Bumblebees and Garrett

[Andrew]

Well, it turns out we have a new bumblebee nest under the swingset/playset now.  Garrett found out yesterday when they went after him.  He got stung once, either on his eyelid or near the corner of his eye.  He's been getting Benadryl and cold compress to the area since.  He's a trooper, but looks like Sylvester Stallone at the end of just about every "Rocky" film.

Oh, and Garrett is two.  He turns three in just a few days.

[El Misfit]

Sir, my hope goes to him.

[Mr. DS]

Ive inherited my father's attitude about bees and wasps.  They have acres of wood to build a nest but they have to be a-holes and build it two feet away from where humans hang out.  Side note Andrew, I recall you posting about how you took a nest head on once.  Hopefully Garrett knew to run away.     In all seriousness may he have a speedy recovery.  Stings suck.

[Allhallowsday]

I don't think you have a choice but to destroy the nest, now that sucks.  It must have been frightening for Garrett; glad to hear he's a trooper.  Best wishes for your son's speedy recovery. 

[Andrew]

I've cleared around the nest with my weed trimmer (which also is effective at deflecting upset bees) and will be pulling up the floor boards of the playset tonight to dump a box of mothballs underneath.  I figure that should drive them off.  If not, I'll kill them off.  I'm also going to make some changes to make the area under the playset less attractive for any future nests.

When he first got stung I was thinking it had to be a wasp nest underneath the slide or something like that (the playset has a tower with a slide and monkey bars).  I climbed in to look for the nest and the bumblebees got agitated.  That alerted me to what I should be looking for.  That's unusual for bumblebees.  They're usually not really aggressive.

[Allhallowsday]

I've cleared around the nest with my weed trimmer (which also is effective at deflecting upset bees) and will be pulling up the floor boards of the playset tonight to dump a box of mothballs underneath.  I figure that should drive them off.  If not, I'll kill them off.  I'm also going to make some changes to make the area under the playset less attractive for any future nests.

When he first got stung I was thinking it had to be a wasp nest underneath the slide or something like that (the playset has a tower with a slide and monkey bars).  I climbed in to look for the nest and the bumblebees got agitated.  That alerted me to what I should be looking for.  That's unusual for bumblebees.  They're usually not really aggressive.

You're right; and I think your son might be lucky it was bumblebees.  I also applaud your efforts to enable the colony to escape.  Hopefully they'll get the message.   
Best.

[Raffine]

Sorry to hear about Garrett's sting! A speedy recovery to him.

Yeah, I've always though bumble bees were fairly easy going, but I've never encountered them in their home territory.

We had lots of the similar-looking carpenter bees at the farm in the outbuildings. Sure they're destructive, but amazing to watch. They are famous for their curiosity and will fly right up to you to check you out. They aren't aggressive, but will follow you around to see what you're up to.

For us the scourge of the bee-wasp world  are yellow jackets. They like to build their nests underground right where you're sure to run over them with the lawn mower. They are notoriously grumpy when that happens and will attack en masse. I tried to kill off a nest once by a ecological friendly method I'd read about. I ran a garden hose into their nest one night and flooded them. The next morning we had a bunch of angry but spanking clean yellow jackets.

My neighbor suggested pouring gasoline down their hatch, which was not very green but it killed the lousy suckers right off.

[Jack]

For us the scourge of the bee-wasp world  are yellow jackets. They like to build their nests underground right where you're sure to run over them with the lawn mower. They are notoriously grumpy when that happens and will attack en masse.

I can personally attest to all those things. 

[indianasmith]

I ran over a bumblebee nest with my riding mower one time.  They were NOT appreciative!

[Trevor]

Two hugs for the young man, please, Andrew: one for being so brave and the other for his birthday soon. 

[Mr. DS]

Just remember, some people have it worse...

[Andrew]

Garrett is looking much better.  We should be able to see how much bruising occurred in the next day or so.

Operation Buzz Off! seems to have been successful, but I'll wait a few days before removing the rest of the boards on the floor of the playset.  I'd like to see if the nest was above ground, just under the floor boards (my belief), or underground.

For us the scourge of the bee-wasp world  are yellow jackets. They like to build their nests underground right where you're sure to run over them with the lawn mower. They are notoriously grumpy when that happens and will attack en masse.

I can personally attest to all those things. 

Yellow jackets are EVIL creatures.  I've been attacked by them a few times, and they are fast, numerous, and really aggressive.  The real problem I have is that I rarely know I've upset them before they're already swarming and I have little chance of escaping unharmed.

The absolute worst things I have ever run into were European hornets.  They look like giant yellow jackets, and are also really aggressive.  Their stings are the worst I've ever suffered.  When I've run into them it has always been in the woods.  They seem to build nests both subterranean and in dead trees.

[El Misfit]

Garrett is looking much better.  We should be able to see how much bruising occurred in the next day or so.

Operation Buzz Off! seems to have been successful, but I'll wait a few days before removing the rest of the boards on the floor of the playset.  I'd like to see if the nest was above ground, just under the floor boards (my belief), or underground.

For us the scourge of the bee-wasp world  are yellow jackets. They like to build their nests underground right where you're sure to run over them with the lawn mower. They are notoriously grumpy when that happens and will attack en masse.

I can personally attest to all those things. 

Yellow jackets are EVIL creatures.  I've been attacked by them a few times, and they are fast, numerous, and really aggressive.  The real problem I have is that I rarely know I've upset them before they're already swarming and I have little chance of escaping unharmed.

The absolute worst things I have ever run into were European hornets.  They look like giant yellow jackets, and are also really aggressive.  Their stings are the worst I've ever suffered.  When I've run into them it has always been in the woods.  They seem to build nests both subterranean and in dead trees.

Speaking of Evil Bee creatures, I've been Stung by a whole swarm of Killer Bees, I was just barely alive. they will attack you if you can agitate them, even when you swat at your hair if they land their.