Attacked while cabbing

I was attacked by a swarm of bees last summer. They had built a hive in the gaps of some retaining wall blocks. I was right outside our sliding door and got back inside within just a few seconds and still got several stings. 3 bees managed to get in the house along with me. The rest angrily hovered outside the door. If I had been all the way out at the far end of our yard I probably would’ve ended up with 20+ stings before I got inside. It was crazy how fast they came out and started circling me. I was just watering the plants and the water ran down over the wall. I felt a bite on my leg and initially thought I was being poked by a branch or something. When I looked down my legs were completely enveloped in a swarm. I didn’t even know they had a hive there. I flailed around, knocked them off of me, sprayed myself with water, and ran inside. Later I went to the hardware store and bought some long distance hornet spray. An old guy working there said he’d heard a lot of similar stories that year. For some reason the bees were closer to peoples houses and they were easily agitated. We stood inside the house and sprayed the hive. Normally we leave critters alone, try to let them have their space, but, we gotta be able to walk out our back door. We explain this to them.🤓 So hopefully any who survived spread the word.🤓 After the bees were gone, we sprayed the entire area with a hose, just so there wouldn’t be poison all around. That night or the next, we caught a raccoon reaching in there and pulling out the hive and eating it. Could actually hear him on the video. Crunch, crunch, crunch. It looked like he’d done it before, crazy thing, eating bees. Maybe if they’re asleep, they don’t get a chance to sting? We hoped we’d rinsed away enough of the poison. We still see that guy so I guess he’s fine. And ya, the stings seemed worse than I’ve had in the past, puffed up and irritated for a good week or so.

I’m honestly not sure what these were. They weren’t the sweet little honey bees that visit our flower baskets. Definitely bigger and aggressive.

Maybe they were Africanised bees.

When I was abt 10, the family and I were camping in Vermont or New Hampshire by a lake. There were lots of cute tree frogs. I had the brilliant idea of walking through the brush and whacking the shrubs with a stick to draw the tree frogs out. I hit a nest of hornets or something. They came after me with a vengeance stinging me relentlessly. I ran back to the campsite with them following me. I jumped into the tent and into a sleeping bag. They were still on my clothes and stinging me!! Thank G-d I wasn't allergic. I have no idea how many times I was stung, but it was a lot. My mom took me down to the water and packed me in mud. That really seemed to help. I avoided the brush after that.  

khara , I love the Comprehensive Guide to Stripey Things. "Actually a flying panda" "Looks like Satan's nightmare"    
I've dealt with yellowjackets.  Stepped on a little ground nest while carrying my daughter across a small creek in Sequoia NP.  Luckily only 2 flew up my pant leg.  The stings lasted for days!


realrockhound,  I have to admit, for a while I thought this was all a clever excuse to not have an entry in the cab competition!

I have been avoiding responding to this thread but feel I must now contribute my story/fobia.  I kind of sort of maybe remember this but do remember my mother telling the story.   When I was just starting to walk, my mother took me on a walk around the yard.   I stepped on a bumblebee nest and got stung multiple times on the bottom of my tiny foot.   Anyway, forever after that I never go barefoot except to go to bed, get in the shower, or go swimming.   Never.  Even in the house I am always in at least socks and more than likely something more substantial.   

That probably served me well when I moved here to Missouri because there are just too many crawly things that can get you (but not as bad as Australia ).    We have lots of ticks, chiggers, oak mites and the usual assortment of bees, hornets and wasps.  The most dangerous is the velvet ant which the locals call the cow killer bug.  It is a wingless wasp whose sting is rumoured to be strong enough to kill a cow.   I doubt that, but I have heard that it is a nasty sting that you want to avoid.   These things are bright red and big and I usually see them several times throughout the summer.  So maybe it is good that I always wear something on my feet.  Luckily we are far enough north in Missouri that we don't have scorpians where we live.  

Im perfectly fine. If you knew how I lived in my younger years, it’s gonna take a lot more than a hornet sting to take me out 😂

Yep, have had those as well. Down in southern oregon they get some big nasty suckers. Things are as big as a bumble bee. Those pieces of crap don’t just take a bite, they take a chunk. Can’t see em, but I’m sure there scars are there on my back where they bit me.

khara the comprehensive guide is very cool

I don't get the fear of Australia. We don't have bears, coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, rabies... you folks live in a much more terrifying place.

Sadly but good for the environment, we also don't have bumblebees. Those things are cute. I also think the bald-faced hornets are pretty. I'd be excited to see one (maybe not a whole nest of them, though).

Ignoring the few aggressive species, wasps are really important pollinators, predators, and parasitoids. And European honeybees aren't all sweet. I'm not sure what it's like in the States, but here they outcompete native bees, damage some native flowers, and take over tree hollows that are important nesting sites for native birds and possums.