i got stung by yellow jackets 12 TIMES!!!
I hate yellow jackets!!!
- Thread starter mike72
- Start date
You win. I suffered a mere three stings while cutting the lawn one afternoon this summer. Seriously - what purpose do they serve? Do birds eat them? Doubtful. They don't make honey and they don't pollinate flowers. They commandeer underground chipmunk nests and just sting, and multiple times at that. If scientists want to perform some really useful genetic engineering, they could work on mutating the yellow jacket (and its brethren) into a stingerless, or better yet, sterile insect. And flightless. And maybe blind, just for good measure. 
Yikes!
I have been stung by yellow jackets and it is not fun. Did you have any allergic reactions?
My stings as an adult were simply painful without any allergic reactions, but as a kid of about 10 or 11 I was stung many times (all in one incident). I swelled up all over. Eyes swelled shut, rolling on the floor in pain, etc.. Mom called the doctor and he gave her the good news: If I wasn't dead already I would be OK!
P.S. Mom gave me some antihistamine first thing and the doctor said that was certainly a big help.
My local newspaper had an ad today for free yellow jacket removal. Apparently they're being used for allergy medications. First I'd heard of such a thing.
At any rate, get well soon!
At any rate, get well soon!
All ecosystems need predators to remain in balance, and in the insect world, this is what wasps (of whic the Yellow Jacket is one species) do: They are predators: they feed on other insects, helping keep their population in check. A single wasp may eat over 100 aphids per day. Wasps generally do more good than harm, especially if you are a gardener.
I am sorry to hear that. When I was ten-years-old, I stepped in a wasps nest. It was underground on a piece of property that my parents were thinking of purchasing. Thank God I had jeans on that day or I may have spent several days in the hospital. I had at least twenty of the things on my leg stinging me like crazy. One got in my shirt and got me, but thankfully that is the only sting I received.
Hornets are worse. My grandparents have a nasty hornet nest somewhere near their apartment. They have no clue where it is, though. Hornets are the worst. Kill one and they all come for you.
Hornets are worse. My grandparents have a nasty hornet nest somewhere near their apartment. They have no clue where it is, though. Hornets are the worst. Kill one and they all come for you.
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- #7
I was painting my house, wearing shorts and a t-shirt and a group of yellow jackets came out of a flower bed and stung me multiple times on both legs. I began hopping around, swinging my ball cap at my legs. My young children saw this and began laughing hysterically! They didn't know why I was doing this strange dance on the patio.
That was over 20 years ago and sometimes when we get together they mention it and we all have a good laugh. I must have been quite a sight, hopping around like that.
I have been stung by bees, and wasps before but those yellow jacket stings were the most painful. My legs ached terribly for the next several days.
That was over 20 years ago and sometimes when we get together they mention it and we all have a good laugh. I must have been quite a sight, hopping around like that.
I have been stung by bees, and wasps before but those yellow jacket stings were the most painful. My legs ached terribly for the next several days.
Hornets do it for me..
I have been stung many times from Yellowjackets and yes they can be painfull..
but it took a Whitefaced Hornet to let me know that I was allergic to the sting...
barely made it to emerg.. doc telling me next day how I had a close one..
I've carried an Ana-kit and now I carry a Epi-pen kit now and thankfully have not had to use it ...yet.
I stay away for bright colors and solid dark colors and scents when I am in an outdoor situation..
further allergy tests have shown a strong reaction to White and Yellow faced Hornets.. while there is a regime for aquireing a resistance to the venom, the process is said to be a tough one and my doc figured that the process would not be worth the pain considering proper exposure-ex. wearing the right cothes can be effective enough measures for reducing the likely hood..
anyways.. Hornets freak me out!
I have been stung many times from Yellowjackets and yes they can be painfull..
but it took a Whitefaced Hornet to let me know that I was allergic to the sting...
barely made it to emerg.. doc telling me next day how I had a close one..
I've carried an Ana-kit and now I carry a Epi-pen kit now and thankfully have not had to use it ...yet.
