THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7

[Idahodutch]

I can't imagine having to deal with venomous snakes when just walking through the woods here up north. There are rattle snakes but they are all in the bluffs which are few and I don't hunt bluffs anyways.

The only thing really venomous around here is the mud wasps. When they show up around the house we just wait till dark then hose the nest down with a can of wasp spray.

I tried to knock down a mud dobbers nest one time. I was working in Texas about 35 years ago, post wiring some 3 story apartments for Cable. I had to get right by the nest to drill a hole get the cable poked in through the outside wall.
Every time I started to get close to the where I needed to be, the wasps would just start dancing around on the nest It was just cool enough for them to be drowsy, but not asleep. I got back down and moved the ladder a little bit further away and using a 10 piece of conduit, got back near the top of a 28' extension ladder for the attempt.
I smacked it real good and it just bounced around like a punching bag. but stayed attached. Then right away, I really smacked it as hard as I could to knock it off, but it didn't come off.
Within maybe a second after that 2nd smack, they swarmed me. I dropped the piece of conduit, held the sides of the ladder and slid down as fast as I could.
After hitting the ground I guess I was jumping all over the place peeling clothes off and yelling. Someone came out of one of the apartments, said they were watching, and handed me a stick of bee sting medicine.
I have been tempted since to try to knock others down, but fortunately, I hope I learned that lesson.
Haven't thought about that in a long time. Kind of funny now, but not right when it happened. I got a lot of welts and bites, that burned like the dickens. Just glad I didn't fall or get sick.

 

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[ARC]

I tried to knock down a mud dobbers nest one time. I was working in Texas about 35 years ago, post wiring some 3 story apartments for Cable. I had to get right by the nest to drill a hole get the cable poked in through the outside wall.
Every time I started to get close to the where I needed to be, the wasps would just start dancing around on the nest It was just cool enough for them to be drowsy, but not asleep. I got back down and moved the ladder a little bit further away and using a 10 piece of conduit, got back near the top of a 28' extension ladder for the attempt.
I smacked it real good and it just bounced around like a punching bag. but stayed attached. Then right away, I really smacked it as hard as I could to knock it off, but it didn't come off.
Within maybe a second after that 2nd smack, they swarmed me. I dropped the piece of conduit, held the sides of the ladder and slid down as fast as I could.
After hitting the ground I guess I was jumping all over the place peeling clothes off and yelling. Someone came out of one of the apartments, said they were watching, and handed me a stick of bee sting medicine.
I have been tempted since to try to knock others down, but fortunately, I hope I learned that lesson.
Haven't thought about that in a long time. Kind of funny now, but not right when it happened. I got a lot of welts and bites, that burned like the dickens. Just glad I didn't fall or get sick.

You must be confusing "mud dobbers" with wasps.

Mud dobbers don't really "attack" / "sting".

Another fun fact... they eat spiders.

 

[Idahodutch]

You must be confusing "mud dobbers" with wasps.

Mud dobbers don't really "attack" / "sting".

Another fun fact... they eat spiders.

Well, you might be right. This was 35 years ago. . .These flying insects had a home about the size of a small orange, but bigger than a golf ball. It was attached by some sort of dried spit, practically nothing really, except for being some sort of dried spit, it is stronger than sh#t, and looked like a boxer's practice speed bag.
These flying insects, I know bite at the least, because they removed many, many small pieces of flesh from me. These insects that I encountered ate meat for sure. The sting stick helped quite a bit, upon application. (And yes the very nice, pretty young woman that brought it to me probably helped with that).

I'm pretty sure that they actually ate my flesh, because I didn't see any of the flesh pieces laying around from them spitting them back out

My memory of actual stings . . . . I cannot say for sure, but I definitely remember looking and applying the stick to the bites on my arm and side that got hit. I am fairly sure that there some stings as well, perhaps the bites I thought were stings, were only very small bites that didn't remove flesh.
However, the nice young woman with the medicine, was kind enough to apply the sting medicine to the part of my back and neck, that got hit, that I couldn't see or get to.

So what kind of flying insect then . . . . some sort of Paper Wasp? It was in the Dallas/Fortworth area, if that makes a difference.
just asking, not wanting to assign homework.
Idaho

 

[Rookster]

Good morning folks.

