Yesterday was a dangerous day for me.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

There's a hole in the edge of the eaves over the garage where I swear, up to 200 wasps live at a time. Sometimes during the summer, you can catch about 50 of them at a time sitting out on the eave.

Can of Raid usually does the trick. But they just....keep...coming....BACK!

I posted two pictures back in July of when I got stung...when my one ear was like 3 times bigger than the other.



Which makes them perfect for practical jokes...or if you just really don't like somebody.

I wouldn't let it loose in somebody's car...but there are other things you can do with a wasp to scare somebody.



+1

And they sting when you least expect it...and for me, at first you don't know what the hell has got you...but then it immediately starts hurting like you (in my case) lost an ear.

Not allergic to them...but I hate them. Managed to escape getting stung most of my life...only been stung a couple times...which is surprising considering how many of them are around. I don't attract wasps...I attract mosquitoes.

I think Wasps and Mosquitoes are the two of the most useless animals on earth.

Kind of a risky prank though if the person is allergic.Better hope an EpiPen is near by.Some people are so allergic even ant bites will cause a reaction those types they could die from one wasp sting.Cool thing about the EpiPen is that medical device is around thanks to military technology it is an auto injector and those where fist used (and still are) my the military only in the to inject nerve agent antidotes well at least enough to keep you from dying right away the good old Mark I NAAK and the ATNAA.Now they have EpiPens for allergies and to also for insulin.

The best thing is the special spray for wasps and bees it allows you to stand 20 or 30 feet away and spray and it is nearly instant in killing them.

Wasps kill caterpillars and locusts and spiders so to me they do have a good use you just do not want to mess with them.Actually they paralyze the prey and then they take it to their nest and the larva slowly eat it. Every once in a while I happen across a wasp vs. spider fight pretty brutal one is going to win and one going die and it can go either way.I watched a Wolf Spider loose to a huge female wasp this summer I thought for sure the Wolf spider got her but she lost and the wasp managed to kit in one fatal hit then it just grabbed the paralyzed body and flew away.

The one you want to avoid is the Velvet Ant really it is a flightless wasp the females(in Hymenoptera order females are always bigger and badder) are flightless and have no wings so they got the name Velvet Ant because they look like a really large ant with red velvet covering it.Well they have a very painful sting the strongest in North America.

Mosquitoes I guess they are around to spread disease to control populations of other animals also lots of other animals eat mosquitoes or their larva so they do serve some purpose.


I wonder sometimes what is the purpose of humans to be honest we seem to be the most harmful species.It is a good thing other animals lack the cognitive ability to see us as the threat that we are.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

Kind of a risky prank though if the person is allergic.Better hope an EpiPen is near by.Some people are so allergic even ant bites will cause a reaction those types they could die from one wasp sting.Cool thing about the EpiPen is that medical device is around thanks to military technology it is an auto injector and those where fist used (and still are) my the military only in the to inject nerve agent antidotes well at least enough to keep you from dying right away the good old Mark I NAAK and the ATNAA.Now they have EpiPens for allergies and to also for insulin.

That's why I wouldn't do it...but the idea has crossed my mind.

I have one but I don't actually need it. There was a period of time where they thought I might need it...but I didn't...so I still have them.

The best thing is the special spray for wasps and bees it allows you to stand 20 or 30 feet away and spray and it is nearly instant in killing them.

When the whole lot of them sits out on the eave...it's pretty fun.

Wasps kill caterpillars and locusts and spiders so to me they do have a good use you just do not want to mess with them.Actually they paralyze the prey and then they take it to their nest and the larva slowly eat it. Every once in a while I happen across a wasp vs. spider fight pretty brutal one is going to win and one going die and it can go either way.I watched a Wolf Spider loose to a huge female wasp this summer I thought for sure the Wolf spider got her but she lost and the wasp managed to kit in one fatal hit then it just grabbed the paralyzed body and flew away.

Mosquitoes I guess they are around to spread disease to control populations of other animals also lots of other animals eat mosquitoes or their larva so they do serve some purpose.

I've heard that...but it doesn't mean i have to like wasps and mosquitos...

I had sooo many bug bites this summer from mosquitos. I hate them.

And we have so many spiders around here I don't think the wasps are doing much.

I wonder sometimes what is the purpose of humans to be honest we seem to be the most harmful species.It is a good thing other animals lack the cognitive ability to see us as the threat that we are.

Sad but true. +1

[Stealhead]

I never said that you had to love wasps and mosquitoes but your original statement was that they where useless I only said they did have some purpose.

Nature has a purpose for everything.It is kind of neat at least to me to think of the war that is fought everyday for survival for most living things on earth living to the end of the day is no certainty.

Here is a Velvet Ant they might be a different color in other parts of the US and Canada but this one has the colorization they have in Florida.

Never heard of the cow killer name before but they cant really kill a cow.

[Red October1984]

[QUOTE=Stealhead;2129893]I never said that you had to love wasps and mosquitoes but your original statement was that they where useless I only said they did have some purpose.[QUOTE]

Fair enough.

