes. You do not want to be hot and in the woods should adverse effects stack. (I am 68-1/2 years of age.)


PS: Like EDDIEWALKER I use insect repellent, in my case 40% DEET, branded Repel, from the Sporting Goods section in Walmart. I apply DEET primarily for protection against mosquitos which carry increasing numbers of diseases in North Florida. However, the DEET may confuse angry bees for a short period.

I shower shortly after finishing outdoor work to wash the residual DEET off.

I put about 400 engine hours on my tractor annually, 60% in woods and trail work.

 

[EddieWalker]

It gets too cold in this part of East Texas for killer bees. He is farther North then I am.

Ground bees can be an issue if you keep going over the same spot. I've hit them a few times and found that on the first pass, you wake them up. If you see any bees flying around the ground in front of you, don't go there again until you've dealt with the next. Wasps seem to be more in the bushes, not in the grass areas. I've found that when you hit one of their nests, they attack the tractor first. I've been lucky enough to back away and not get stung, and one time when there was what seems like hundreds of them, I just turned it off and ran away!!!

I always spray myself with bug spray before mowing. Especially in the back of my neck and head. They seem to like that the best. There are so many bugs here in the woods that it's a never ending battle dealing with them. My next tractor will have a cab. I paid cash for the one I have now, a 35hp 4x4 Century that has been great, but without a cab, it's still a battle going out to mow. Another thing for me is that it just gets too hot from July to September to enjoy mowing during the afternoon. I either mow first thing in the morning, or late in the afternoon into the night. I've been out as late as midnight, which I enjoy. Fun to see what's out there at night. Coyotes follow me, armadillos jump in front of me, then out of the way at the last minute and hogs will walk right past me.

I can see damaging the cab if you run into stuff. Whenever I get around to buying a tractor with a cab, I'll have to either pay attention t how close I get to my trees, or spend some time pruning the lower branches off.

 

[kevin37b]

As many others have said , that cab will be much cheaper than a helicopter ride .If you hit a nest of them mean guys that nest in the ground you will be rethinking the cab thing .

 

[newbury]

I finished mowing around the hives my buddy keeps at our place in my bee suit after I got stung in the face a couple of times. Not a good as a cab, but quite a bit cheaper.

Most of the time (so far over the years) when I'm "in the woods" with my tractor I'm doing something that involves getting off the tractor frequently. I'm cutting trail, cutting trees, chainsawing etc. Sometimes the flying creatures (especially the deer flies and mosquitoes) get thick. I've bought two sheer nylon veils and use them with the hat/cap of the day.

Keeps ALL the bugs away from my face if I'm on the tractor or not. I wear clothes for most of the rest of my body.

It even works well for my 200 yard trip to the mailbox.

 

[GLyford]

I don't water my lawn in the summer, just let it go dormant, so in a dry summer like last year it is not unusual to go all August without mowing, then start again once the fall rains start. First pass around the yard and I got a stung like 3 or 4 times after bumping a maple sapling with the mower chute. White face hornets, I hadn't even seen them there. Two yards from the driveway, and the sidewalk along the street. Once I knew to look, the nest was the size of a basketball. I took the picture from comfort of my (truck) cab. Sorry it is fuzzy. In addition to hornets, we also get yellowjackets which can be either on buildings, vehicles, or structures, or in holes in the ground.

 

[Wakey]

If you are allergic to bee stings, ask your doctor about an EpiPen auto injector.

 

[mjw357]

If you are allergic to bee stings, ask your doctor about an EpiPen auto injector.

I'll second that. A couple of my co-workers were in a rural area, both got stung by ground bees. The one fellow is allergic, and they had no idea where to get medical help and cell service was very poor. They did have a couple of benadryl on them, which slowed the reaction down but didn't stop it. They drove around and finally found a fire station to get some medical help. He was turning pale and it was getting hard for him to talk/breathe by the time they got assistance. He got 2 epi pens, one for a bag he keeps with him in the field and another in his vehicle.

 

[gwstang]

Those little midget yellow jackets that nest in a hole in the ground will tear you up. I always watch the last round when I am cutting the fields so I can see them swarming around the hole in the ground. Those things are sneaky too. Feels like someone poured liquid fire down your arm/leg by the time you realize that you have disturbed the nest. I have jumped off the old 8N turning off the ignition switch as I jump off. I would go back an hour later and they would still be stinging the tractor swarming around it. I hate those things. Hornet nests are the next worse. I always have a couple near the house or in one of the fields around the edges. I have twice been right up against one and the guard that stays around the hole will start buzzing his wings. I would slowly back up and get the he** out of dodge. What is weird is sometimes they build one high up around the trunk/limb of a tree and the next one will be about head high. They are hard to see too because the nest is gray. I work with a fellow that was on his tractor cutting one of his trails and he ran face first into one that was on a limb hanging over the trail. He had knots all over his face the next day...ouch. Those things are of the devil as far as I am concerned.

One from a couple of years ago.



Last year about 30 yards from the house.

 

[BigRol]

Diesel fuel,they disappear and don't come back.

 

[stuckmotor]

If I was anywhere near where killer bees were or were likely to turn up, I'd want a cab. A cab with sctatcnes is better than a driver with hundreds of bees stinging him.

 

[jrclark]

For whatever reason, it seems ground bees prefer chainsaws to tractors. Not once did anyone get stung while cutting trees to clear our land. The moment I used the tractor to lift a dead rootball - stung multiple times. Those little sh**s hurt when they hit you in the face.

As far as a cabbed tractor for use in the woods, I'm sure it's a great idea for those who can afford it. Even if I could afford one, doubt I'd be willing to cut paths everywhere just to prevent a few scratches. Not every log or brush pile is conveniently placed next to a trail.