 

[Rookster]

Morning ARC AND Idahodutch

 

[Rookster]

Y’all killin some kritters?

 

[Idahodutch]

Black Widows

In the summer of 1978, I was living in Phx, Az working for a large housing developer. They would build entire neighborhoods, like 1/2 mile square with a couple of corners left out for gas stations etc.
I was a laborer, and would do all kinds of stuff. One day, on my to do list was to go around the houses that had not sold yet.
(Mostly finished houses, but w/o final flooring, and certain light fixtures like the dining room would be left for the owner to pick. Sometimes there were a few other options that would also be left out.
Anyway, in Phoenix, it gets pretty hot and these empty mostly finished houses got pretty hot (no AC yet) and the ones that had been sitting for a month or two, but just sold, would need to be re-caulked all along all of the baseboards, and door casings, before the painter would come back in for final touch-up.

I was moving around the house bent over with this caulking gun, going all around the base boards and when I got to a closet, I would just swing right in caulking the base, and then move up and around the door casing inside the closet before leaving the closet. Unaware to me, the hall closet in this one house had several black widow nests in the upper half of the closet. Like 8 or 10.

I need to give some additional information to bring this to full light. When I was young, I had a full head of curly hair. High School for me, was the mid 1970's. Yeah baby yeah, I sported a real bonified afro.

Ok, I'm sure you've already guessed, I swung around into that closet already bent over on entry, and turned in a circle as I caulked, then stood up as I was caulking the door casing, only to then notice all the webbing and nests balls, most of which were already open and empty.
As I jerked back into the closet, all the webbing moved with me. My hair had collected all that sort of like making cotton candy. I freaked ran outside to the hose bid and soaked my head and scrubbed to squish any and everything I could. I was bit a lot. I was sent home. I didn't go to the doctor. by later that night, I was sweating, with chills, shivering in bed. really kind of out of it. Next morning felt very weak. Didn't go to work. went to a gym and sat in the various rooms to clean out. I was about to pass out. I went to the drink bar they had and got a big protein mango fruit drink (like a smoothie I guess, but nobody called it that back then) After that, I floated around the pool for 30 - 40 minutes, went back through the sweat rooms again. Then was feeling pretty good. Did a full work out after that.

About a month later, I was picking up the paper wrappers from bundles of roofing shingles (don't know why the roofers didn't pick them up) from around the foundation walls of the houses, and got bit on the side of my calf. It was a full size mama Black Widow. It's brown guts splat all over my leg as I slapped it.
I think that I must have developed a resistance to the bite, as it ended up not even being as bad as an ant bite.

I didn't think it would take that long to tell the story, sorry.

 

[bill from lachine]

Good morning ARC, Idahodutch, rook and the rest of the crew.

 

[Idahodutch]

Y’all killin some kritters?

Only when they do something that deserves a killing
Good Morning Rook.

 

[Toecutter]

Good mornin ya filthy scaly wags!! ARRR and happy Friday!!

 

[bill from lachine]

Good morning Toecutter.

 

[Idahodutch]

Good morning ARC, Idahodutch, rook and the rest of the crew.

This is a very friendly place! Not used to being welcomed

I got kind of worked up and have slept yet, and wandered around the site here to cool down.
Followed ARC here to say hi. Other than being tired, I feel refreshed!

Good morning Bill,

 

[RustyRelics]

I tried to knock down a mud dobbers nest one time. I was working in Texas about 35 years ago, post wiring some 3 story apartments for Cable. I had to get right by the nest to drill a hole get the cable poked in through the outside wall.
Every time I started to get close to the where I needed to be, the wasps would just start dancing around on the nest It was just cool enough for them to be drowsy, but not asleep. I got back down and moved the ladder a little bit further away and using a 10 piece of conduit, got back near the top of a 28' extension ladder for the attempt.
I smacked it real good and it just bounced around like a punching bag. but stayed attached. Then right away, I really smacked it as hard as I could to knock it off, but it didn't come off.
Within maybe a second after that 2nd smack, they swarmed me. I dropped the piece of conduit, held the sides of the ladder and slid down as fast as I could.
After hitting the ground I guess I was jumping all over the place peeling clothes off and yelling. Someone came out of one of the apartments, said they were watching, and handed me a stick of bee sting medicine.
I have been tempted since to try to knock others down, but fortunately, I hope I learned that lesson.
Haven't thought about that in a long time. Kind of funny now, but not right when it happened. I got a lot of welts and bites, that burned like the dickens. Just glad I didn't fall or get sick.

