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yay_chris
Feb 15, 2004, 2:39 PM
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What do you do in this situation?
If the route was difficult would you attempt to carry-on or downclimb?
In general how do you deal these pesky critters?
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moss1956
Feb 15, 2004, 2:54 PM
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Being from Iowa, I have seasonal experiences with wasps. You gotta gauge how aggressive they are. If they are pretty passive, just make sure you can see where you are grabbing and stepping so you don't get one angry. If they are aggressive, then your guess is as good as mine. Generally, when they are out sunning themselves on an autumn day they are pretty passive. But... sometimes they aren't.
The way wasps (yellow jackets) kill people is they gang up and sting them multiple times. This will happen if you do something dumb like step on the nest or pull the nest down. Don't. Other than that, I have been stung plenty of times. Its uncomfortable, make sure the stinger came out, and if you aren't allergic you'll continue to have a good day.
Another fun part of climbing in Iowa is the wolf spider. They nest in pockets. They are as large as Tarantulas, and every bit as hairy. You get your hand near the nest, and they jump out on top of it as if it were prey. This is really, really scary. However, I have never been bitten, and I don't know anybody who has. You just scream, and if you lose it too bad, you fall. :lol:
I also had a mole climb into my street shoes while I was on the wall, have seen snakes sunning themselves in Huecos that I wanted to put my hand in, had angry birds warn me that they had a nest where I wanted to be, been bitten by masses of lady bugs (with attitude), and grabbed nettles.
Oh yeah, I had a really cool experience last November. I was climbing Angst at Pictured rocks, and a male adult bald eagle swooped within feet of me, to check me out. Wow.
Beats not climbing.
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oudinardin
Feb 15, 2004, 4:51 PM
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In reply to: What do you do in this situation? If the route was difficult would you attempt to carry-on or downclimb? In general how do you deal these pesky critters? |
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pawilkes
Feb 15, 2004, 5:01 PM
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I have had MANY experiences climbing through bees, although I am not sure of wasps. i have always been a bit scared but I always climbed through them. I have always been on top rope though so the committment is different. bats on the other hand, they scare the shit out of you because you usually hear them before you see them and it is really starteling. I've ran into them 2 or 3 times once on lead where the damn thing was sitting right in the best damn hold.
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stinky_lizard
Feb 15, 2004, 5:03 PM
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since wasps sense fear .. i think you are the only one qualified to answer this question
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b_fost
Feb 15, 2004, 5:16 PM
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In reply to: been bitten by masses of lady bugs (with attitude), and grabbed nettles.
ladybugs bite? youre shitting me.
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moss1956
Feb 15, 2004, 5:29 PM
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Iowa is plagued by asianized lady bugs. The bite is obnoxious but not deadly. Right after the first frost they swarm on the rocks looking for a warmer place to hide for the winter.
Some sleazy entrepeneur sold them as aphid control, and they mixed with the local lady bugs, and took over.
I forgot to mention bats. One almost took the tip off of a climbing partners thumb. One of my favorite climbs (Three strikes, no balls..) features a cool sequence through and overhang that ends with an arm bar. I am sure there is going to be a bat waiting in there for me some day.
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sspssp
Feb 15, 2004, 5:41 PM
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Wasp activity is very sensitive to temperature. If it is a cold day, I climb on. If it is a hot day, I downclimb. If you see 5 or 6, there are probably more.
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yay_chris
Feb 15, 2004, 6:15 PM
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Wow, I can't believe all the crap that can get in the way of a good climb! Bats, snakes, spiders, moles! ... yikes.
I've had some bees and wasps fly around me while leading but so far if you don't swat at them they seem to leave you alone.
However, my friend took a forty foot whipper on an easy 5.5 because he stuck his hand into a wasps nest. He was stung about ten times before he deciding to fall. Talk about being done climbing for the day!
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bethel
Feb 15, 2004, 6:25 PM
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ladybugs bite. those little bastards make lumps the size of silver dollars on me, anyways, and they just ache. "lucky" - hah. stupid ladybugs.
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andypro
Feb 15, 2004, 6:43 PM
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In reply to: ladybugs bite? youre s--- me.
As far as the insect world goes, ladybugs are among the most vicious efficient and blood thirsty killers out there :twisted: Iv'e heard of people biting, but I've never actually known anyone who has been. I dont think they're venemous, so it shoudl jsut be annoying..like an ant bite. But dont let thier cute exterior dissuade you. If you ever come across a 3 foot + ladybug..RUN!!!! :wink:
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dirtineye
Feb 15, 2004, 7:03 PM
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Stupid asian ladybugs. Why can;t we ever import something good? WHy can't we import a bug that eats Kodzoo, or water hyacinth? WHy can't we import a crittter that makes out critter MORE docile instaed of alwasy MORE agressive?
But about wasps, In North Carolina once I came ot a great thre finger pocket on a near vertical slab, it was the best hold I'd seen in over 30 feet, so I stuck my fingers in nad felt somethign like paper. At taht exact moment ther ecame an angry buxxing from in the hole, and I yanked my hand out, screamed the obligatory, "SH!T!", and literally jumped back adn to the left, climbing to a tiny pocket and trying to be non-attractive to the hell-bent-on-biting-something wasps that flew out opf the pocket. They didn't find me somehow, which I thought was a bit strange, since it was in the middle of summer, and they should have been at full wasp powers of mass destruction.
So after a while I marked the pocket with a chalk X for the second and went on.
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drkodos
Feb 16, 2004, 12:17 AM
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In reply to: since wasps sense fear .. i think you are the only one qualified to answer this question
They do not "sense" fear.
