Worst Critter Encounter In The Tree

Limbrat

Limbrat

TreeHouser
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
3,143
Location
Gulf coast, NW Florida
Just curious to see what other climbers would consider to be their most dreaded encounter in the tree, be it honey bees, wasps, hornets, bumblebees or something else.
 
I had a snake with a squirrel in its mouth fall very close to me in a tree.
took me a minute to see what it was.crazy
 
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treetx said:
I worked with them and didn't scream too much, but I promise you, in my head there was nothing but the sound of school girls screaming.
Click to expand...
:lol:
We've got gobs of the giant banana spiders but you just swat 'em out of the way as you go but I have seen grown men carry on pretty good when a big web wraps around their face.
 
Spotted this nest of hornets the other day in a tree we were about to do.
Client had seen it and did not think it worth telling us.
We were subbing for a landscaper so I kept my mouth shut, if it had been my client they would have received some choice words.
Said I'd come back in January.
 

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That's the one and only good thing about hornets Mick, you can usually see the nest and avoid them. Bumblebees on the other hand sometimes nest in an abandoned squirrel nest and you don't know they are there 'til it's too late. They'll chase you almost like yellow jackets and their sting is brutal too. Probably top of my list.
 
In Europe apart from stinging insects we don't get really aggressive critters, in the UK we have your American grey squirrels they can get pretty bold when cornered, show them a way out and they'll take it though.
 
Not tree related, but I was working on a strand mount phone terminal off of a ladder early in my career. When a squirrel runs down the strand it'll shake the strand a little, which in turn shakes your ladder. I felt my ladder shake but couldn't see a squirrel on either leg of strand. I heard something below me and found a German Shepherd three rungs up my ladder. I'd knocked on the door to let the people known I was back there but their son came home and let Sarge out. All I had was a test set, a hammer, and my yellow jacket spray. I hit him with a short spray and he dropped, yelped, and immediately started pawing at his face. I felt bad and let the owners know what happened. They apologized and sprayed his face off and avoided any lasting affects.

I almost needed new pants...
 
Had a she-coon in yesterdays tree...tried to scare it out but no dice...cut the lead off and down she went...Big momma!...think she was about ready to have little ones, I thought that would be the case more toward spring?:dontknow:
 
treetx said:
Easy.

Huntsman spiders. Hundreds of them. No way I could get used to them.

I worked with them and didn't scream too much, but I promise you, in my head there was nothing but the sound of school girls screaming.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
Click to expand...

Too funny. You are the second guy I've read of having an encounter with them. His experience was almost exactly like yours, and his reaction was the same. If it were me, the "screaming like a little girl" part would unfortunately not be confined to my own skull. It would be really embarrassing, assuming someone else was around to hear it. Just sayin'.
:lol:

Tim
 
Bumblebees here generally mind their own business, and never seem to want to chase a person. They look too fat and lazy. Stings are a rarity, and little cause for concern. Giant asian wasps on the other hand are out looking for meat and something to attack. Remain still and hopefully they just give you a look and fly away.
 
woodworkingboy said:
Giant asian wasps on the other hand are out looking for meat and something to attack. Remain still and hopefully they just give you a look and fly away.
Click to expand...

Hella post! That is crazy chit!
 
I seen a televised nature documentary on those giant wasps and it was the stuff of nightmares.
Bee killing zombie wasps.
Aren't they something like 2-1/2 or 3" long, Jay?
 
Nasty!

Just Raccoons for me. I was able to chase only one out. The rest, I had to cut out. :(

They're AMAZINGLY tough though. A couple of them survived the fall!

I'm sad to even have to write this.
 
I took a top with two coons tucked inside a while ago. They both lived and they both were not happy. Chased my ground man clear into the truck and sat there hissing and growling for a few minutes. Everything that over the rest of the day had him jumping
 
I cut the top out of an oak in February, I think. When it hit the ground five squirrels exploded out of the hollow trunk. Two skedaddled for other trees, one wobbled around like it was drunk and wandered off to recover, the fourth lay on the ground barely moving. The fifth....it shot back 40 feet up the spar and stopped about 8 feet below me when it realized I was in the tree. I pulled my Silky, not sure WTF to do next. It feinted a time or two, I got ready to do something, not sure what...then it tore up and around the tree. I didn't like not knowing where it was and I sidled around the spar...no squirrel. I went up to the cut and cautiously looked into the hole..only saw dark...expected to see a gray ball of fur explode in my face.

I dropped down about five feet, cut off a chunk. When it hit the ground that fifth squirrel exploded out like a cannon ball!!! That buger survived two toppings!

In the meantime, the dead looking squirrel was still dead looking. Alex approached it with an axe to put it out of its misery...NOPE...that squirrel hopped up and shot up the nearest tree. All five survived...wished I had the video running.
 
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