[TowerTalk] Flying critters

[K7LXC at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/15/2010 11:44:10 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
towertalk-request at contesting.com writes:

>  Once I was doing repair on a coax switch about 70' up on  the tower.  As 
I
was taking the cover off the enclosure I heard a very  loud "rattle" within
the box.  I remember thinking that it sounded  like a rattlesnake, but how
could a snake climb a tower?

>   As I took the cover off the box I was engulfed by a swarm of wasps.   It
seems they had decided to build a large nest inside.  The rattle  was them
flying into the metal box.

>  I immediately aborted  my repair and carefully began to descend the 
tower.

>  By the  time I got to the ground, the little buggers had "gotten" me 6  
times.

>  Lessons learned:

>  -Seal all  enclosures to prevent insects from entering.
-Wear long pants and  sleeves...even in hot weather.
-Its better to have switches ground mounted  than up the tower. (even for
stacks).
-Always have 2 halyards on the  belt.  Always be strapped-in.
 
    And always have a container of Adolph's Meat  Tenderizer on hand. There 
are enzymes in it that'll take the sting out of a  wasp, etc. bite. And it 
works in less than a minute. Highly recommended. 
 
Cheers,
Steve    K7LXC
TOWER TECH