Period Wasps

[JoceAndChris]

Be very careful everyone! I'm recovering after a horrid evening spent in A&E for a bad allergic reaction. I really thought I was going to die. ( I hadn't read, at that point, that you are unbelievably unlikely to die in the case of an allergic reaction - only 4 deaths a year) But it was very unpleasant nonetheless, the pain is extraordinary and ears, tongue, lips and neck swelled up - I was stung on the head.

If you want to read more about if you might be allergic this page is good:

http://www.maara.org/index.php?page=bee

Especially this bit: ( and interestingly I was stung a month ago and nothing happened)

"Who gets allergy to insect stings?

Anybody who is stung may become allergic to bee or wasp venom. The people most at risk are those with outdoor jobs like farmers, gardeners and grounds-men.  Bee keepers have regular contact with honey bees and it is not unusual for them to become allergic.  Wasps can build their nests in roof spaces so builders and roofers are at risk.  Men are more likely to develop bee or wasp allergy but that is probably because they do more outdoor jobs than women.  

How does allergy to insect stings develop?

Allergy is due to your immune system reacting to something it should normally ignore.  With bee and wasp allergy you react to chemicals within the insects’ venom. 
First of all your immune system has to learn to recognise the venom.  This will happen with an earlier sting and nearly everybody with bee or wasp allergy can remember a sting (or more than one sting) that didn’t cause a problem.
At the time of this first sting your immune system will produce immunoglobulin E (IgE) which can recognise the venom. This sticks to special cells around the body called mast cells. These contain the potent chemicals that cause an allergic reaction.
An allergic reaction will occur if another sting occurs and the IgE recognises the venom. When the venom sticks to the IgE it triggers a chain reaction that finally makes mast cells release their contents. How bad a reaction is depends on how many of the body’s mast cells release the potent chemicals that cause allergic symptoms."

Grantham hospital were out of the steroid drug as they say there have been so many coming in - so do be careful, it's obviously a waspy year, I've counted 6 nests in mouse holes here.

Apparently they love bright colours ( I was stung under a bright yellow headscarf) and also perfumes. Dirty whites and sweatiness from me in the garden from now on, then.

 

[AMc]

Sorry to hear you were stung and glad to hear you're OK.
I was buzzed a bit working on some exterior paintwork on Friday. I normally let wasps live outside - ones inside have a very limited time to escape before they get the splat. I think I may be a bit more murderous if they don't get lost in future when I'm working esp. when I start on the upstairs windows.

 

[worms]

Sorry to hear that the wasps got you.

I hope it wasn't the holly hedge clearance that occasioned the attack, but even if it wasn't, perhaps the rest of the haha clearance should wait for colder weather.

 

[Lime]

The reaction to a sting can be very nasty and frightening.
My wife kept bees many years ago and is now allergic to many things, not just bees.
She keeps an EpiPen with her wherever she goes at all times.

Last year she accidently injected her thumb!
She was putting the top back on the EpiPen which had come off in her handbag.
Surprisingly enough it wasn't serious and only resulted in swelling and a bit of discomfort. :roll:

 

[JoceAndChris]

These modern drugs are quite astonishing.

Poor Mrs Lime. Keeping bees looks so idyllic and Chris was keen on the idea, but after this, I'm put off. It's curious because you would have thought exposure would lessen allergy ( and perhaps it often does), but I've read in many medical pages now that bee-keepers are harder hit by allergic reactions than other groups.

Epi Pen sounds like a good idea to have around, even if it does cause the odd wound!

And yes, AMc, I've never wanted to kill wasps either but I'm beginning to feel differently!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Sorry to hear that the wasps got you.

I hope it wasn't the holly hedge clearance that occasioned the attack, but even if it wasn't, perhaps the rest of the haha clearance should wait for colder weather.

Yes, clearing round the holly, preparing for the chop. Setting fire to their house without realising it.

No more gardening round there until it's colder, as you wisely advise.

 

[michael]

Sorry to put a real dampener on this subject but some years back an old work colleague of mine got stung by a bee resulting in an allergic reaction which caused him to collapse and hit his head on a coffee table which unfortunately killed him. Life/nature can be so unfair.
Despite incidents like this, bees are obviously very important to the eco system and I always try to protect them (get them out of the house with the glass and beer mat technique) whenever I can.
Am I right in thinking that bees only sting as a last resort and that they themselves die once they have released their sting or is that just an old wives tale?
I can’t see what use wasps have in this world though and they just seem more aggressive than bees so I’m not always able to administer the glass and beer mat treatment with them, more the rolled up newspaper treatment.
What about Hornets? They look like a nasty piece of work but I haven’t had too many dealings with them.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Ouch! Glad you are OK Joce xx

 

[Lime]

Poor Mrs Lime. Keeping bees looks so idyllic and Chris was keen on the idea, but after this, I'm put off. It's curious because you would have thought exposure would lessen allergy ( and perhaps it often does), but I've read in many medical pages now that bee-keepers are harder hit by allergic reactions than other groups.

The old beekeeper who introduced my wife to bees maintained that the stings were good for his rheumatism and arthritis.

 

[middi]

Wasps were made by God. ( albeit very , VERY late on a friday afternoon)

Middi

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Agreed!

