Hornets!

[Happy]

Since it's slow I will share a little bit of my excitement for the afternoon. Was on the back end of my property cutting some dead trees down for firewood and came across a nice dead cherry about 14 or so inches across. Went ahead and dropped it and all was going smoothly. Typically I chunk it up into small logs that I can carry and pack them by hand to wear a cut them up and split them.(I like to think of this as part of my exercise regimen). Anyhows apparently there was a hornet's nest in the upper section and they weren't to pleased with the disturbance. I didn't notice until I felt some pain in my finger and saw the little bugger setting there giving me what for. Then I looked down and I was standing smack dab in the middle of the nest. Next thing I know I get hit on the back of the neck and i drop the chainsaw(a bad move in hindsite) and the race was on! I covered 100 yards in record time while trying to swat Hornets off my pants and shirt, finally just loosing my shirt and gloves just as I made it to the basement. One or two made it in with me but I settled the score fairly quickly with them and then began to ponder how I was going to get my chainsaw(still idling) back. Long story short my neighbor happened to be walking the back around the corner of his property when he spied me donned in a heavy carhart coat, welding gloves,mad bomber hat and a welding shield, sneaking back towards my chainsaw. Of course he has to ask just what the heck I am doing(I assume up until this point he has thought of me as mentally stable.) Once I give him the rundown I can tell he his really struggling to hold back the laughter. I tell him that I would really appreciate it if he would just go ahead and laugh because I fully intent to when everything settled down. Anyways I got my chainsaw back without further incident. I can't see where all I have been stung but counting spots that are throbbing it's around 8 or so. Not to bad considering the circumstances. And feel free to laugh as well. I know I am.

[guesswho]

Ouch!  I would have donated the chainsaw to whoever retrieved it.  I hate hornets, yellow jackets, wasps or anything with a stinger.  I have been known to knock women and small children out of the way when confronted with a situation similar to what you faced.

[Greg Massey]

Just reading this made me feel i was getting stung.... omg ...  glad your got your chainsaw ....i feel your pain OUCH....

[SinGin]

Used to work for Orkin pest control and know how you feel. I once took two bumble bee stings to the head at the same time. That may explain what's wrong with me

[tal]

 Usain Bolt better start looking over his shoulder. LOL. Glad you're ok. I can just see it, with me in the starring role. Once while turkey hunting I had a black racer snake come across my boot and start up my pant leg. At three feet up and still gaining altitude it dawned on me it was non-poisonous.

[Old Timer]

pestilence! Reminds me of the time i was turning over my compost out back. Nice summer day, shorts no shirt and i feel this burning like i got hit by a bead as i was welding. Well i look down and the ground wasp werent to happy when i ruined their nest. took 3 hits from them and i got out of dodge!

[Yoteduster]

Wow that had to be scarry and painful. .glad you got through it ok it could have been alot worse I'm thinking

[Happy]

Definitely could have been worse. Fortunately the main force concentrated on my Jean's which were real heavy carhartt. Not a one made it through that. A sleeveless t shirt wasn't a good call on my part though. I definitely didn't put in a record time on the hundred yard dash but considering I was wearing steel toed boots and running uphill I am not disappointed. I felt I laid my best on the table and not many would have done better

[3bailey3]

Ha, done the same things with chainsaw and tractor, left them both running over yellow jacket nest running as hard as a old man can, wait about 4 hours to go back

[Happy]

pestilence! Reminds me of the time i was turning over my compost out back. Nice summer day, shorts no shirt and i feel this burning like i got hit by a bead as i was welding. Well i look down and the ground wasp werent to happy when i ruined their nest. took 3 hits from them and i got out of dodge!

You must have posted a pretty good track time yourself!

[guesswho]

That could have been rel bad for some people.  I'm not allergic to them but a friend of mine is.  He lives in Saint Augustine and about 5 years ago we took his boat out in a King-fish tournament.  We were a little over a hundred miles offshore and all of a sudden there's a wasp flying around the console.  He bails, I'm like what the heck are you doing.  He said I left my epipen in the truck.  So that could have been real bad.  He stayed in the water while I chased and finally killed the wasp, then he still stayed in the water and had me search the boat.   Apparently one had started to build a nest in a rod holder and stayed on it until we were that far out.   I told him you have to be pretty afraid of something to jump out of a boat 100 miles offshore and leave me alone on the boat with the key in the ignition.  He said his chances of survival would have been better in the water by himself than to get stung on the boat.

[bbcoach]

I know this feeling.  Two summers ago, I was doing some spraying on a 4 wheeler, with my brother.  My brother had the wand over a fence and I was driving the 4 wheeler in a hayfield that was about 5 feet tall.  I ran over a yellow jackets nest and suffered about 8 to 10 stings before I realized what was happening.  Off the 4 wheeler I came screaming BEEEEESSSSSSS running at full sprint.  I left the 4 wheeler running in idle.  The only way to retrieve the 4 wheeler was with a heavy set of coveralls, heavy gloves, hat and scarf wrapped around my head with only my eyes uncovered in 90 degree heat.  My brother LHAO.  I told him, better me than him, as he is allergic to yellow jackets.

[Happy]

Yeah, I feel bad for the fellows that are allergic to them. It can definitely turn bad fast for some.

[NCL]

Ouch, glad you are not allergic so none the worse for the attack. Years ago I was walking down the back stairs and got stung, it was then that I noticed the nest. A can of Black Flay wasp and hornet spray did the trick

[GobbleNut]

The only hornets nests I ever get into are right here on OG...   

I did have a run-in with black ants (the big mofo's) once.  Was standing around talking to some friends out in the desert,...didn't notice I was standing on the entrance to their den (or whatever it's called).  Didn't feel them crawling up my leg under my pants (don't know how that happened) and none of them bit me until they had reached my knee. All of a sudden my knee was on fire when the whole bunch of them started biting,...all at once.  Me running away while trying to get out of my pants was not a pretty sight,...or at least that is what I was told.  At the moment, I really didn't give a d*mn what I looked like.

My knee swelled up like a balloon and got numb for a couple of days,...and for months afterwards that knee joint gave me fits.  I still don't know how those ants "communicated" with each other that they were not going to bite me until they all got the signal, but it sure as heck happened that way.

I'm just glad they stopped at the knee and didn't decide to go higher!