This reminds me of a goldie from about two years ago.

I was working with a friend on setting up tree stands on day, out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. He asked me to cut this one sapling down, and I went over, dropped the saw, and then walked over to him to help him with what he was dong at the time. He said, "I'll get the tree instead, you work on this". So I watched him go over to the tree, take a few strokes with a handsaw to it, then all of a sudden a cartoonish mushroom cloud of black erupted from the ground where he was standing.

Now mind you, my friend is a tad overweight. He looks like Santa Claus. He started running all over the place, getting stung, swatting, falling down, rolling, it was hilarious. I thought it was funny to see him run, because I've never seen him run. It was all funny until the angry black cloud moved over my way, and got me in the face, around the eyes.

They were ground hornets of some kind. We abandoned lots of equipment to save our skins, puffy as they were, and hightailed it out of there. He got stung at least 20 times in the face, neck and hands, and I got stung a few times in the face and neck.

 

[RustyRelics]

Good morning everyone.

 

[ARC]

This is a very friendly place! Not used to being welcomed

I got kind of worked up and have slept yet, and wandered around the site here to cool down.
Followed ARC here to say hi. Other than being tired, I feel refreshed!

Good morning Bill,

SHHHHH !!!!

Don't tell anyone we are friendly :P


We have an image to uphold... We are scallywag pirates to everyone else :P

 

[bill from lachine]

Rusty good morning young man.

 

[Rookster]

Morning bill, Toecutter and RR

 

[Idahodutch]

SHHHHH !!!!

Don't tell anyone we are friendly :P


We have an image to uphold... We are scallywag pirates to everyone else :P

Guys, I gotts go to bed, but I very much enjoyed the refreshments.
You guys are all right

I'll be back

 

[Toecutter]

Well, you might be right. This was 35 years ago. . .These flying insects had a home about the size of a small orange, but bigger than a golf ball. It was attached by some sort of dried spit, practically nothing really, except for being some sort of dried spit, it is stronger than sh#t, and looked like a boxer's practice speed bag.
These flying insects, I know bite at the least, because they removed many, many small pieces of flesh from me. These insects that I encountered ate meat for sure. The sting stick helped quite a bit, upon application. (And yes the very nice, pretty young woman that brought it to me probably helped with that).

I'm pretty sure that they actually ate my flesh, because I didn't see any of the flesh pieces laying around from them spitting them back out

My memory of actual stings . . . . I cannot say for sure, but I definitely remember looking and applying the stick to the bites on my arm and side that got hit. I am fairly sure that there some stings as well, perhaps the bites I thought were stings, were only very small bites that didn't remove flesh.
However, the nice young woman with the medicine, was kind enough to apply the sting medicine to the part of my back and neck, that got hit, that I couldn't see or get to.

So what kind of flying insect then . . . . some sort of Paper Wasp? It was in the Dallas/Fortworth area, if that makes a difference.
just asking, not wanting to assign homework.
Idaho

Wow aint never herd of no bugs like that, sound wicked!!

And welcome to the RCT

 

[Idahodutch]

This reminds me of a goldie from about two years ago.

I was working with a friend on setting up tree stands on day, out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. He asked me to cut this one sapling down, and I went over, dropped the saw, and then walked over to him to help him with what he was dong at the time. He said, "I'll get the tree instead, you work on this". So I watched him go over to the tree, take a few strokes with a handsaw to it, then all of a sudden a cartoonish mushroom cloud of black erupted from the ground where he was standing.

Now mind you, my friend is a tad overweight. He looks like Santa Claus. He started running all over the place, getting stung, swatting, falling down, rolling, it was hilarious. I thought it was funny to see him run, because I've never seen him run. It was all funny until the angry black cloud moved over my way, and got me in the face, around the eyes.

They were ground hornets of some kind. We abandoned lots of equipment to save our skins, puffy as they were, and hightailed it out of there. He got stung at least 20 times in the face, neck and hands, and I got stung a few times in the face and neck.

Great Story RR !!