VinnieVOL
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« on: October 19, 2011, 12:00:29 EDT » |
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So I mowed the lawn a few weeks ago and noticed a yellow jacket nest hole in the ground. I was careful to avoid it and planned to deal with it at a later time. So I hadn't really thought about it any further.. one day I noticed a honeycomb type piece of a nest in the bed of my old truck that sits in the yard. I couldn't figure out how it had gotten into the bed of that truck, as I drive it a couple of times a week so i know it hadn't set long enough to have a nest built on it. So I hadn't really thought about that any further either.. until today. As I'm preparing to mow I went to see if I could locate the nest in the ground I had seen a couple of weeks ago and much to my surprise I see a football-size hole in the ground with fragments of the yellow jacket nest laying around. Does anybody have any idea what would have dug it up? To my knowledge they don't produce any honey or anything like that so I didn't really think it would be a bear. But what other critters would actually dig up a nest like that going after the little flying devils themselves? This has me perplexed.
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Clockwork Orange
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« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2011, 12:04:46 EDT » |
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So I mowed the lawn a few weeks ago and noticed a yellow jacket nest hole in the ground. I was careful to avoid it and planned to deal with it at a later time. So I hadn't really thought about it any further.. one day I noticed a honeycomb type piece of a nest in the bed of my old truck that sits in the yard. I couldn't figure out how it had gotten into the bed of that truck, as I drive it a couple of times a week so i know it hadn't set long enough to have a nest built on it. So I hadn't really thought about that any further either.. until today. As I'm preparing to mow I went to see if I could locate the nest in the ground I had seen a couple of weeks ago and much to my surprise I see a football-size hole in the ground with fragments of the yellow jacket nest laying around. Does anybody have any idea what would have dug it up? To my knowledge they don't produce any honey or anything like that so I didn't really think it would be a bear. But what other critters would actually dig up a nest like that going after the little flying devils themselves? This has me perplexed. HONEY BADGER!!!!!! Honey badger don't give a shizzle . . . it just takes what it wants.
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"Stay patient and be strong, 'cause it's gonna hit. And when it hits, it's gonna hit hard."
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ReVOLver
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« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2011, 12:04:59 EDT » |
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So I mowed the lawn a few weeks ago and noticed a yellow jacket nest hole in the ground. I was careful to avoid it and planned to deal with it at a later time. So I hadn't really thought about it any further.. one day I noticed a honeycomb type piece of a nest in the bed of my old truck that sits in the yard. I couldn't figure out how it had gotten into the bed of that truck, as I drive it a couple of times a week so i know it hadn't set long enough to have a nest built on it. So I hadn't really thought about that any further either.. until today. As I'm preparing to mow I went to see if I could locate the nest in the ground I had seen a couple of weeks ago and much to my surprise I see a football-size hole in the ground with fragments of the yellow jacket nest laying around. Does anybody have any idea what would have dug it up? To my knowledge they don't produce any honey or anything like that so I didn't really think it would be a bear. But what other critters would actually dig up a nest like that going after the little flying devils themselves? This has me perplexed. Whatever it was, it was probably going after the larva.
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"I think this is the most important non-important thing in the world." - Actor and Tennessee fan David Keith on Tennessee football
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TheRealOrange
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« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2011, 12:29:55 EDT » |
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It could have been a skunk, racoon or even a possum (or opossum for those who prefer that spelling).
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ReVOLver
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« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2011, 12:47:28 EDT » |
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"I think this is the most important non-important thing in the world." - Actor and Tennessee fan David Keith on Tennessee football
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TheRealOrange
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« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2011, 01:07:11 EDT » |
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BTW, yes, bears will eat the yellow jacket larva also. Lots of possibilities.
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VinnieVOL
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« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2011, 01:20:41 EDT » |
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Well, I just mowed my yard with my handgun at my waist, even though Wikipedia says the Honey Badger is native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent.
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« Last Edit: October 19, 2011, 01:25:53 EDT by VinnieVOL »
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VinnieVOL
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« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2011, 01:23:26 EDT » |
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Stogie Vol
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« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2011, 02:24:09 EDT » |
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...my old truck that sits in the yard.
If there were any doubts about where you live...
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VinnieVOL
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« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2011, 02:56:35 EDT » |
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If there were any doubts about where you live...
W, it's not a jalopy. I park it in the yard so I don't back into it sitting in the driveway (Like I did once).
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BigOrange Maniac
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« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2011, 03:27:58 EDT » |
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Like TRO said, could've been a number of critters. Yellow jacket larvae are tasty, apparently. This time of year, in early deer season, I see them in the woods all the time that have been dug up. Bears, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the primary suspects.
Foxes get most of the ones around here. They can hike their bushy tail over their back and fan it out and stand there and fill their bellies while being swarmed by yellow jackets and yet not get stung many times. But skunks don't care to tear into a yellow jacket nest, either. They love the bees and the larvae is icing on the cake. Raccoons will eat them, but it isn't a preferred food for coons as much as it is for foxes and skunks.
I hate yellow jackets. We have a number of fruit trees so we always have yellow jackets nesting in the yard except on years where the fruit fails (like this year). Invariably, I'll drive my lawn mower over at least one nest a year before I see it. There's nothing that hurts like a yellow jacket sting...although a yellow hornet comes close.
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VinnieVOL
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« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2011, 04:25:43 EDT » |
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Like TRO said, could've been a number of critters. Yellow jacket larvae are tasty, apparently. This time of year, in early deer season, I see them in the woods all the time that have been dug up. Bears, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the primary suspects.
Foxes get most of the ones around here. They can hike their bushy tail over their back and fan it out and stand there and fill their bellies while being swarmed by yellow jackets and yet not get stung many times. But skunks don't care to tear into a yellow jacket nest, either. They love the bees and the larvae is icing on the cake. Raccoons will eat them, but it isn't a preferred food for coons as much as it is for foxes and skunks.
I hate yellow jackets. We have a number of fruit trees so we always have yellow jackets nesting in the yard except on years where the fruit fails (like this year). Invariably, I'll drive my lawn mower over at least one nest a year before I see it. There's nothing that hurts like a yellow jacket sting...although a yellow hornet comes close.
The thing about a yellow jacket sting is it's rarely just one. Quick as you instinctively slap at first sting, 3 or 4 more get you.
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ReVOLver
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« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2011, 05:21:22 EDT » |
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HONEY BADGER!!!!!! Honey badger don't give a shizzle . . . it just takes what it wants. Somehow I missed this before I posted the vid. Gotta love the honey badger!
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"I think this is the most important non-important thing in the world." - Actor and Tennessee fan David Keith on Tennessee football
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ReVOLver
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« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2011, 05:25:15 EDT » |
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THAT THING COME BY MY HOUSE I KILL IT!
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"I think this is the most important non-important thing in the world." - Actor and Tennessee fan David Keith on Tennessee football
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Oldvol75
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« Reply #15 on: October 19, 2011, 05:04:12 EDT » |
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A random neighbor perhaps! Trying to mess with your head alittle!
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God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.
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Stogie Vol
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« Reply #16 on: October 19, 2011, 06:30:33 EDT » |
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I'm fairly sure it was a skunk ape.
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VinnieVOL
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« Reply #17 on: October 19, 2011, 07:08:13 EDT » |
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I'm fairly sure it was a skunk ape.
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