Hornets nest....end game......

bswiv · January 25, 2009, 03:13 PM

It took a while but finally got the "written permission" that is called for when removing such from a Florida WMA. With that in hand Louann and I headded down to the swamp on a cold afternoon last week to get the nest.

Carried the pole saw, a rope, the hand saw and a plastic bag to put the nest in once it was safely down. Tossed the rope over a adjacent limb to keep the nest from crashing to the ground when I cut it lose. Unfortuinately the pole saw was of very little help as the angle of the limb the nest was on kept the saw from getting a bite.

Ended up having to shimmy my old skinny butt up that tree and cut it off with the hand saw. Of course the darn thing did not simply swing down on the rope but rather hung up in a adjacent tree. So I got to climp another tree.

This tree was not as friendly as the first one and when the limb came lose it caused some havock that resulted in my thumb and the hand saw becoming well aquainted. After Louann got the bleeding stopped, by wraping a couple of strips of the plastic bag tightly around it, the nest was now close enough to the ground to where we could cut it lose and let it drop in the bag.

Now we all know how things that are far away, like up in a tree, tend to look smaller than they are. This nest was that way. It would not fit in the bag; couldn't get the thing even close to closed. And because after all the work that had gone into this thing we did not want it to get damaged ridding in the back of the truck it rode, in the unsealed bag, in Louann's lap back to the house.

It was worht the effort though. The nest is 38" tall and near 18" in diameter and in VERY good condition. Louann's spraying it down with a few coats of clear sealer to preserve it. It'll end up in the house someplace............

fisherman66 · January 25, 2009, 03:19 PM

That's sump'in else. Forgive me for hopin' it was still occupied. The story would have be bigger than the nest.

goodspeed(TPF) · January 25, 2009, 03:20 PM

WOW!!!

That's huge.

hoytinak · January 25, 2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Forgive me for hopin' it was still occupied. The story would have be bigger than the nest.

Yeah, I was kinda hoping for a video of it too.

fisherman66 · January 25, 2009, 03:33 PM

A video would have been perfect, but I'd hate to see Louann get stung. But we are often judged by our company... Good for B; not so much for L.

hogdogs · January 25, 2009, 04:39 PM

Nice hive!!!
Louann is lookin' mighty fine... better keep her close to the cuff!

Tell 'er hogdogs said... "NICE!!!"

Brent

fisherman66 · January 25, 2009, 05:02 PM

Indeed Brent; she must hail from Texas.

Gbro · January 25, 2009, 06:24 PM

What did you do to insure that the hive has no life in it?
Its been know that after a week or so indoors some little buzzers can be found!
It has happened in schools

Allow me to apologies for the comments that were directed towards yours. Its shameful.

bswiv · January 26, 2009, 07:43 PM

We let it set for while in the garage with a plastic bag around it. Seemed to be completely empty.........hope so as she has put a couple of coats of sealer on it and now has it hanging in a corner of the living room!

shortwave · January 26, 2009, 10:41 PM

Good for you and Louann. Can see why you wanted hive. That things big. Must look good in living room. Glad your quest had a happy ending

.

Fremmer · January 27, 2009, 10:10 PM

Quote:

The nest is 38" tall and near 18" in diameter and in VERY good condition.

And the pic! Holy [BEEP]!!!! That thing is huge! (Edited to add: I'm referring to the the nest, not to Louann

)

Pretty impressive.

Selfdfenz · January 28, 2009, 09:12 AM

I would be surprised if there weren't some cells in that thing that contain next year's crop of stingers.

S-

Dave P · January 28, 2009, 09:19 AM

Good job! You actually got written permission to take it??? This was in the Panhandle?

bswiv · January 28, 2009, 02:55 PM

More trouble than I thought to get the "written permission" as the regulations call for.

Took 4 phone calls and 4 emails. Finally got to the right person. I think the fact that I actually asked messed everybody up. Must of thought I was a crazy or something and just ignored me.

In fact the guy who ultimately granted it was VERY surprised that anyone went through the trouble to do as required and ask.

And to tell you the truth untill someone on this forum mentioned it I would have never known it was illegal to get a abandoned hornets nest but it is on a Florida WMA.

Of course I don't know how the hornets nest is any different than those antlers we all pick up or the fat knots many folks carry out or the old bones and feathers many of us pick up..........?

For me though I have to be very careful not to screw up. I am in the seafood business and that puts me under regular inspection of the FWC. In almost 30 years of business we have managed to toe the line and not get any sort of citation. That's hard to do with the many ( And I might add ever growing and ever changing! ) regulations there are on the books.

On top of that I write the outdoor articles for the St. Augustine Record, that's the newspaper that serves St. Augustine, Florida and St. Johns County. It'd look awfully bad if the guy who does that is getting citations from the FWC.

Because of those 2 things I am more cautious than the average hunter/fisherman in keeping it between the lines.

Make sense?

