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Alabama Landowners- Take the Sting out of Your Time Outdoors

By
Real Estate Agent with AlaLandCo (Land for Sale in West Alabama)

Busy Bees in Coosa County, AlabamaAlabama's hunting lands and farms are beckoning landowners to come do the summertime work required to make a property productive and look its best. By exercising a little care you can take the sting out of your time in the outdoors.

Alabama is home to some of the best deer and turkey hunting in the Southeast. Our state also has the right climate and habitat for some little creatures that would like to leave their mark on you. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you and your family are enjoying time outside.

1. Insect Repellent- Using a powerful repellant can offer protection from menaces like gnats and mosquitoes. It can also repel some serious threats such as ticks which carry Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Spraying sleeves, hats, hands, face, and particularly pants cuffs is essential to reducing exposure to insect bites.

2. Watch for Wasps- Wasps and bees usually try to construct their nests in "low traffic" areas that will remain undisturbed. The honey bees in the picture above found a hollow knot in a cedar tree to call home. Invariably I accidentally stumble on a few of these nests every season, and that has made me a little more wary. Look for nests in common places such as eaves of houses, fences, under decks, tables, patio chairs, swing sets, swimming pool slides, shrubbery, old pallets, and windows.

One place guaranteed to draw wasps is a lock on a gate that is hooded to prevent people from cutting the lock with bolt cutters. This configuration requires you to reach your hand up into the enclosed area and use the key to open your lock. Spray this area with wasp spray before reaching up into it. I have encountered many wasp nests when opening gates. Don't make the same mistake I have.

3. Watch your Step- Our state is home to fire ants, which make their nests in mounds on the ground. These nests pop up in open fields after rains, and are home to thousands of little biters. If you are working on your land or previewing a piece of rural land to buy, wear closed-toes shoes or even better, boots.

Yellow jackets make their home in nests underground. Usually people find these nests when mowing the lawn or cutting hay. You can identify the area of a nest by watching the yellow jackets fly in and out of a small hole in the ground that serves as the entrance to the nest. Yellow jackets are particularly aggressive, so pay attention to ones that are hovering just above the ground and look for their hole. They all return to the nest in the evening, so that is a great time to treat the nest to kill all of the wasps.

4. In the event of a sting or bite- Wasps, bees, and fire ants all belong to the order Hymenoptera. Many of the members of this order have the ability to sting. The chemical that causes the sting to hurt so bad  is formic acid. An insect bite usually causes swelling, pain, redness, cursing, and in extreme cases, can lead to anaphylaxis.

If stung or bitten, usually taking a Benadryl can help reduce the effects. It is important not to squeeze the area to try to remove the stinger as this can actually cause a stinger to inject more venom into the wound. Use a credit card to scrape the surface and remove the stinger. Sting-b-gone can be effective at reducing the pain, but if none is available I have had a farmer put chewing tobacco on a red wasp sting, and it soothed the area immediately.  If you experience constricting airways or a quickened pulse you should seek medical attention immediately as these are symptoms of anaphylatic shock.

Alabama land is great, and offers many activities to enjoy outdoors. Using some preventive measures can help you take the sting out of your time in the woods.

 

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Buying or Selling Rural Land in Alabama? Let Jonathan Goode and the AlaLandCo team help you.

Jonathan Goode is a licensed Realtor and professional land agent with AlaLandCo.  Jonathan works with buyers and sellers of rural land in the Black Belt of West Alabama. He and his family live in Marion in Perry County.

Jonathan is a member of the Realtor's Land Institute (RLI) and specializes in marketing hunting land, farmland, and recreational properties in Perry County, Bibb County, Hale County, and Dallas County, Alabama. Click here for a map of all of my current West Alabama land listings. You can see more pictures and get more information about all of my propterties on my website or follow me on facebook to stay current on what is happening in Alabama's land market.

Looking for an Alabama Timber Investmet? Check out this site devoted to Alabama Timberland Investments.

Searching for rural land for sale close to Tuscaloosa or Birmingham? Visit West Alabama Land for Sale

 

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