Years ago (when I was a billboard painter and when billboard were painted) I had to do a price change on a billboard in Mesquite, NV. It was summer time, so I decided to wait until after dark as there was light on the face. As I was climbing up the approach ladder I felt something in my hair (I thought that it was a spider web, which was common). When I started to brush it out of my hair, POW, I was stung on the back of my neck, then on the side of my head and the side of my neck. That's when I noticed that they were swarming me and I climbed down the ladder as fast as I could without falling off. They quit chasing me once I was off the billboard and about 50' away, thank God for the night.
I immediately went looking for someplace to buy wasp and hornet killer. Being night time, the only places open were casinos and convenience stores, which didn't carry what I was looking for. I was mad because I needed to get this billboard done and I wasn't about to drive back to Vegas to try to find some bug killer. I started to think of how I was going to eliminate the evil ones and get the job done, when I caught sight of a can in the back of my truck. Ah ha, now I had a plan.
I used a flashlight from the ground to find out exactly where the nest was. Luckily it was right there inside the billboard near the top of the approach ladder. I climbed up fast as I could and let them have it, they never knew what happened ….WD40 flamethrower. Killed every one of those bubblegums and didn't set the billboard on fire, mission accomplished.
Vengeance was mine.
Ray
