Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Leatherneck on June 27, 2009, 05:36:21 PM
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So I'm trimming the azalea hedge this afternoon and got to the corner and suddenly the air was filled with angry wasps, all pissed at me. I noticed a paper nest in the hedge as I departed the pattern in haste. Got a couple of stings and carried one into the house under my teeshirt, but no bad reaction. I once, years ago, had a moderate anaphylactic reaction after a half-dozen stings when I mowed over an underground yellowjacket nest, so I don't feel especially like being careless with these guys. I don't carry the sting kit the docs prescribed any more. Ounce of prevention/=pound of cure.
I identified them as "bald-faced hornets" who are really white-faced yellowjackets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald-faced_hornet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald-faced_hornet)
Got any tips and techniques that don't involve:
a. firearms
b. gasoline
c. explosives
Not that I wouldn't enjoy hearing your tales of joy or woe regarding these techniques, I just don't think they're too appropriate right now. =D
TC
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Here's a tip...
Rework the URL codes in your paragraphs so that they work correctly.
As for the wasps...
Get to a store and get a can of wasp and hornet killer, the foaming kind with good reach is really effective.
Wait until they are all in the nest this evening, and then douse the opening VERY thoroughly with the killer. You want to shoot it right up into the nest through the opening.
Then soak the exterior of the nest.
Then, if it's a big nest, larger than a basketball, wait until tomorrow, then do the same thing again to make sure you get any stragglers.
After two applications they should all be dead.
The third night, get a garbage bag, knock the nest into it, and go find a convenient place to burn it in case any of the larva have survived.
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Got any tips and techniques that don't involve:
a. firearms
b. gasoline
c. explosives
You're no fun. I recommend copious usage of all three...... simultaneously..... =D =D =D :police:
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Rework the URL codes in your paragraphs so that they work correctly.
Done. Those brackets and slashes are SO confusing.
One thing I noticed was that all the websites discussing wasps and hornets wax eloquent about how just all-around GOOD they are and how LUCKY we are to have them as neighbors. So I'll bag the nest and deliver it to the first nature freak who wants it. Volunteers?
TC
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What mike said. We had a paper wasp infestation around here a couple of years ago. We waited until night when they were all on their nests, and then doused them liberally with Raid hornet and wasp spray. It got pretty much all of the suckers.
Haven't had a problem since. =D
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I once found a wasp nest in my grill after I hadn't used it for about a month. I left the lid open, waited for them to get into their nest that night, then lit the grill and closed the lid. Roasted the suckers.
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Oh, and one other tip.
If you showed a reaction to a yellow jacket sting, your next encounter with them, or with paper hornets, or with any other bee, could be fatal within a matter of minutes.
I would say the fact that you didn't have any kind of reaction this time is something of a frigging miracle.
GET ANOTHER KIT.
If they give you an epipen, CARRY IT WITH YOU when you mow, and also carry Benadryl dissolving strips, too.
I know several people who are so allergic that they take two Benadryl before they start mowing the grass, just in case.
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I once found a wasp nest in my grill after I hadn't used it for about a month. I left the lid open, waited for them to get into their nest that night, then lit the grill and closed the lid. Roasted the suckers.
[/quote
Viking Burial?
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Benadryl strips are great. They work even when the whole gagging and struggling to breathe thing makes the pills hard to swallow.
If you've ever had a serious reaction, you should have a standing scrip for an epipen, and carry it, dammit.
I have a standing scrip for one, and I've never had any reaction at all. The allergy doc gave it to me while I was doing shots for nasal allergies.
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For small nests, any good wasp killer will do. Stick to the wasp killer as it is made to be used at range. Mike's instructions are pretty spot on and should take care of them. Wait till evening when there's still enough light to see what you are doing, hit the entrance first, and soak accordingly.
For smaller nests I have always found brake cleaner to be equally effective on them. For larger nests, stick to the dedicated stuff just to be safe.
Oh, and get your kit again. If it was bad enough then, it's bad enough now. Many times the next reaction will only be bigger then initial reactions.
