Topic: Wasps... Grrrr

[mat]

Grrr... found out today (when cutting my hedge) I get a severe reaction if I get stung by a wasp...

2hrs at hosp... antisitimine and adrenaline injections, high level steroids and I finally improve...  Now have to go to GP and get some injection "pen" to carry with me...

I hated wasps as it was... now I hate them even more...  >:( 

... and my hedge is only half cut and I am now scared to go out finish the remainder !!!


mat

[Unwashed]

Wow, that's really nasty.  What a day, hey?

[Trevor_D]

I was stung by a wasp for the first time last year. (How can you get to my age without that happening? I assumed it had at some point.) And I swelled up like a balloon!!

Not as bad as you, though. And I gather it can be lethal....

We look on them as "pests", but they're a bit more than that. Hope you're recovering.

[mat]

Thanks guys.  It was certainly an interesting end to the day!  GP today has ordered in some adrenaline injection "pens" which I need to carry around with me now at all times... obviously I'll be very glad this year when the wasps have died off...

Yes, wasp stings can kill... the first sting will never be too bad... but an allergic reaction can kick in apparently after the first 1-2 stings...

mat

[Squash64]

That's horrible, hope you don't get stung again. 
A new plotholder started work on her plot for the first time today and got stung by a wasp which was living in a metal bin.  It hasn't put her off, but she was in a lot of pain.

[Fork]

My wife was stung by a wasp last weekend...apart from the pain and a little sweling it seems she got off lightly...cold have had a nasty reaction too.

Going off track slightly....I notice wasp traps on sale in various places....can anyone tell me if they only trap wasps or can they trap the bees too....because I would not want that to happen.

[Robert_Brenchley]

They're not going to bother bees. It's an old-established beekeeper practice to put traps around hives this time of year. Personally I think most of the problems are down to hive design, and I just use small entrances which are easy for the bees to defend.

[mat]

No, wasps go after sugar and bees after nectar.  I don't know what the shop bought traps are like as I've not seen them, but you can make your own traps out of old jam jars - punch a very small hole in the lid, add old jam (or fruit) + water to about 2" depth.  Wasps will clamber in, but cannot escape.  Mum used to put loads of these traps in her garden... I've gone and done some for my garden now!!!

the wheals seem to be returning... I was told it can happen... I am keeping an eye on them to ensure they don't spread too far...

[Robert_Brenchley]

When I was a kid we had wasp traps in the kitchen at this time of year. They were baited with a little jam in a couple of inches of water. they were soon full of wasps, but I'm not sure they cut down the numbers at all.

[non-stick]

Bloody things - I've discovered (painfully) that we've got a nest in the allotment. Got stung three times this afternoon and chased up the allotment by the aggressive beggars.