They do however react in a highly excitable fashion to large quantities of carbon dioxide.
Fear can produce hyperventilation, which causes mammals to exhale larger amounts of carbon dixiode. The more CO2 present, the greater the threat perceived by the wasps.
The greater the threat perceived, the higher the likelihood of being attacked.
Keep cool, and all will be well.
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sportradguy
Feb 21, 2004, 12:30 AM
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a similar occurance happened to me in Thailand, while climbing this 5.11 that I'd never seen.
I was cruising along, when suddenly I was swarmed by these weird bee/ant things, swarming all around me.
I was so surprised, and frankly pissed off, that i just motored through that section until I was out of their way.
Nothing like a swarm of insects to get you through a tough section.
My belayer was surprised how fast I climbed thru it.
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oudinardin
Feb 21, 2004, 1:33 AM
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In reply to: Stupid asian ladybugs. Why can;t we ever import something good? WHy can't we import a bug that eats Kodzoo, or water hyacinth? WHy can't we import a crittter that makes out critter MORE docile instaed of alwasy MORE agressive? But about wasps, In North Carolina once I came ot a great thre finger pocket on a near vertical slab, it was the best hold I'd seen in over 30 feet, so I stuck my fingers in nad felt somethign like paper. At taht exact moment ther ecame an angry buxxing from in the hole, and I yanked my hand out, screamed the obligatory, "SH!T!", and literally jumped back adn to the left, climbing to a tiny pocket and trying to be non-attractive to the hell-bent-on-biting-something wasps that flew out opf the pocket. They didn't find me somehow, which I thought was a bit strange, since it was in the middle of summer, and they should have been at full wasp powers of mass destruction. Good stuff. :roll: So after a while I marked the pocket with a chalk X for the second and went on. |
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mrme
Feb 21, 2004, 2:46 AM
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ladybugs do bite (i have been bitten). climbed threw on lead during stings a couple times now a wasp and a black hornet (assumeing these are the ones that keep stinging you and swirl around in circles).
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coldclimb
Feb 21, 2004, 5:04 AM
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I've never had a bee sting that was any worse than pain from climbing. Am I missing something? :? I've never cared about bees much at all, though I see many people who are deathly afraid of them. Been stung lots of times, and it's just another bug bite.
Is this just cause I'm used to Alaskan mosquitos? :lol:
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big_mac
Feb 21, 2004, 6:10 AM
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And here i thought i was the only one whos ever been biten by lady bugs. It was the freakiest thing, happened a couple years ago at new river gorge on star trek wall. There were hundreds of them swarming and biting, got me and my partners. The worst part (other than the sting of the biting) was all the crushed ladybug goo all over the climb including several handholds.
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pawilkes
Feb 21, 2004, 8:58 PM
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I just remembered this one time when i was belaying for my brother and he had bees fly up his pants and start stinging him. he had to come off b/c it was stuck in his pants and kept stinging again and again.
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okinawatricam
Feb 22, 2004, 12:09 AM
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Wasp while 15 to 20 feet out, I would let the situation dictate. If they sounded pissed off at me, I would jump. The couople of times I did have wasp around, I just kept climbing, but styed aware of them.
While toping out a routes in the Southeast, I came face to face a copperhead. I jumped imediately. (40footer)
If the gear is there, don't run it out. 15 to 20 ft isn't a run out.
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dorkmaster
Feb 22, 2004, 1:15 AM
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I had a friend who was doing a nice 5.10 mixed route up here...reached in to a horizontal and got stung about ten times by wasps. He took a 15 foot fall to the last bolt...as he was placing pro in the crack...that sucks!...his hands were so swolen that he had to follow the pitch on ascenders. Then they rapped off. Your choice though...in this case he never saw them coming as he was reaching up into horizontal.
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billcoe_
Feb 22, 2004, 5:08 AM
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I hate wasps. I'd do what I did when I came eye to eye with the rattler. Ducked down and downclimbed.
BTW, I'd rather see a rattler than a Wolf Spider. Those things are creepy, like real real creepy IMO, although I've never heard of anyone getting bitten by one, i once ran into one crossing a 4 x 6 over a fast moving canal in Colorado. The damn thing moved up to the top from underneath as I started across: and staring me in the eye, like eye-to-eye the motherf+ucker challenged me. Thats right, challenged me and stared me right in the eye. Creepy.
What could I do? I screamed like a little girl and ran away. To my credit I refrained from peeing on myself or filling my pants.
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jeffstephan
Feb 22, 2004, 5:15 AM
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In reply to: However, my friend took a forty foot whipper on an easy 5.5 because he stuck his hand into a wasps nest. He was stung about ten times before he deciding to fall. Talk about being done climbing for the day! |
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wallwombat
Feb 22, 2004, 5:55 AM
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I think I know what you guy's are on about. I was climbing this crumbling, sea-cliff monstrosity on the Victorian coast. I was twenty-five foot above my last runner, which consisted of three equalised 2 RP's and a loop of 5mm perlon looped over a creaky flake. The cold , blue sea lay below me, watching my every move. I approached the crux, a body length dyno to a flared fist crack. I tried to compose myself. I looked down to check my feet. There, below me, circled an enormous Great White Shark. It looked hungry and it looked like it was sticking around. Needless to say, I stuck the dyno and flashed the route. It was only 5.12c R so there was never much of a worry. Then we drove in to town and bought fish and chips. Didn't see any wasps though.
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jookyhead
Feb 22, 2004, 8:32 AM
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Just take the stings like a man and keep on climbing. Wuss.
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