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Well, it wasn't a severe reaction--just a tightening of my airway and kind of a nervous itch all over. And it was 20+ years ago.
[/excuse mode]
OK, epinephrine scrip coming. Thanks, Moms. =D
TC
PS: While I, the Supreme Warrior of Marines, was in here drinking beer and discussing the tactical situation with my buds, Leatherness took care of it. She came in fresh from the battlefield with her smoking gun driipping can of Raid wasp killer and said (sweetly) "I took care of it Honey."
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I spray for wasps at my gun range as the small bit of volunteer work I do. I just use a major brand spray mostly. I like the foaming type also, but I have gotten cans with messed up nozzles that only spray it 4 feet. Any major brand with 20 foot range or so should work just fine. I agree with doing it in the evening when they are less active. However, anytime will work if you stand at a good distance and don't move after spraying. If you hit them well, they won't even be thinking of attacking. If you don't, I think they attack movement as much as anything else. If you can stand behind something I think that helps also. I could be wrong, but I have never been stung by a paper type wasp and we have a lot of them down here.
I have had 2 or 3 people tell me that soapy water will knock them down just as well as the major brand spray, but I haven't tried it yet.
If you can't get a direct line of attack, they sell cans of "flying insect spray" that is more of a fogger or area effect spray. It usually is good for wasps if you read the can. It generally has less range and may not be instant kill, however, it works well in some situations when you can't see the next or get a jet nozzle spray on the nest.
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Dust off. Nuke from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.
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"Well, it wasn't a severe reaction--just a tightening of my airway and kind of a nervous itch all over. And it was 20+ years ago."
Tom?
That's your body's way of saying "Hey, we're not sure what this is, and we're not sure we like it."
Essentially that's your body's que to start producing antibodies against the bee venom so that it can be "armed and ready" for the next attack.
Almost invariably the next exposure results in a massive histamine response, which fires off a full-blown and potentially deadly anaphalactic shock.
After 20 years the antibodies might well have slowly flushed from your system.
But, with the stings you just received, your body might well be producing more to be "ready" for the next time.
It is a VERY rare individual, from what I understand, who has a full-blown anaphalactic shock to his first bee sting.
It takes one to prime the pump, so to speak. After that, at the signal, unleash hell.
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I get smaller nests. Hornet/wasp sprays works well.
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I have had 2 or 3 people tell me that soapy water will knock them down just as well as the major brand spray, but I haven't tried it yet.
Their air holes are small, and anything that clogs them will suffocate em. Not as sure as hitting them with a nerve toxin, though.
There was a mud dauber nest in the door frame my Explorer that I discovered after it had sat for a while. Didn't have any raid handy so I hit it with some de-icer that was left over from winter. Luckily, mud daubers usually have only one or two individuals to a nest, so I didn't have to break out the heavy artillery. The de-icer knocked the wasp on the nest down enough to prevent them from flying when I removed the nest, then I squished it with my boot.
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Their air holes are small, and anything that clogs them will suffocate em. Not as sure as hitting them with a nerve toxin, though.
Sounds like a perfect use for this
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During USAF Combat Survival, I managed to step into a yellowjacket nest nestled in a cedar fall. I took almost 100 stings, but pressed on, thinking it was a one-time thing and I'd never have to worry about it again. (I wasn't going to wash out of that course just for getting stung, come hell or high water)
Fast forward a couple months, and I'm at the California State Fair, having a Sno-Cone. A little kid bumps into me, spilling some of the sweet Sno-Cone on my leg. I feel something brushing it, and swat at what turned out to be another yellowjacket, who chose to sting me for my troubles.
My leg swelled up so fast and so tightly that the Mather AFB flight surgeon actually considered making incisions to relieve the pressure.
Mike's caution above is a good one.
It turns out there are enough super-active antibodies in one's system after a dose of bee/hornet/yellowjacket venom that subsequent stings will cause a severe reaction, and that reaction can happen years after the initial sting(s).