Kreyzhorse · January 29, 2009, 09:01 AM

Cool. How do you make sure that there aren't any stingers in waiting in that sucker?

bswiv · January 29, 2009, 03:05 PM

Went and checked it a couple of times. Used the scientific method of shaking the tree. Didn't see stinning bugs either time so assumed we were good to go...........

lumberjack2009 · January 29, 2009, 06:39 PM

nice job

January 25, 2009, 03:13 PM	#1
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Hornets nest....end game...... It took a while but finally got the "written permission" that is called for when removing such from a Florida WMA. With that in hand Louann and I headded down to the swamp on a cold afternoon last week to get the nest. Carried the pole saw, a rope, the hand saw and a plastic bag to put the nest in once it was safely down. Tossed the rope over a adjacent limb to keep the nest from crashing to the ground when I cut it lose. Unfortuinately the pole saw was of very little help as the angle of the limb the nest was on kept the saw from getting a bite. Ended up having to shimmy my old skinny butt up that tree and cut it off with the hand saw. Of course the darn thing did not simply swing down on the rope but rather hung up in a adjacent tree. So I got to climp another tree. This tree was not as friendly as the first one and when the limb came lose it caused some havock that resulted in my thumb and the hand saw becoming well aquainted. After Louann got the bleeding stopped, by wraping a couple of strips of the plastic bag tightly around it, the nest was now close enough to the ground to where we could cut it lose and let it drop in the bag. Now we all know how things that are far away, like up in a tree, tend to look smaller than they are. This nest was that way. It would not fit in the bag; couldn't get the thing even close to closed. And because after all the work that had gone into this thing we did not want it to get damaged ridding in the back of the truck it rode, in the unsealed bag, in Louann's lap back to the house. It was worht the effort though. The nest is 38" tall and near 18" in diameter and in VERY good condition. Louann's spraying it down with a few coats of clear sealer to preserve it. It'll end up in the house someplace............

January 25, 2009, 03:19 PM	#2
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,679	That's sump'in else. Forgive me for hopin' it was still occupied. The story would have be bigger than the nest. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

January 25, 2009, 03:20 PM	#3
goodspeed(TPF) Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2009 Location: WI Posts: 1,162	WOW!!! That's huge. __________________ It's a trick. Get an axe. http://www.thepiratefleet.com/index.shtml

January 25, 2009, 03:33 PM	#5
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,679	A video would have been perfect, but I'd hate to see Louann get stung. But we are often judged by our company... Good for B; not so much for L. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

January 25, 2009, 05:02 PM	#7
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,679	Indeed Brent; she must hail from Texas. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

January 25, 2009, 04:39 PM	#6
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Nice hive!!! Louann is lookin' mighty fine... better keep her close to the cuff! Tell 'er hogdogs said... "NICE!!!" Brent

January 25, 2009, 06:24 PM	#8
Gbro Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,084	What did you do to insure that the hive has no life in it? Its been know that after a week or so indoors some little buzzers can be found! It has happened in schools Allow me to apologies for the comments that were directed towards yours. Its shameful. __________________ Gbro CGVS For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, It Is The Power Of God. 1Corinthians 1-18

January 26, 2009, 07:43 PM	#9
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	We let it set for while in the garage with a plastic bag around it. Seemed to be completely empty.........hope so as she has put a couple of coats of sealer on it and now has it hanging in a corner of the living room!

January 26, 2009, 10:41 PM	#10
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	Good for you and Louann. Can see why you wanted hive. That things big. Must look good in living room. Glad your quest had a happy ending.

January 28, 2009, 09:12 AM	#12
Selfdfenz Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2001 Location: The Gas Tax State Posts: 949	I would be surprised if there weren't some cells in that thing that contain next year's crop of stingers. S- __________________ Selfdfenz

January 28, 2009, 09:19 AM	#13
Dave P Senior Member Join Date: August 16, 1999 Location: North Florida Posts: 1,346	Good job! You actually got written permission to take it??? This was in the Panhandle?

January 28, 2009, 02:55 PM	#14
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	More trouble than I thought to get the "written permission" as the regulations call for. Took 4 phone calls and 4 emails. Finally got to the right person. I think the fact that I actually asked messed everybody up. Must of thought I was a crazy or something and just ignored me. In fact the guy who ultimately granted it was VERY surprised that anyone went through the trouble to do as required and ask. And to tell you the truth untill someone on this forum mentioned it I would have never known it was illegal to get a abandoned hornets nest but it is on a Florida WMA. Of course I don't know how the hornets nest is any different than those antlers we all pick up or the fat knots many folks carry out or the old bones and feathers many of us pick up..........? For me though I have to be very careful not to screw up. I am in the seafood business and that puts me under regular inspection of the FWC. In almost 30 years of business we have managed to toe the line and not get any sort of citation. That's hard to do with the many ( And I might add ever growing and ever changing! ) regulations there are on the books. On top of that I write the outdoor articles for the St. Augustine Record, that's the newspaper that serves St. Augustine, Florida and St. Johns County. It'd look awfully bad if the guy who does that is getting citations from the FWC. Because of those 2 things I am more cautious than the average hunter/fisherman in keeping it between the lines. Make sense?

January 29, 2009, 09:01 AM	#15
Kreyzhorse Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2006 Location: NKY Posts: 12,463	Cool. How do you make sure that there aren't any stingers in waiting in that sucker? __________________ "He who laughs last, laughs dead." Homer Simpson

January 29, 2009, 03:05 PM	#16
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Went and checked it a couple of times. Used the scientific method of shaking the tree. Didn't see stinning bugs either time so assumed we were good to go...........

January 29, 2009, 06:39 PM	#17
lumberjack2009 Junior Member Join Date: January 1, 2009 Location: Palm Bay Fl Posts: 13	nice job