hiking with bees

[skizilla]

I have twice been stung multiple times by bees or wasps or hornets that had their nest built into trails. Twice these trails were blazed but overgrown. But one time thye had thier nest beuilt right into the trail at bish bash going to alander. Are bees more active in fall? How do you discourage them from nesting on trails? And what is nesting their bees wasps or hornets?

[Mike P.]

I'll go with Yellowjackets seeing as I was stung by a couple in my yard - technically I think they are not bees, unsure if they are wasps or hornets.

yes, more active

[HockeyPuck]

The bees seem to be more angry this time of year and I almost always get zapped in Sept or Oct (2x this Sept)..

I think it's because the nests are getting bigger and the larvae are hatching. Can't wait 'til that first frost & they are gone

[Skier75]

Geez...knock on wood, I've yet to be stung by a bee ever! And I don't want to be either....I'm afraid to find out if I'm allergic to bee stings, both my mother and brother have to use bee kits. So I try like crazy to stay as far away as I possibly can...so far I've been lucky.

I remember one hike my husband and were doing and he was up in front(as usual) and all of a sudden, he says I just got stung by a bee, for no apparent reason, and proceeded to squeeze the venom out. Luckliy it doesn't bother him too much, as much as any sting for a normal person does. Another time we stepped right over a "nest" and our dog was going crazy, the "ground" bees were all over her. She's a crazy dog, usually she likes to eat the honey bees. We had no choice but to walk right through where they were. I was so scared, I walked as fast as I could, to get around them and got lucky without getting stung.

[Darwin]

Damn, I thought you said hiking with beer because I'm into that!

[Mike P.]

Skier75:

I'd probably consider adding benedryl to your first aid kit, just in case as it would help with an allergic reaction. Not as quick as a bee kit so I'd take it right away in case you do get stung.

Note to myself: add benedryl to my kit for kids as my wife is allergic, I'm not & we don't know about the kids.

The Anakits are good for two years according to my wife's MD even though they have a 1 year expiration, maybe not 100% effectiveness but allows you to have one in your pack & the other in your car/purse or home.

Maybe cehck with your MD to see if based on your family history & hobby that takes you far from emergency rooms if carrying an anakit just in case is a good idea.

[ski_resort_observer]

Same thing happened to me. After hiking Mt Liberty was at the bottom of the trail, the asphalt section near the parking lot and I guess I brushed some branches with a hive, next thing I am being stung multiple time on the top of my head. Luckily my wife had some kind of cream/sauve which helped greatly.

[twigeater]

I don't know the answers to the original question, but my friend and I laugh about this story when we reminise (sp) about our backpacking trips...

A few years ago, while backpacking the Freezeout/Wadleigh Brook trails, a friend of mine and I stumbled onto a nest - or stumbled into it. I don't know what they were, yellow jackets probably, but they started swarming around us and we took off running down the trail - jumping a million roots and rocks with our full packs on...we stopped once, but they were still in hot pursuit.
The next time we stopped running, the bees/wasps had quit chasing us and we figured we'd better alert the other guy in our group. We holler to him but he doesn't answer. Next thing we hear "yikes! yikes!" and soon our friend comse running into view. He thought he'd wait 'til he caught up to see why we were yelling, LOL...

We all got stung a few times and applied mud to the stings. We talked about whether any of us was allergic - I'd never been stung, so didn't know. Benadryl would be a good thing to carry just in case.

I'm a firm believer that if you leave bugs alone, they'll leave you alone. Don't go waving your arms around at them - I know it would make me mad if someone started swatting at me if I was just minding my own business flying by. I watched a bug show on Animal Planet and sure enough, they say bugs (bees and the like, anyway) can sense or smell fear (adrenaline) much like dogs do.

And skier75 - that cricket that moved into my truck in Jackman has taken up permanent residence! I hear him chirp every now and then and feel very lucky.

[Skier75]

Originally Posted by twigeater

And skier75 - that cricket that moved into my truck in Jackman has taken up permanent residence! I hear him chirp every now and then and feel very lucky.

So I didn't kill it! That's good for you. I just didn't know what the heck that was that was crawlin on me! As you saw, it freeked me out. And ya, I am a spaz when it comes to bugs crawin on me! Can't help it, it took me by surprise. What was I supposed to do, let it crawl all over me??? NOT!