I stay away for bright colors and solid dark colors and scents when I am in an outdoor situation..
further allergy tests have shown a strong reaction to White and Yellow faced Hornets.. while there is a regime for aquireing a resistance to the venom, the process is said to be a tough one and my doc figured that the process would not be worth the pain considering proper exposure-ex. wearing the right cothes can be effective enough measures for reducing the likely hood..
anyways.. Hornets freak me out!
When I was a boy, my parents had a "cabin" on a lake they shared with another couple, (there best friends). It was in Legoneer, (sp?) PA, I remember going every other wk end almost yr round.
My Dad had a ritual in the warmer months. Using his 10 guage to blast these hornet nest on lower branches. My siblings and mother would load up the station wagon and leave while he and I, (not my choice) would position his VW, (incapible of making a small grade without a good run) almost directly under the nest prior to blasting it!!!
The first couple hundred yards accross the lawn towards the lane was, (as I remember) as if it were hailing. Those raskels, (huge, again as I remember) were everywhere hitting this little car.
We would return on our wkend and do it again when leaving--They would just continue to rebuild the nest only a little higher. NEVER GOT EM ALL but eventually he would say that they were high enough not to bother us kids.
Never got stung but can honestly say it was my first real experience with "incoming"
Hadn't even remembered or thought of this in maybe 40 years or so--God I love B&B
My Dad had a ritual in the warmer months. Using his 10 guage to blast these hornet nest on lower branches. My siblings and mother would load up the station wagon and leave while he and I, (not my choice) would position his VW, (incapible of making a small grade without a good run) almost directly under the nest prior to blasting it!!!
The first couple hundred yards accross the lawn towards the lane was, (as I remember) as if it were hailing. Those raskels, (huge, again as I remember) were everywhere hitting this little car.
We would return on our wkend and do it again when leaving--They would just continue to rebuild the nest only a little higher. NEVER GOT EM ALL but eventually he would say that they were high enough not to bother us kids.
Never got stung but can honestly say it was my first real experience with "incoming"
Hadn't even remembered or thought of this in maybe 40 years or so--God I love B&B
I have to agree, that is one of the worst experiences in everyday life. It happened to me several years ago when I was mowing my lawn. First, I ran over their unseen nest with the lawnmower. That made them mad. Then, following the mower, I stepped into the nest and my foot went in up to my ankle. That really pissed them off! I counted about 16 stings after it was all over.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, although I doubt it will happen.
Tim
I understand that yellow jackets, when squished, release a substance the scent of which drives other yellow jackets mad and instantly into attack mode. If you unknowingly step on one, you can cause every YJ in the vicinity to sting whatever is near them.
I don't know is this informtation is apocryphal or Snopes worthy, but I do recall some years ago at a company football game where I was playing end, guard, and tackle* when a few yellow jackets decided to hang out with us. One of them landed gingerly on my friend's neck. I squashed one that landed on the bench near me, and my friend was instantly stung on his neck. Ow!
*I sat at the end of the bench, guarded the cooler, and tackled anyone who swiped a beer.
I don't know is this informtation is apocryphal or Snopes worthy, but I do recall some years ago at a company football game where I was playing end, guard, and tackle* when a few yellow jackets decided to hang out with us. One of them landed gingerly on my friend's neck. I squashed one that landed on the bench near me, and my friend was instantly stung on his neck. Ow!
*I sat at the end of the bench, guarded the cooler, and tackled anyone who swiped a beer.
Yup. Hornets have that too. Some hornets will even alert other hornets to sting victims that have already been stung.
This time of year is particularly bad for yellow jackets. My son was playing Pee-Wee football and at most games some one would get stung. I remember one incident where the sister of a player was drinking a soda and started to scream. The yellow jacket was in the can and she unfortunately didn't notice. It stung her several time before she was able to get it out of her mouth. After that everyone was very cautious with their drinks.
Reading these responses takes me back to the lazy days of summer when I was young and the possibilities were endless(plus, a little guilty also).
