(AP) - Deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina has also disrupted the underground nests of yellow jackets, bees and other insects, causing them to swarm and sting people struggling to recover from the storm.
It’s caused such a surge in requests for medication to protect people allergic to stings that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is buying Benadryl and epinephrine injections to help fill requests through hospitals, emergency medical personnel and doctors. And the humanitarian aid group Direct Relief says it has sent more than 2,000 EpiPen injections to community health centers, clinics and pharmacies across western North Carolina.
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Who saw that one coming? I mean, after all the shit those people have been through, pissed off hornets and bees would be the last thing I'd expect.
I had those underground yellow jackets in the yard a few times back in Georgia. They live underground because they're trying to dig their way back to Hell where they came from.
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it. I hate those little demons. One of the great moments of my life was when I was mowing the lawn and mowed over a next. Fortunately and amazingly I noticed just as the mower passed across the opening. I just stopped the mower right there and left it running. I walked away and didn't come back until dark....but I returned with a half gallon of gasoline as a treat for any survivors. Good times, good times.
DeleteYellow Jackets feast on meat or carrion and return with the meal to their underground hives. Man, pray for the people of Appalachia.
DeleteYellow Jackets are nasty little fuckers. I got hit about 10 times at once when we were riding deep in the AR Ozarks. If on a horse, get off asap and run thru the bushes. (The horse will help you get off)
ReplyDeleteDid not have that on the bingo card. Snakes maybe, not hornets.
ReplyDeleteI haven't experienced any hyped-up yellow jackets here in western NC so far. Word around is the bears are not taking the Hurricane aftermath too well however. I guess most of the garbage cans they usually feed from are under water and mud.
ReplyDeleteGood God, those people must be at wits end. Your World, your life's work,crushed, and getting attacked by those things?!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know those were a thing till I popped a few rounds off at a target I've had set up for a few months. Stuff in the air? Walked about five feet to see if I could see what it was. Four in the head,four across the back,one under the arm,,in Seconds.. They are Fast..
As if the folks in NC didn't have enough problems to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI've only had one bad reaction to a meat bee bite and it was a doozie, as in going into a rolling-on-the-ground delusional frenzy. It passed quickly enough, but it wasn't something I'd ever want to repeat again.
I've got a picture on my old computer of a swarm of meat bees eating a rattlesnake down to the bone, working from head to tail, only to fly off and bite somebody and make them convulse. Nasty critters.
Like Mikey said, they're creatures from Hell.
I’d happily exterminate every yellow jacket on earth.
DeleteIn defense of HONEYBEES..........they will remain with a flooded hive until they all die off.......or in rare cases the flood deposits the hive in such a way that the water drains out and they will attempt to salvage their home.......but Heaven help someone who messes with them.
ReplyDeleteYellow jackets aren’t honeybees.
DeleteHoneybees are OK. They swarmed and built a hive in my neighbors attic recently and he had the good sense to call the local beekeepers. They were able to salvage the hive and queen and put them all to work on the Honey farm which is what the bees wanted to do in the first place. Win - win.
DeleteThe problem with yellow jackets is the sting is bad but the bite is much worse and they can do both at once. Yellow Jackets are omnivores. They will eat meat ( say, a squished frog/ toad on the road) and take it back to their nest to feed their larva. When they bite or chew, they excrete digestive fluids to break down that larva food. When they bite you, your flesh begins to dissolve and that hurts a bunch. Baking soda paste or Benadryl salve helps reduce both the swelling and the pain. Benadryl tablets help overall but take longer to respond. Next, call in an “Airstrike”. Mine consist of a beer bottle with a couple inches of gasoline, a couple inches of waste fuel oil, and some styrofoam ( which dissolves to make a napalm-like substance). After dark when most of those buggers are back in the nest, upend the bottle into the nest’s entrance. No need to light it. They will be asphyxiated by the next morning, except the few that didn’t make it home the night before. I’ve been stung every year I’ve lived in central Virginia since 1980 and I do my best to take revenge. They also feed off of hummingbird feeders.
ReplyDeleteits been the worst year for yellow jackets here in 15 years. two ground nests twenty feet from my back door and another massive nest in the floor. that one took exterminator 3 tries to get them all. then we got bald faced hornets for the first time ever. snakes were bad this summer too. we had drought then flood too so things are looking biblical these days.
ReplyDeleteA large can of tuna fish mixed well with three drops of Frontline. Put it out where any meat bee will find it. Add cans as needed for bigger nests, maintaining the ratio of Frontline drops per can.
ReplyDeleteThe Frontline is dilute enough where they can't taste it; they'll clean the can as they carry it back to their underground lair.
Two to three days later, the nest is dead.
Works on ALL vespids, as all Vespids are meat eaters. It will not harm honeybees, though, as they are herbivorous.
This!!!
DeleteFound that recipe on the net a few years ago. It's missing one ingredient, a little wasp attractant. Supposedly it has the pheromone of a wounded or dying wasp that brings them in force.
I couldn't find any at tractor supply and had to make do without it. I didn't have the patience to wait so I smeared some near the entrance to the hive. Worked great the 2 times I used it. In the garage and on my sister's porch. They were gone in a couple of days.
The smell of the tuna usually does the trick by itself.
DeleteTip I learned from a doctor after one of the guys on my crew went into antifalactic shock after being stung. Keep children's Benadryl on hand. It is liquid and acts much faster. 4 doses is 1 adults. So take 8. It worked for me a couple weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteYellow jacket put me in the ICU for 2 days. I did not know I was allergic to them. I had been stung before. Your allergies change after 40 they say. We have seen a ton of the little buggers here in the foothills of NC recently. Jeff C in NC
ReplyDelete