[TowerTalk] Wasps and tower climbing

[K7LXC at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/4/2006 1:49:13 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
towertalk-request at contesting.com writes:

>  Today I almost climbed into a swarm of wasps at the top of  my tower.  I 
will
wait until it is cool and go up and see if I can  clean them out.  But do any
of you have techniques to deal with this  issue?  In my mind it may be the
most significant safety risk  associated with my hobby.


         The main points have  already been hit; e.g. wait until dark and the 
temp cools off so they are  all back in the hive - you hit them during the 
day and lots of the  inhabitants are still flying around. Also a spray can of 
Raid, etc. will shoot  high enough so that you're away from the nest and they 
don't suspect you. And  the protective clothing is a good idea. 
 
        If you do get stung, put  some Adolph's Meat Tenderizer on the bite. 
There's some sort of enzyme that  breaks down the meat and is also very good 
for taking the sting out of the bite  - it actually only takes a couple of 
minutes! I'm sure someone else will mention  other similar products but that's the 
only one I can think of.
 
    Yes, I got a BIG surprise once whilst climbing a BX  tower and ran smack 
dab into a nest that enveloped the whole tower -  it was bigger than a 
basketball. Got out of there real quick. 
 
Cheers,
Steve    K7LXC
TOWER TECH