I spent the next 10 years flying with a bee sting kit in my helmet bag, even though I wasn't really allergic to bee stings per se. I was, however, "sensitized" to the venom, and for all practical purposes, it was just as bad.
Now, when I see a hornet's nest on the house/garage/barn, I get the garden hose out and aim the high-pressure nozzle at the thing, pulping it to mush.
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I used foam on a nest once , it worked great.
They next day I swear there was one just staring at me, like it was plotting.
it was kind a scary
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I'm going to ignore your stipulations and tell you to:
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When I was a kid, I remember using a BB gun to knock a nest off my parents house. They have vinyl siding and I found I could shoot at low power and bounce a BB into the back side of the nest and knock it off. I must have used a couple hundred BB's trying to get the right angle. :) It seemed like the yellow jackets will eventually abandon the next if it is on the ground. Shooting mud daubers out at our pond was a fun also.
I have found dirt/mud daubers to be very tame. You almost have to grab them to get them to sting. I know this because the only time I ever got stung by a wasp was a type of mud dauber. It buzzed my head and I swatted at it with my cap. About 30 minutes later watching TV, I got stung on the back of my head. Not fun. The paper wasps are much more aggressive.
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I used foam on a nest once , it worked great.
They next day I swear there was one just staring at me, like it was plotting.
it was kind a scary
Last summer a queen set up a nest outside my front door. She'd watch me as I left for work, and when I'd come home in the evening. Later her brood would watch as I left, all turning toward me when the door opened and later when I returned.
I did not bother them, so they habituated and did not bother me.
By mid July I noted a distinct absense of mosqitoes and such near my porch and patio, while my neighbors across the way swatted the blood suckers and anything else that flew about.
Misionaries wanting to talk to me about GAWD! were sparse last year, at least at MY door. Even though I watched them make heavy rounds in the neighborhood. Funny that....
No such cohabitants outside this summer
Anybody need some extra tracts about the Glory of GAWD! ??? I have plenty of this years crop.
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WELL, you coul-
Got any tips and techniques that don't involve:
a. firearms
b. gasoline
c. explosives
Balls.
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Starter Fluid
and a lighter
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'Green' method: Get a broom to knock down the nest, and use the broom and your Jedi skills to kill off any and all survivors.
Preferred method: Use copious amounts of Raid and knock the nest down with a broom later.
Edited to add better ideas.
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What you really need is a stepladder, a rolled up newspaper with a lil gasoline on it, my dad, and a garden hose. With those four items you could easily chill out with a cold beer, safe in the knowledge that the problem was handled (unless he keels over from a heart attack, falls off of the ladder ot sets your house on fire, in which case you might want to have your portable phone handy to dial 911).
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Got any tips and techniques that don't involve:
a. firearms
b. gasoline
c. explosives
Well, that eliminates the "what caliber for wasps" input. =D
We get wasps every year. As fast as they set up their domiciles, I "nuke" them with whatever wasp spray is on sale at the time. Almost all of the sprays seem to work fairly well. If you don't want excitement, spray after dark. If you have the need to run around screaming like a little girl, do what I do and spray the nests in the daytime. :lol: By now I should know better.
If there's a change you are allergic to stings, have someone else do it.
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I specifically have not advocated mailing the nest to Washington, D.C., which doubtless would be a violation of innumerable laws.
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yikes, I clicked on wicki then the asian giant hornet...scary!
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=D
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Now I've got a nest by the front door. It's spreading.
(This is both a personal affront to me, and an insult to God and our American Way of Life.)
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That wasp looks really mad! :O
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During USAF Combat Survival, I managed to step into a yellowjacket nest nestled in a cedar fall. I took almost 100 stings, but pressed on, thinking it was a one-time thing and I'd never have to worry about it again. (I wasn't going to wash out of that course just for getting stung, come hell or high water)
Mother of God...
100 Yellowjacket stings? Damn.
I had no idea about the sensitivitie to bee stings. I think I will get me an epi pen perscription next time I go to the doc.
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It's one of those Giant Asian Hornets that Gunsmith mentioned. Crazy stuff.