Poor Mrs Lime. Keeping bees looks so idyllic and Chris was keen on the idea, but after this, I'm put off. It's curious because you would have thought exposure would lessen allergy ( and perhaps it often does), but I've read in many medical pages now that bee-keepers are harder hit by allergic reactions than other groups.

The old beekeeper who introduced my wife to bees maintained that the stings were good for his rheumatism and arthritis.

Interesting- must go off and try to read to see if any medical research has been done on this topic. I dothink that people who keep animals in later years are fitter and healthier than those who don't. (in general, and excepting cats, of course)

Sorry to put a real dampener on this subject but some years back an old work colleague of mine got stung by a bee resulting in an allergic reaction which caused him to collapse and hit his head on a coffee table which unfortunately killed him. Life/nature can be so unfair.
Despite incidents like this, bees are obviously very important to the eco system and I always try to protect them (get them out of the house with the glass and beer mat technique) whenever I can.
Am I right in thinking that bees only sting as a last resort and that they themselves die once they have released their sting or is that just an old wives tale?
I can’t see what use wasps have in this world though and they just seem more aggressive than bees so I’m not always able to administer the glass and beer mat treatment with them, more the rolled up newspaper treatment.
What about Hornets? They look like a nasty piece of work but I haven’t had too many dealings with them.

Your poor work colleague, that seems such an untimely end. A good reminder to us all that nothing must be taken for granted though - as they say, never wave away the sweet trolley!

Hornets never cease to amaze me with their huge buzzing bodies, thank god we have none here.

Wasps do have a useful place, they pollinate, and they prey on things you don't really want as a gardener. My chickens certainly won't eat one but amazingly some birds do:

"The definitive source on European birds, Birds of the Western Palearctic, lists a remarkable 133 species that at least occasionally consume wasps. The list includes some very unexpected species, such as willow warblers, pied flycatchers and Alpine swifts, but two groups of birds are well-known for being avid vespivores. Bee-eaters (Meropidae) routinely devour wasps, destinging them by wiping the insect vigorously against a twig or wire. And honey buzzards raid hives for food. They are especially partial to bee larvae, but in the UK, wasps - again mostly larvae - also form a major part of their diet"

SoI think the instinct to leave the nests alone in the wild places of the garden and smallholding is a good one.

 

[Flyfisher]

Poor Joce - that must have been quite frightening at the time. Glad to hear you're OK.

I've read that if a nest is disturbed, wasps will stream out and sting the first thing they come across. Apparently "When a wasp nest is disturbed, wasps will fly out with a wing beat frequency that stimulates other wasps to fly out the nest and attack. The will attack an intruder within 7 metres of the nest and pay special attention to moving targets." (http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biocons/invertebrates/Wasps/faq.asp)

This happened to me a couple of years ago when painting one of our dormers. I moved a roof tile that was concealing a nest and was almost immediately stung on the neck. I didn't see the wasp at all. Fortunately, I suffered no reaction though I was mindful of it because I tend to react badly to things like horse-fly bites, though not to the extent of needing A&E.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh, awful! Streaming out and stinging, ugh! That happened to Chris too, he said he had to watch the wasp land on his arm and sting him as he had to prioritise hanging onto the ladder! Fortunately his reaction was just localised swelling, so with luck, at least one of us will be functional if we both get stung at the same time - however, reading about allergies, they aren't fixed, and just because you are or are not allergic to something now does not mean your body will react the same way to that thing in 5 years' time.

This is why I can now happily drink gin, whereas a few years ago, after a gin-snorting incident went badly wrong, I was unable to have it for a few years.

 

[Penners]

Am I right in thinking that bees only sting as a last resort and that they themselves die once they have released their sting or is that just an old wives tale?

Yes and no.

Jolly bad luck, Joce, but as the old saying goes, "It's an ill wind..."etc.

Not only can you drink gin again, but now you have a really good excuse for doing so. :wink:

 

[middi]

I would personally springle the gin over a wasps nest and set fire to it.

Middi

 

[LadyArowana]

I would personally springle the gin over a wasps nest and set fire to it.

Middi

:roll: Waste of good gin! must be something cheaper and flammable ( or is than inflammable I get confused ) .

 

[middi]

Valid point Lady A.

( I shall stick to old rags soaked in petrol :wink: )

Middi

 

[CliffordPope]

In my experience bees are usually gentle creatures and seem to quite happily just get on with their business and ignore anyone around them.
Wasps are another matter. I have several times seen wasps make quite unprovoked isolated attacks on people.
If you disturb a nest they seem to have an uncanny ability to identify the culprit. My father was once chased 100 yards down the garden by an angry swarm. He got to the house in time and slammed the door, but the wasps massed around the doors and windows for an hour afterwards trying to get in.

My method of dealing with a nest at long range is with a pressure spray filled with Cuprinol wood preserver. You can spray a concentrated jet a long way, and saturate the nest before any of the wasps get out. It kills them all quite quickly.
It's safer than standing at the top of a ladder trying to squirt powder into an awkward place.

 

[Penners]

I have several times seen wasps make quite unprovoked isolated attacks on people.

I don't think you can know for sure that the attacks were unprovoked. The people may have said something tactless, or looked at the wasps with an insolent expression.

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol: