Was cleaning the brooder house Friday. Just before hooking up the team, I put a couple beers in the tool box of the spreader. It was VERY hot and humid. Fluids necessary plus beer goes well with chicken manure forking.

Anyway, opened the tool box and there was a wasp nest just being started in there. Nest was about the size of a tennis ball. Just a few wasps so I grabbed the nest and threw it. Only got one sting. Right in the belly.

Just think if I hadn't opened that to put a couple beers in and had the team hooked up with me sitting on the seat when the wasps got mad. Could have ruined an already not so great day.

well i dont know if waspers had anything to do with it or not but a friend had raked his second cuttin and was unhooking the team a couple weeks ago and they ran away and he got cought in the rake it was not good done had like 3 operations and still not doing any good its bad when a young feller gets hurt but us older farts dont snap back to fast but anyway im glad it worked out for you things can always get worse

I HATE WASP! Anytime I even suspect that there are wasp I grab wasp spray and go hunting. I bet I got 15 cans stashed around the property. Next on my list is horseflys. If I can get them I pull there heads off. If you don't "THEY WILL BE BACK." The last 2 times I took the horses out I sprayed them and still had to spend all my time brushing them with the lines. It takes the fun out of what should be a nice ride.

Got into a nest myself yesterday morning. 5 or 6 stings. My hand looks like a small ham. Made one big mistake, apparently. I had the stingers in my fingers and I grabed them and pulled them out. My wife, an EMT, said I should have taken a credit card and scraped them off. When you grab them in your fingers you squeeze more of the venom into yourself. Live and learn.
Now I need to find out where they are. they seemed to come out of nowhere when I was washing the side of the house with the hose.

I used to go after all wasps. Then someone reminded me alot of their diet is insects, including flies.

Now we co-exist except for the one's under the bench on the front porch & in the forecart tongue.

I haven't been stung for a long time.

This is sure proof that a couple beers on hand should always be policy.

I've spent the last couple of days knocking down wasp nest myself. I've managed to not get stung yet. The wife hasn't been so lucky.

We get those giant black horse flys that drink a pint of blood at a time and leave the horse with a stream of blood on him. They are one of the types that transmits EIA. If they do not finish feeding they will try to get back on their host or look for another host within about 20 feet. That is when the transmitting can take place. I'll often get a long willow branch with a few leaves left on the end to help brush those things away while driving the cart. I can't reach them in the wagon. Often if they land on the harness leather they will attempt to feed on it. Never said they were very smart flies.

Do your horses eat horse flys? Mine do. They seem to appreciate my "protective" efforts. They take the dead flies right from my hand.

Out at my place the wasp are not bad they pretty much leave us alone if we leave them alone. Now yellow jackets and hornets on the other hand are evil. hornets will watch you and find where your hiding to attack you. My prefrence in dealing with them is shotgun.

I have managed to dodge the bullet like stings of what I call paper wasps, but the horses are being made miserable by those big ole nasty black horseflies, sometimes referred to as elephant flies or timber flies. I haven't found anything to successfully lend any protection to the horses when they are at leisure, but when they are in harness I use flynets (strings) with great success.

I agree with Joel on this one. Wasps predate on alot of pest insects. Wasps are faily calm if you don't get right in their business. Hornets, on the other hand, are very agressive, so I give them wide berth.

wally

My brother will catch a snake and not be scared. but will fight anyone or any thing to get away from a wasp or bee, I think he got dropped by Mom at a young age, and she never told us.

I don't know if the horses eat them but my dogs kill more than I do. They snap them right out of the air. If you knock one down they'll be all over it if their around. My border collie chases them and can jump 5' in the air to snatch them up. The problem is that don't help when you are driving the horses.

My cousin came to our house one day and a wasp was on the window screen.With his left hand hand made a fist as hard as he could and with his right hand he reached up and got the wasp by the wing.He claimed that as long as you keep your fist tight on your other hand they cant sting you.jwaller I want you to try this holding a beer in one hand real tight.Ill be waiting on a report back as to how it worked out.RRW