Have you guys seen 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M)?
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=(
It's one of those Giant Asian Hornets that Gunsmith mentioned. Crazy stuff.
Have you guys seen 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M)?
Now I want my mommy... =(
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Actually gasoline is a pretty good without the use of flame. Fire is merely an added feature.
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It's one of those Giant Asian Hornets that Gunsmith mentioned. Crazy stuff.
Have you guys seen 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M)?
Does that remind anyone else of the "Bugs" in Starship Troopers?
I thought the Percocet gave me bad dreams. Dayum!
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Does that remind anyone else of the "Bugs" in Starship Troopers?
I thought the Percocet gave me bad dreams. Dayum!
I was reminded of Jedi kicking droid ass.....
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During USAF Combat Survival, I managed to step into a yellowjacket nest nestled in a cedar fall. I took almost 100 stings, but pressed on...
I thought my 30-plus stings after stepping on an underground hornets nest was bad. Yikes.
I had no adverse reaction, though, despite being diagnosed years earlier with a bee sting allergy. Different venom.
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The suck part was that my survival instructor, upon realizing that I had stepped into the underground nest, had the rest of the squad slowly back away as I was taking hits.
Serves me right for being the point man on that particular orienteering leg.
Now I know where there's a cedar fall, there are probably yellow jacket nests, too.
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The one that nailed me was in a small hole in the ground. They went right up my pant leg. My first thought when they started hitting me was, "My leg is on fire." It was dusk, and I remember looking down at my leg, initially puzzled that I could not see any flames.
Then I noticed my little dog dancing around a few yards away. The last time I had seen her behaving that way was when she had spooked a bees nest. That turned into a lightbulb moment.
I was helping a friend put up a dipole antenna between a couple of Douglas fir trees at the edge of the forest behind his house at the time.
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As much as it caused me to carry a bee sting kit for all those years, I'd still love to go back to the Colville National Forest.
It was beautiful out there, even when we had to live off the land for a week and sleep under low-hanging pine boughs.
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Just found out today that aerosolized citrus oil does a number on them too.
We keep a can of "Pure Citrus" air freshener around, and I decided to use it today to rid my Explorer (which has been sitting unused for a while because it needs to be brought into the repair shop and I haven't had time yet) of a bunch of paper wasp nests, because I don't have any RAID around and I don't think I'd want to use it on/in my car anyway. The wasps were all on their nests since it had just rained, and I sprayed them down fairly liberally with it. They dropped off the nest a few seconds later, and stopped twitching about a minute after I hit them.
And now my rig smells like oranges.
:lol:
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Actually gasoline is a pretty good without the use of flame. Fire is merely an added feature.
True; I remember trying to torch underground yellow jackets by pouring gasoline down the hole and lighting it. Because of the air-fuel mixture, it never would light, but it still killed the nest.
I had no adverse reaction, though, despite being diagnosed years earlier with a bee sting allergy. Different venom.
I've had similar experience. I got stung on the cheek in a hit-and-run attack by a single unidentified bee-like insect while I was mowing...possibly a hornet. My whole face swelled up pretty bad and I had to take benadryl. A few months later I stuck my leg in a yellow jacket nest while fishing and got stung probably a dozen times, and they were no more irritating than bad mosquito bites.
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Just found out today that aerosolized citrus oil does a number on them too.
We keep a can of "Pure Citrus" air freshener around, and I decided to use it today to rid my Explorer (which has been sitting unused for a while because it needs to be brought into the repair shop and I haven't had time yet) of a bunch of paper wasp nests, because I don't have any RAID around and I don't think I'd want to use it on/in my car anyway. The wasps were all on their nests since it had just rained, and I sprayed them down fairly liberally with it. They dropped off the nest a few seconds later, and stopped twitching about a minute after I hit them.
And now my rig smells like oranges.
:lol:
The D-Limonene in many citrus products is a potent degreaser, and it melts the waxes insects use to waterproof their chitin shells. With out it, they lose osmotic pressure to almost all their major organ systems and die quickly.