Guilty because of a trick I set my cousin up for. I was in Dublin, Georgia visiting family. There was a huge wasps nest located on the back shed out fo the way of us children. mind you, @ this time I was the 'Steve Irwin' of the insect world-my fascination had no limits.(there was also a black widow spider underneath a 3 legged kettle in the front yard w/ slender, long legs and the prettiest reddish-orange hourglass-whoops, 'nother story).
Anyway, I had studied this nest for a while and knew exactly how many times it could be disturbed before it reached DEFCON 5. So on a slooooooooooooow day(temps in the upper 99's w/ humidity much higher), this idea popped into my head to stir up the nest and then get my younger cousin to push it over the limit(ye, cruel, but funny).
I stirred the pot right before the breaking point and went to get my cousin. I then informed him that there was a huge nest and would he like to see it(I'm laughing now w/ the mental image of what happened). So he comes out being the adventurous young lad and takes the stick I was using and pokes the nest-mind you, I am safely back @ the front of the house underneath the porch where I can see the proceeding action.
Basically it looked like one of those cartoons where the sky is darkened and they all point @ the offender. Needless to say, I don't recall the beating I received(well deserved I may add) but my sister and i often laugh at recalling this incident.
marty
Guilty because of a trick I set my cousin up for. I was in Dublin, Georgia visiting family. There was a huge wasps nest located on the back shed out fo the way of us children. mind you, @ this time I was the 'Steve Irwin' of the insect world-my fascination had no limits.(there was also a black widow spider underneath a 3 legged kettle in the front yard w/ slender, long legs and the prettiest reddish-orange hourglass-whoops, 'nother story).
Anyway, I had studied this nest for a while and knew exactly how many times it could be disturbed before it reached DEFCON 5. So on a slooooooooooooow day(temps in the upper 99's w/ humidity much higher), this idea popped into my head to stir up the nest and then get my younger cousin to push it over the limit(ye, cruel, but funny).
I stirred the pot right before the breaking point and went to get my cousin. I then informed him that there was a huge nest and would he like to see it(I'm laughing now w/ the mental image of what happened). So he comes out being the adventurous young lad and takes the stick I was using and pokes the nest-mind you, I am safely back @ the front of the house underneath the porch where I can see the proceeding action.
Basically it looked like one of those cartoons where the sky is darkened and they all point @ the offender. Needless to say, I don't recall the beating I received(well deserved I may add) but my sister and i often laugh at recalling this incident.
marty
Sigh. I had a feeling that yellow jackets must perform some useful function, but I'll bet they could still eat aphids without a stinger. Come on you lab rats! Get busy!
Why are Yellow Jackets so damn mean and their venom so powerful at this time of year??? My personal belief is that they're eating fermenting fruit and are mean drunks.
A tip ot try: Hang yellow jacket traps (the yellow, cone-shaped one with bait inside) waaay early in the year - like march-april. We've done this for several years and trapped the gigantic queens, looking to set up new colonies, I guess. Yellow Jacket population has been reduced dramatically around my turf.
A tip ot try: Hang yellow jacket traps (the yellow, cone-shaped one with bait inside) waaay early in the year - like march-april. We've done this for several years and trapped the gigantic queens, looking to set up new colonies, I guess. Yellow Jacket population has been reduced dramatically around my turf.
Wow, the heebie jeebies are coming to me and not even seeing a picture of one. Thank you for that.
I agree with the prior post, as nasty as they are they do serve a purpose of getting rid of the other insects that already outnumber us 1000 to 1.
I agree with the prior post, as nasty as they are they do serve a purpose of getting rid of the other insects that already outnumber us 1000 to 1.
Last time I was stung, two got me.
I was pulling the cover off the pool at my parents house, and there were two, right next to where I grabbed the cover.
Heard the buzz, then jumped away and took a sprint.
Not fast enough.
One got me right on the top of my ear, the other in the back of my knee.
Let me tell you, only one place could possibly hurt worse.
I was pulling the cover off the pool at my parents house, and there were two, right next to where I grabbed the cover.
Heard the buzz, then jumped away and took a sprint.
Not fast enough.
One got me right on the top of my ear, the other in the back of my knee.
Let me tell you, only one place could possibly hurt worse.
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