It's my turn to vent, I fear, about wasps... I was pulling some weeds out of plant pots on Sunday when I found a wasp's nest, or rather, it found me. I only tapped the pot gently while weeding the one next to it and suddenly there were wasps everywhere! Lucky me, I've only been stung three times that I know of, but my forearm is all swollen and I'm feeling very sorry for myself, so I came for a group hug.
Would you believe, it hasn't send me into AF (so far!). Obviously I could skateboard through a tsunami and not go into AF but two squares too many of chocolate, or sleep in the wrong position and there I'll be. Go figure, as they say...
PS has anyone got a good remedy for wasp stings? My forearm is quite sore. Oddly the other stings haven't swelled up as much.
I hate to say it but i had a wasp sting last year in Greece and it still has not fully healed.
The only difference from previous ones that healed normally is the I am taking Anticoagulants and it was a large wasp. May have nothing to do with it but let me know how you get on. Mine was in the upper arm and I tried all sorts of cures from vinegar to whiskey but found Savlon bite gel was probably the best.
Thanks, rjr... Yes, I'm on anticoagulants (warfarin) and I wondered if that might have made the swelling worse. It's ages - years - since I've been stung, and suddenly I've been stung four times in quick succession. It's obviously like buses... These were those little wasps, yellow jackets? very aggressive. I will try to find some Savlon bite gel
Oh Lis hugs aplenty. I feel for you! I have yet to find a purpose for wasps and usually treat them to some white powder if they think about settling anywhere. I would ask your local pharmacy about something antihistamine to settle the stings.
Thanks Bob, I needed that... Yes, normally I am 'live and let live' about them, but I think wasps in a plant pot are dangerous so these will be getting the white powder treatment! I took a tablet (after checking that antihistamines don't do funny things to warfarin) but possibly something stronger might help.
When I was in symptomatic AF, a nurse suggested that any sort of shock e.g. dunking head in cold water, could stimulate a return to NSR. It might be a painful remedy but I wonder whether stings might have the same effect (not suggesting anyone tries this at home!)
Really feel for you Lis. I've only ever been stung once, about 45yrs ago, but I still remember how much it hurt. You have been stung 4 times - you poor thing! Hope it's not too painful. Bug healing hug.
Aww thanks Jean, big hugs back. That's what I need! Four times is definitely more than I was hoping for!
Lis
Me and my sheepdog were attacked a couple of years' ago when it was very hot. We were about 15 feet away from the nest and they went for my dog mainly, very aggressive, grabbed her coat and were very determined. Anyhow we escaped, and I went back with some wasp killer foam, drove up alongside, quickly opened the tractor door, squirted, then got away quickly. A gamekeeper I know says they can attack anyone for no reason when it's hot.
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Oh my, that sounds like it was incredibly scary! Poor you, poor dog... We've got some powder, I think we'll have to wait till it's dark and they're asleep and creep up on them. Yes, wasps are a lot more irritable than bees unfortunately, they don't always need a good reason to go for you! Did you get stung? How were you and your dog?
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I didn't get stung but my dog had about 8 or 10 wasps clinging to her coat like their lives depended on it and I think she was stung, didn't seem to bother her much but the wasps scared her. Never seen anything like it before. Just so glad the whole hive didn't have the same idea otherwise it would have been curtains for her. They didn't seem that interested in me. Must be the smell, mind you we normally smell much the same because we're working together every day !
I was on holiday, many, many years ago, in Greece, and a young lad in our travel group went off the road on his motorbike, showing off going fast, slid down the hill side and into some bee hives. He was stung to death and his body had to be flown home to UK. Sounds like something off a movie but it happened.
Do be careful Eatsalottie. The foam I used can be sprayed from about 5-10 feet away and it really kills them, never used powder but heard others using it. I wouldn't go anywhere near the nest for at least 24 hours afterwards, that's what the gamekeeper told me. He said some wasps may not be at home when you do your work and need chance to return and get done in by the foam/powder, and in the mean time they ain't happy bunnies.
We've had all sorts of problems like this to sort, being a farm, and this was the only time I did it myself (from a closed vehicle and half a mile away from any buildings). I always get a pro in to do it. Local council may do it, they would round here.
Koll
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oh my goodness, that is a sobering and cautionary tale. Yes, if you get it wrong it can be curtains, we're going to proceed very carefully. That poor young man! There you are, doing what young men do and suddenly... Well, it puts it all in perspective, doesn't it? Horrible. I will take your advice and take great care. I'll ask the council, in Wales you never know, but it's worth inquiring!
Here is a hug. ((C)) I'm sorry it's the only thing I could help you with ((C )) maybe someone with come up with some remedy for you. Hoping you are able to sleep ok to night let us know how you get on.
Thank you Christo and hugs back... How are you doing? My arm is finally calming down I think, still swollen but less red, so hopefully I will get some sleep tonight. If I go into AF I will just laugh...
Pleased your arm is a bit better, I'm ok went for a walk again today with my husband along the sea front then had lunch out very nice, did not feel as bad as I did before when walking so I'm hoping things might be ok.
Sleep well and take care.
Christo.
They're a nightmare... Definitely going to wait till the dead of night to tackle this lot, they are very aggressive little things. If you have bees I think you can get experts in to help move them, fingers crossed it's birds though... Lot easier to cope with!