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Actually gasoline is a pretty good without the use of flame. Fire is merely an added feature.
Agreed....gas fumes kills them off quite well....then, when you knock the nest off to a safe location, destruction is much easier...
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High pressure water hose. Or just a regular garden hose with your thumb covering most of the tip, (effectivly turning it into a high pressure water hose) destroy from at least 10 feet away. Then napalm the remainder just to be sure.
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Whenever the mormon missionaries ride by on their bikes they always ask if there is anything I need help with..........
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The D-Limonene in many citrus products is a potent degreaser, and it melts the waxes insects use to waterproof their chitin shells. With out it, they lose osmotic pressure to almost all their major organ systems and die quickly.
That sounds particularly evil and nasty! I have to try that next time I need to get rid of annoying bugs! >:D
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The D-Limonene in many citrus products is a potent degreaser, and it melts the waxes insects use to waterproof their chitin shells. With out it, they lose osmotic pressure to almost all their major organ systems and die quickly.
That may be the most awesome tidbit I've ever read.
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That may be the most awesome tidbit I've ever read.
Yeah, me too.
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The D-Limonene in many citrus products is a potent degreaser, and it melts the waxes insects use to waterproof their chitin shells. With out it, they lose osmotic pressure to almost all their major organ systems and die quickly.
I have some citrus bug killer, but it must be low on the limonene because it takes forever to work. Sometimes, I think the bugs just lick it off and run away.
If you want to use a biodegradable de-greaser, go with Simple Green. It's much cheaper, and fully-concentrated will kill very quickly. I discovered it's power one morning when a red wasp was flying around in the bathroom and landed just out of safe smacking range. I squirted the wasp to get it to move and it just dropped on the countertop, wiggled around a bit and checked out. I've utilized SG with great success against ants and roaches, as well. Killin' and cleanin' at the same time, what more could you want? A better smell, perhaps.
Disclaimer: I have not tried spraying Simple Green on a whole nest of angry wasps. If you do so, you are aware that the results are unknown and may include a silly, fear-driven dance viewed curiously by your neighbors, painful stinging, anaphylaxis, followed possibly by coma and/or death, most likely in that order. I would advise using the buddy system. If you are stung and find yourself having difficulty breathing and/or unusual swelling, your buddy can be standing by with epinephrine, antihistamines, grandma's secret poultice, and a phone to call 911. Better yet, have your buddy spray the wasps, while you observe from a safe distance.
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I have some citrus bug killer, but it must be low on the limonene because it takes forever to work. Sometimes, I think the bugs just lick it off and run away.
Probably has a really low citrus concentration (which is what has the limonene).
The stuff I have is 100% pure citrus oil. It's concentrated enough to be considered an eye/skin irritant.
Wal-Mart has it in the air-freshener isle for about $2 a can, IIRC. Good stuff; both as an air freshener and as a bug killer. =D
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Probably has a really low citrus concentration (which is what has the limonene).
The stuff I have is 100% pure citrus oil. It's concentrated enough to be considered an eye/skin irritant.
Wal-Mart has it in the air-freshener isle for about $2 a can, IIRC. Good stuff; both as an air freshener and as a bug killer. =D
Cool. $2 a can is cheaper than most wasp spray. I might have to try it.
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Whenever the mormon missionaries ride by on their bikes they always ask if there is anything I need help with..........
Pure win! Call some missionaires over, give 'em a broom and say "have at it!"
:laugh:
It's one of those Giant Asian Hornets that Gunsmith mentioned. Crazy stuff.
Have you guys seen 30 hornets vs. 30,000 bees (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M)?
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!!!!
That clip needs this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVL9PD3sN7M
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Probably has a really low citrus concentration (which is what has the limonene).
The stuff I have is 100% pure citrus oil. It's concentrated enough to be considered an eye/skin irritant.
Wal-Mart has it in the air-freshener isle for about $2 a can, IIRC. Good stuff; both as an air freshener and as a bug killer. =D
I checked and the citrus stuff I have is only 5.8% D-limonene. I might try it in some iced tea. :)