Talking about Wasps, I have a Hornet story you'll get a kick out of.
I was doing the demo work on a Wendy's about 2 weeks ago. That required me to remove the outside signs, lights, brick, and misc stuff.
I went up on the roof to remove the top panel lights covers so I could unbolt the structures. Since we didn't have the lifts or ladders onsite I parked the box van close enuff to climb up there. I climbed onto the drive thru window then up to the roof no problem.
I started unscrewing the covers then flipping them off to get to the bolts.
That is when the 'Yellow Hord from Hades' made an unexpected appearence!

Now you have to picture everyone else standing on the ground looking up at me as I took off at the fastest run I could manage in a direction opposite the now angry 'Hord'!
That worked great until I ran out of roof with the 'Hord' still intent on revenge for destroying thier home.
I'm still not sure if it was blind panic or a stratagy on my part but I didn't stop running and went right off the roof at a dead run landing on the box van still running then from there to the ground.

When I went around the corner to where everyone else was standing I saw money exchangeing hands and the bastums had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard!

Seems as soon as I took off running they were betting on if I'd jump or not!!

[TarJak]

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by privateer

Talking about Wasps, I have a Hornet story you'll get a kick out of.
I was doing the demo work on a Wendy's about 2 weeks ago. That required me to remove the outside signs, lights, brick, and misc stuff.
I went up on the roof to remove the top panel lights covers so I could unbolt the structures. Since we didn't have the lifts or ladders onsite I parked the box van close enuff to climb up there. I climbed onto the drive thru window then up to the roof no problem.
I started unscrewing the covers then flipping them off to get to the bolts.
That is when the 'Yellow Hord from Hades' made an unexpected appearence!

Now you have to picture everyone else standing on the ground looking up at me as I took off at the fastest run I could manage in a direction opposite the now angry 'Hord'!
That worked great until I ran out of roof with the 'Hord' still intent on revenge for destroying thier home.
I'm still not sure if it was blind panic or a stratagy on my part but I didn't stop running and went right off the roof at a dead run landing on the box van still running then from there to the ground.

When I went around the corner to where everyone else was standing I saw money exchangeing hands and the bastums had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard!

Seems as soon as I took off running they were betting on if I'd jump or not!!

That's funny.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by privateer

Talking about Wasps, I have a Hornet story you'll get a kick out of.
I was doing the demo work on a Wendy's about 2 weeks ago. That required me to remove the outside signs, lights, brick, and misc stuff.
I went up on the roof to remove the top panel lights covers so I could unbolt the structures. Since we didn't have the lifts or ladders onsite I parked the box van close enuff to climb up there. I climbed onto the drive thru window then up to the roof no problem.
I started unscrewing the covers then flipping them off to get to the bolts.
That is when the 'Yellow Hord from Hades' made an unexpected appearence!

Now you have to picture everyone else standing on the ground looking up at me as I took off at the fastest run I could manage in a direction opposite the now angry 'Hord'!
That worked great until I ran out of roof with the 'Hord' still intent on revenge for destroying thier home.
I'm still not sure if it was blind panic or a stratagy on my part but I didn't stop running and went right off the roof at a dead run landing on the box van still running then from there to the ground.

When I went around the corner to where everyone else was standing I saw money exchangeing hands and the bastums had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard!

Seems as soon as I took off running they were betting on if I'd jump or not!!

I'd have given my pension to see that

[nikimcbee]

Those are Aussie wasps too. You're lucky they didn't carry you away.

You're close to Asia....Asian wasps...

[fireftr18]

Found this on a trade magazine website.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-atta...-in-Australia/

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by fireftr18

Found this on a trade magazine website.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-atta...-in-Australia/

Yes, the BBC had an article on that earlier this morning, troubling thoughts considering the weather conditions for the coming days mean that they're not out of the trouble zone yet. I doubt that the Springwood fire will merge, but there's a good likelihood the Mount Victoria one will.

Helluva nasty situation out there right now, even the thunderstorms aren't helping since they're mostly electrical storms which spark even more fires. The firefighters really have a battle on their hands, most of them are volunteers and quite a few of them have lost their homes already.

Just have to keep everything crossed that this doesn't develop into a 2009 like scenario, that was a nightmare:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Februar...rian_bushfires

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by fireftr18

Found this on a trade magazine website.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-atta...-in-Australia/

Most worrying indeed

[TarJak]

Weather forecast tomorrow looks bad. Winds predicted to gust to 100kph and temps in the high 30's and about 10% humidity. Perfect firestorm weather.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/we...022-2vz3h.html

Hoping tomorrow isn't as bad as being predicted. There are now thousands evacuated or being prepared to be evacuated in the state as around 50 fires continue to blaze.

[Cybermat47]

Now I get the week off, and a trip to Canberra to see my Uncle and go to the AWM. And my dogs are coming too!

Originally Posted by fireftr18

Found this on a trade magazine website.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-atta...-in-Australia/

I didn't realise they'd caused that much damage.

R.I.P. whoever died.

[Jimbuna]

Probably looking forward to a few days off school now, I suspect