I have been really unlucky this year - a bee in the dog's ear two weeks ago and now the wasps. Hadn't been stung for years before that. I sincerely hope not to be stung again for a good long time! It sounds as if you've managed to avoid them pretty well
Sounds horrid, hope your arm soon heals, I send up I hugs too. I used to get wasp nests in my loft, most summers. The council used to come out and administer a chemical which destroyed the nest, until everything was tendered out and then I had to pay. I think it was about £20 but well worth it. I had a friend staying with me who has annapholectic shock reaction, they were around in less than an hour! That was Windsor&Maidenhead, not had the problem in Devon but maybe they also have a service?
Thanking you and hugs back! I expect Conwy does have a service, but I think those are aimed more at traditional wasps that build proper nests in your attic rather than these odd little wasps that bury themselves in flowerpots. I'm hoping we can deal with them ourselves - we'll just sneak out at the dead of night and put some powder on them I guess! It's got to be done, or one day the dog will put her nose in the pot, or a visitor will, and there will be mayhem.
Could be masonry bees, and there's another one that does this. We had a massive infestation some years ago in a barn, thousands of them. Had to get a pro in, in a special suit to kill the lot.
If I remember correctly, masonry bees are the ones that are harmless, but if one stings you, then the others will pick up on it and go for whoever/whatever the first bee stung. Or is that wasps? I can't remember so I treat them all the same and assume that's what they'll do.
When we get honey bees, when we get those trying to create a nest we call in a beekeeper and they entice them into a hive and take them away to make honey.
Koll
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They're definitely wasps, not bees or I'd go to the National Beekeeping Centre at Bodnant, just up the road - I did a bit of Googling and I came up with 'yellow jackets', they're a small aggressive wasp that builds a nest underground. Photos look just like them.
I came across them locally years ago, without knowing what they were, when we had a bit of a mystery with one of the dogs. She kept reaching a point on our walk and keeling over - eventually I found a wasp in her coat, and a bit of searching revealed a hole in a bank that she was sticking her nose into every day (dogs being like that!).
I'm not sure if it's bees or wasps or both that pick up on what's being stung, it is scary to see a bunch of them coming at you though... I can imagine in a barn you could get huge numbers of bees or wasps, what a nightmare! I suppose one good thing with a plant pot, even though it's a big one there must be a limit to the number of wasps in there...
I kill at least a dozen nests a year. Carbaryl powder works well , you just flick a spoonful into the entrance. If its a small flowerpot I would probably just drop it in a bucket of water at night, if you add a few drops of washing-up liquid it will help to drown them.If you don't want the plant then boiling water would be even better. Large nests are very dangerous and you really do need the right protective gear and even then you get the odd Sting. The biggest nest I ever got was around a cubic metre. Sorry about your Sting but there's not much you can do about it except perhaps antihistamines. When I get stung I can still feel them a week later. I'm not sure about wasps but bees hate dogs and the theory is that they smell like bears. We have no bears in New Zealand but bees must have a long racial memory.
You're in New Zealand? Cool! I'd love to visit one day. It's a big flowerpot, more of a tub, so it will require some planning. I have sneakily put a wasp trap (jam jar, sugar mix) as near as I dare in the hope of killing off a few. A cubic metre nest must be a nightmare... My hubby has ordered himself a beekeeper's outfit I discover! He's planning on creeping up on them at the dead of night with some powder, then putting a paving slab over the pot to keep them in there. Hoping it works... The swelling is going down now and I'm feeling a lot better thankfully - the antihistamines and a curious salve I got at a local craft centre have done the trick
Re the bears, that must be what the wasps thought my dog was. Never seen anything like it. They clung to her fiercely and worked their way into her coat to get a better sting.
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Ooh, horrible... Your poor dog! They are really not my favourite things!
wasps have quite long stings so where heavy clothing underneath your beekeeping gear. If you can see their entrance just throw the powder down the hole and they should be all gone within 24 hours. A good blast of fly spray down the whole after dark will also take care of a small nest. I've killed hundreds of nests over the years and often don't use a veil but the really big ones still give me the willies. I think you would like New Zealand. I loved England when I visited a couple of years ago. I didn't like the cities but then I don't like the cities in New Zealand either. I think the lost Gardens of Halligan and Dartmoor were my favourites. My biggest shock was getting off the train at Penzance and finding myself surrounded by New Zealand plants, they seem very popular in England.
Thank you, I will warn him! I wouldn't want him to get stung. I haven't been to the Lost Gardens but one of our daughters recently moved to Exeter, so we're planning a holiday in that direction sometime. The climate down there is perfect for plants that would be too tender to survive in the rest of the country. I love New Zealand plants myself and we're in Wales, which is full of sheep and very wet
Hi Christo! Yes, I'm doing well - arm is back to normal now thank goodness and we will try to tackle the wasps over the weekend. I'm sleeping well - it's not been so warm in Wales, I hear it's been super hot in other parts of the country though, how are you doing? Are you still okay on the new tablets?
I'm feeling ok thank you, still get tired I think its not as bad as it was,pulse a bit wild does what it wants ! I'm at the hospital next week 24 hour ECG monitor so we shall see.
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let us know how you get on.
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