I had a "hover bee" or sweat bee actually sting me earlier this year. It got itself stuck between my wrist and my glove. It stung me and it did hurt. Now, I've never heard of one ever stinging before that though. Also bumble bees will sting too, if you step on them with bare feet. That hurts a lot.
That is definitely more friendly to the environment, but ya gotta admit that a nice YJ killing fireball has that certain appeal.
Well the winged demons have decided finally that home is no more and have moved on. Started more tear off, but have found that the rotted first layer is giving no leverage for the frogs-foot. So, I broke out the sawsall. Got a bit done, till the batteries died out, and don't want to take a charge. So, I will likely be picking up new batteries (not sure how old these are, but old), and I am contemplating a corded sawsall. Yanked out a lot of nails, but not all, so the decking is going to an alternate fire pit that never got fully cleaned out since we bought the place. They had 3, and burnt a lot of garbage. Ok, pic time. First beam, much decking, and center 4x4 post gone. Still a lot to get done.
Well, to update this thread a bit, and to show a bit of the before/after comparison, here's a pic as of around 5 PM today. I'm gonna shrink the pic a bit, it was too large. The deck has been fully removed, the garbage cleared out, a bit of raking done, and the area swept by the magnet to capture any loose nails and such. Will still be looking into cost of enclosing before winter. Temporary options have been offered, and are being considered. I'd like to ultimately just keep the tractor and implements sheltered somewhat from the weather, for now. Eventually, full enclosure, and reinforcement of the roof structure will need to be addressed. I've got some temporary (over-winter) ideas brewing, will update when I get a better idea myself.
Thx bushpilot , but they were rafter nesters, not ground nesters. Although the black ant colony I found there may get the boiling/soapy water treatment. Lot's of queens (I assume, they had wings), which I was a bit surprised about. They even were nesting between the decking layers.
Guess after reading this thread a bit, I've left out a few details. 1.. Sawsall batteries not dead, perhaps too hot to charge that day, did later that evening. 2.. Final deconstruction was accomplished with.. circular saw (primary) maul (occasional use) sawsall (very limited use) hammer and prybar (highly primary) chainsaw (had to cut the beams somehow ) frogsfoot (limited use) more brute strength than I thought it should take. (at least I had stupid/mad going for me) Anywho.. just glad that majority of that part is over. Still have some decisions to make going forward, but hope to have that sorted soon.
Fully agreed, will be checking on pricing next year. That is definitely not in this year's budget. Since it's to rain today, figured I'd get rid of the porch. Yep, they put a burn put right under a tree. Guess it's definitely gonna need some trimming.
I was at the big orange store today and all the hornet/wasp spray was gone. They are getting ornery with the cooler weather at the doorstep.
Check on some 411 gravel...it will pack down over time making a concrete like base...then if you do put concrete down you can go right over it. Smooth it out how you want it because once it packs down it will maintain the same shape (for the most part)
Thx brenndatomu I appreciate the input. 411 gravel? Guess I need the 411 on that (info) I was also advised (offline) that crushed limestone would setup a great base as well. I'm not sure which direction I'm headed yet, as I still need a decent place for car maintenance as well. So, somewhere, sometime (soon??) I will be having a concrete slab poured, it's just a matter of when and where.
411 is a mixture that has everything from 3/4" limestone, down to powder...really packs down tight...some people call it crushed gravel too.
