Yellow jackets!

[Quackwhacker]

Wife, kids and I went up to the Mt. Spkone area for a bbq. Our friends told my son (12) about a natural spring that was down below the cabin. Son being the adventurous type , ask if he could go find the spring and wanted me to help him. Daughter (14) thought she better go to even though she was in a summer dress and sandals.  Son and I were in shorts a sandals.

The hill side we were going down was steep and thick with brush and blow downs. On our adventure we found some fresh deer droppings and picked some flowers for my wife. My son hollered from below daughter and I. He had located the spring and sounded excited.

Daughter and I worked our way down to him and saw the 6 foot wide pool. Son had found a deer scull and some other bones. We all talked about the spring and how the animals had tore up the vegetation around it.

We decided to find a trail down to the road for a easier walk back. Daughter went ahead and found a good trail. Son was below next to some skunk cabbage. I headed towrds daughter when I felt something poke my leg. I thought it was a twig. Then it it me again and I looked down and yelled BEES! Daughter kept going down her trail. I ran up hill about twenty feet and killed the few that were still hitting me. Son started screaming and saying they were getting him. I yelled at his to go down hill. He was panicking at tgis piint and started to go to the ground. I ran back across the ground hive and grabbed him and took him the thirty yards to the road. There were yellow jackets all over him and I now. They really liked to be in his Justin Bieber hair. I had to hit him on the head several times to kill the angree little guys. He was obviously in some pain but we still laughed about the incident. Daughter made it with no stings. I had about a dozen shots to my arms and legs. Son had around twenty. Im glad I was down there with him.

We walked back to the cabin and told our story. After talking for a few minutes, son started to break out in hives and obviously was having a reaction to the stings. We decided to take him in to the hospital. By the time we got there, the hives had covered his upper body and head. Gave him a steroid IV and benadryl. He was out like a light.

Left the ER after about an hour. He was tired but still in good spirits. The next day he was cleared up and back to himself. He has been stung before with no reaction. Guess the large amount of venom got him going.  I'm sure this won't be his last encounter with ground hives as he loves to explore. I just hope he knows to run next time.

Yellow Jackets are mean!

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[ICEMAN]

Horrible. Scary story. Glad you are all fine.

[Bean Counter]

Yikes--praise God that your OK.  Be sure to follow up with your PCP (primary care physican).  Now that he has had a reaction he may be prone to accelerated reactions in the future ("sensitization"). Doc may want boy to carry an epinepherine auto injector (EpiPen). They are a bit cumbersome but could save your life. They are also temperature sensitive. Don't leave them in a hot car or put them in the refrigerator.

PSA to everyone else:

• If you encounter a swarm, run in a straight direction, not in circles. They usually only follow you a few hundred yards.
• Africanized honey bees have outlying sentinels that often warn you by literally kamikaziing into you one by one as you get closer to their swarm. You may be better off turning around and running back the way you came than going straight through.
  
• Carrying liquid Benadryl or any generic substitute (anything with diphenhydramine) may save your life. Quackwacker was lucky his son was still breathing by the time they got to the hospital. Acute anaphalaxis can kill you in 30 minutes in a bad case.

[Quackwhacker]

Thanks guys. We are going to start carrying an epi pen. He actually just left on a camping trip. Brought his meds with him.

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[7mmfan]

Scary deal right there. Been there and done that. Had my latest run in yesterday on my roof. I was cleaning moss off and walked up and banged on one of the vent covers that had some stuff hanging off of it, well about 100 yellow jackets bombed out of it and after me. I was tempted to dive off the roof but managed my way down the ladder and out of the yard. Only got stung a couple of times

[Smossy]

If you think those are bad, wait untill you have an encounter with Bald faced hornets. Theyre black and white wasps. They're horrid.
I was out in the back of my girls property last year, Going through the thick thick brush of stingin nettles and chopping the 6 foot tall plants down with a machete I just got passed down to me from her grandmother that I cleaned up, Wanted to put some use to it..

Keep in mind these guys make they're hives in the ground, so they come from below up.
I was whacking away these weeds, Feeling my legs getting poked constantly, I just thought for a second that the nettles were getting through my jeans so I thought nothing of it. about 2 minutes into it I really started to hurt, I finally looked down.... Both my legs were COVERED in bee's like one of those crazy killer bee videos. I immediately freak out and start thrashing at them, made a B line right through a trail swatting with my hat and everything, Dropped the machete, Lost my glasses for 2 days, and left my hat laying in the trail. Ran straight for the back door to the house, Half way to the door, I slip in a hole that one of the stupid dogs dug, heard a huge pop... Literally thought I snapped my ankle trying to run from these guys. Half ran/limped inside to my girl who I was yelling at like AHH BEE's get them off me. By the time I got inside Id got most of them off but had a few stragglers. Wound up with like 20+ stings, Girl threw me into the tub, covered me in baking soda/water paste.
As my heart starting to slow down I could really feel the pain and started to feel sick. Thank god I'm not allergic to bee's or I could have been in for a hell of a night. Ever since then, I've hated bee's. I have a soft spot for honey bee's though as to they're numbers are becoming very limited these days.
Killed one that was still on me by drowning him, that's what we used to ID what species it was. Never in my life had I seen a black bee with white stripes and white face. They are in the yellowjacket family.

So Quackwhacker I feel your pain  Literally. Glad you and the kids were ok! That stuff can really hit people hard and fast sometimes.




 

[erk444]

Bald faces don't just make ground hives either. Ive seen them in trees and attached to a few things as well. mean little buggers!

[turkeyfeather]

I busted out the bee spray and took out 10-12 nests around our back yard the other day.

[Hillbilly270]

i have proof in my yard right now of a bald face hornet nest in my apple tree.  wife got stung the other day through her FLEECE and a Shirt.  Picking apples off the branch the nest is on was a bad idea. 

[Smossy]

i have proof in my yard right now of a bald face hornet nest in my apple tree.  wife got stung the other day through her FLEECE and a Shirt.  Picking apples off the branch the nest is on was a bad idea. 

Jeesh, Looks like they're everywhere. Horrible little buggers. I gotta do some spraying here pretty soon on the eve's of the roof.

[Smossy]

i have proof in my yard right now of a bald face hornet nest in my apple tree.  wife got stung the other day through her FLEECE and a Shirt.  Picking apples off the branch the nest is on was a bad idea. 

Yeah. They were getting me through thick carhartt blue jeans.

[Buckmark]

i have proof in my yard right now of a bald face hornet nest in my apple tree.  wife got stung the other day through her FLEECE and a Shirt.  Picking apples off the branch the nest is on was a bad idea.

I can help you with that...

[Caseyd]

i have proof in my yard right now of a bald face hornet nest in my apple tree.  wife got stung the other day through her FLEECE and a Shirt.  Picking apples off the branch the nest is on was a bad idea.

I can help you with that...

Take him up on that offer.

Bring back the bee suit 

[timberghost72]

I found this today. I don't know how I didn't see it sooner. How many cans of spray will take this down 

[Smossy]

I found this today. I don't know how I didn't see it sooner. How many cans of spray will take this down 

Smoke them all out, Spray it with hairspray, and keep the nest those make cool house decorations. We have on above our TV.