Just came in

From setting outside in my front yard. I
have been putting a new roof on my house,
attached garage, and wrap around porch. I
did the house roof before planting crops,
then had other things to do before getting
after the garage a couple days ago. I'm
doing it by myself, so it is taking quite a
bit of time, but with the drought we have, I
at least don't have to worry about rain!
But, it has been hot, so I take many breaks
throughout the day. I took the whole week
off to finish up the garage and get to the
porch roof. I usually work until 10 or 10:30
at night, but I figured it was the 4th, and
I would shut it down early at 8:30, so I got
my folding chair out and sat in my front
yard with my dog looking at my progress for
the day. While I was sitting there, I heard
a loud buzzing above me, and a bald faced
hornet and big black fly landed right by my
feet. The hornet was stinging the heck out
of that fly, who was bigger than the hornet.
I guess maybe the hornet was going to eat
the fly? I don't really care for flies, but
really don't like those bald faced hornets
that sting you because you looked at them
funny. So, I squished them both and
continued my quiet evening now that it is
cooling down

Ross

When we bought our vacation/retirement home, there was a 6 x 6 shed just full of junk and a bald face hornet nest. Told my son not to go in becauze of that and there was nothing in there but junk. 10 minutes later he is running around the yard screaming. Hard to catch a 12 year old boy with 7 stings on the back of his neck.
Don't envy you the roofing job. Did my house last year alone with tear off.

I did my last roof job 12 years ago. That house had the original cedar shingles plus three layers of asphalt shingles on top of that. Did a complete tear off with new sheeting and all. I did the east side with only one helper and he would not come up on the roof past the gutter. It took a month for my elbow and wrists to settle down after running the air nailer. So I made the decision that would be my last roof. I will hire it done from now on.

It is nice to see the results of your hard work right there in front of you on the house.

Luckily I only have one layer, but wow, 3 layers! That is a ton of weight up there! My roof is 8/12 pitch, and from the house peak to the ground is 28'. It makes me feel like I'm gonna fall when I get close to that edge, so I was glad to be done with that part.

Those things are terrible! I had 2 nests of them here last year and they were everywhere, stinging anything that moved. Sure was glad to be rid of them

Enjoyed reading your story. Am happy to know that guys like you still exist in this world.

resting in the porch swing one evening & the light was just right to see a hornet snatch a housefly in mid-air! Old timers used to to talk about'em doing that but that's the only time I saw it. Only time hornet ever stung me was by an outbuilding. Got me on the top of my forearm while I was looking right at my arm & I never saw a thing. Suddenly a huge pain & later the swelling. Not a critter to mess with.

In 1996 we bought a 85 year old house that still had the original cedar shake shingles - under 3 to 4 layers of asphalt shingles. After the roof was stripped you could see how bowed the roof had become with all the weight. I jacked it up and put in a forest of braces but in many places it was still bowed - but trying to straighten it would only cause damage. Sheeted it and reshingled it. It wouldn't have been so bad except the house stood about 4' out of the ground (basement windows didn't need wells) with 10' ceilings on the first floor and 9' ceilings on the second floor - it was a long ways up. All the soffit and fascia had to be replaced too - I spent a LOT of time a ladder that year.

Thanks Jon!

Yep, I never knew they would do that, let alone seen them do that. You're lucky to have only been stung once! I've been nailed by them things so many times it ain't funny. I grabbed right onto a paper nest when I was about 5 climbing on a corn head, and got stung so many times I had to go to the ER. After that, I had to use an Epi Pen whenever I got stung. I thing maybe I have outgrown it because the last couple times I have been stung I didn't get terribly sick, just don't feel good for a few hours and sleep it off now, feel worn out the next day.

Tearing off and re shingling is a lot of work but rewarding in the end. I've done my share but I am not getting up on a roof again if I can help it.

When I was a little kid I was stung quite a few times when dad picked up a cinder block full of paper wasps. Dad ran but for some reason I did not run. Mom said my eyes dilated and I was woozy but I recovered. Since then I've been nailed numerous times but in the past few years the stings don't seem to bother me much. I feel the pinch and burn for a short time and then it's gone. No, I'm not going to go shake a nest just to try it out again! LOL