Porwest Under Attack by an Angry Mob. No, Really!
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (85053)
United States
July 18, 2024 5:06pm CST
I am sure there will be some here who will jump up and down gleefully, "Well that serves that loudmouth, cantankerous fool right!" Hey, enjoy your moment. I won't deny it to you or think any less of you for it either.
You see, I'm still in the clear in some ways. I saved my butt when all is said and done in an odd way. I'll get to that in a minute.
I finished up cutting the front and the back with the riding mower and was going to break out the weed whacker to do some trimming around the fence line and some other areas.
Then I got a whim.
It's not that humid today. Why not do the hill? It might mess my back up a bit, but I'll just deal with it. Besides, I might get some brownie points from the wife.
Backing up a bit, my wife generally does the hill with the self-propelled push mower. It's a pain in the butt but she doesn't want me screwing up my back and so she just takes care of it. Usually, she'll have words for me if I try.
Anyway, I got pretty much the entire hill done when all of a sudden I felt something painful on my leg. Then again and again and again. And then I heard buzzing all around me.
Sh*t! Yellow jackets!
I knew what was going on because I did pest control for a little over four years. They nest in the ground. I had run over a yellow jacket nest and they were not happy about it.
I bounded down the hill ripping my hat off my head, swatting frantically. I lost my footing and rolled in my neighbors gravel driveway. They were on me like white on rice. Stinging and buzzing.
I sort of got up but went right back down, rolling on the ground trying to get them off me and back on my feet. Up again for seconds then down again. Rolling again. More buzzing. More landing stings.
Up again, now down again. My hat became a sail and it was gone. Now it was just me and the yellow jackets with only my hand to try to keep them away. Rolled some more. Up again and down again.
I could NOT get my footing at all!
I was almost to the next neighbors yard two doors down. And that's saying something considering Mary directly next door has a double lot. They chased and chased.
How many times did I get stung? I don't know. 14 times? Maybe more. On my legs, on my ear, on my shoulder, on my arm.
Finally the buzzing stopped and I knew I was in the clear. But holy cow!
I will be calling an exterminator at once. Not that I can't do it myself. I know how. I did it for four years. But I don't have a bee suit or a bellows duster or chemicals anymore.
Now, where I saved myself? My wife would have come home from work and done that hill. And had she done that hill she'd have been the one attacked. Now, I realize that it's her choice to do the hill. But had she been mauled by an angry disturbed nest of yellow jackets, bad back or no...
A coroner may have to have been called to haul me away.
14 people like this
10 responses
@porwest (85053)
• United States
19 Jul
I took some ibuprofen for the pain and swelling, and also some Miller Lite. lol. Yes, thank Darwin. It took me completely by surprise. They were on me so quick, and I couldn't seem to get away from them. They were really aggressive.
I am pretty sure they were Biden supporters. ![](/Content/images/emotes/rofl.gif)
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3 people like this
@porwest (85053)
• United States
19 Jul
@NJChicaa I have been stung before, but not multiple times. These things were just on a mission. I really don't know how many times I was stung, but it was more in a minute than I have ever been stung in my entire life. There were so many of them. Yeesh!
2 people like this
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@marguicha (219877)
• Chile
19 Jul
I´m SO sorry, Jim! Besides the Ibuprofen, put some ice in the places where they stung you. And Dixie would also sugest that cream whose name I never remember that has a strong smell to eucalyptus. Is it Bengay or something like that? Check one by one if you still have any part of the yellow jackets in your skin and carefully take it off.![](/Content/images/emotes/hugs.gif)
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2 people like this
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@marguicha (219877)
• Chile
19 Jul
@porwest I hope not. You were lucky. Those beasts are nasty. Do call a professional exterminator.![](/Content/images/emotes/hugs.gif)
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1 person likes this
@porwest (85053)
• United States
19 Jul
@marguicha I am going to have to. I could take care of them myself. I used to do it for a living. But I don't have the equipment to do it.
1 person likes this
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@RasmaSandra (77609)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 Jul
OMG lucky you're not allergic, I hope you will be all right and those bites won't bother you as much, I cannot imagine what you went through and I wish you all the best, Get rid of those nasty yellow jackets quickly,
2 people like this
@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jul
Man, that’s awful, and I can relate, except for me it was walking into a wasps nest right at face level. I was stung about a dozen times all over my face. Very painful. So I feel for you. And good thing you aren’t allergic to them, that could have been a bad ending.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Jul
@porwest It was a major surprise, and it hurt like hell. My whole face swelled up, including my tongue, where I was stung as well.
1 person likes this
@porwest (85053)
• United States
28 Jul
@moffittjc Having them in my mouth would be HORRIFYING!
1 person likes this
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@porwest (85053)
• United States
19 Jul
Yeah. Yellow jackets tend to do that. They can sometimes be found making nests in hollow logs or in attics and places like that. But most of the time, at least around here, if they are coming from the ground, they're yellow jackets.
But yeah, my arm got a little chewed up. I had such a hard time getting to my feet.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (34016)
•
19 Jul
Oh, no, I am glad you are OK. I bet they hurt like fire.
I am allergic to yellow jackets, wasps, etc. I get hives almost instantly, and usually end up at the ER because my throat starts to close, epi pen or not. They are wicked and evil and horrible. I'm sure sorry you had that happen to you, Jim.
2 people like this
@porwest (85053)
• United States
20 Jul
@MarieCoyle Yeah, "in the moment," I was not sure how this was all going to go down. As for the wife, she did express concern. Now that I have found the nest and am contemplating taking care of the problem myself (I DID do pest control in a past life) I am getting some other words from her. lol
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (34016)
•
19 Jul
@porwest
Even if a person isn’t allergic to them, I have known people who developed high fevers from getting bitten, or have extreme nausea. You were lucky, even though I’m sure you didn’t think so at the time.
Hopefully, you received proper attention and sympathy from your wife when she came home. ![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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1 person likes this
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@GardenGerty (159754)
• United States
19 Jul
As I was reading your story I realized that you had saved your wife much pain by doing this job on a whim. I am glad you recognized and confirmed it. Did you take some antihistamines? I bet you do not have any plantain weed growing in your yard to treat the stings with. I have only uncovered a yellow jacket once in my yard. It is painful.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (170715)
• United States
19 Jul
I read about this on FB. I'm so sorry you were attacked. I hope you're OK. Try and have a good weekend.
1 person likes this
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@2ndchances24 (7489)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
18 Jul
DAMN, I know them suckers HURT, I've been stung a few times
myself & man they will set your A?? on fire in a hurry, but 4-give me
for laughing knowing it's not funny, but I visioned you running &
falling & getting up again & falling again, I'd say you got your a
good work out after all that, you may have to soak in Vaseline
or something to take the stingers out & some meds.
1 person likes this
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