A Warning

[+Geo Froggy]

I’m sure long time cachers know this, but newbies may not. I looked for a cache in the woods Gateway and where the cache was hidden a nest of yellow jackets had made a home. My poking around upset the wasps and in an instant I was covered with them. I started brushing them off and hitting the ones that got under my clothes, I couldn’t out run them either. When I got home I checked Google and found out that I did all the wrong things. You shouldn’t run, kill them, or brush them off , that just incites the swam, I sure did suffer because I didn’t know better. Fall is the time to be the most careful.

 

OSU info page

 

The colony then expands rapidly reaching a maximum size of 4,000 to 5,000 workers and a nest of 10,000 to 15,000 cells in August and late September.

 

Should a yellow jacket wasp fly near you or land on your body, never swing or strike at it or run rapidly away since quick movements often provoke attack and painful stings. When a wasp is near you, slowly raise your hands to protect your face remaining calm and stationary for a while and then move very slowly (avoid stepping on the ground nest), backing out through bushes or moving indoors to escape.

Edited November 6, 2005 by Geo Froggy

[+miles58]

The sit still and leave them alone advice is only applicable to foraging wasps that approach you.

 

After you've disturbed them and they are defending a nest, you can't run fast enough. You can swat/brush/slap and it won't make it worse one the mass attack starts.

[+sTeamTraen]

I got stung placing a cache the other day...

 

Here's a tip for stings: if you have a piece of hard candy, lick it and rub it on the sting. In many cases this will make a big difference to how much it swells up. I presume it's something to do with the sugar neutralising some component of the venom. Don't use sugar-free candy.

[+briansnat]

I had a report of a yellow jacket nest near one of my caches. My wife and I went there to check it out and there was nothing to see. Not a bee.

 

Then, walking away, my wife stepped on it and soon there was a swarm buzzing about the entrance We walked slowly away and stood still and they ignored us. After about 10 minutes they were all back inside doing whatever they do in there.

[+huskerrich2000]

meat tenderizer also works for insect bites

[+blindleader]

My poking around upset the wasps and in an instant I was covered with them.

At this point, all the advice about moving slowly and not swatting became irrelevant. Been there, done that.

 

Also, my personal experience with the ground nesting yellowjackets here in the Northwest is that, either they're in an aggressive mood or they're not. Nothing you do or not do within reason (other than being there) will make that much difference to whether they attack or not.

[Overland1]

I was stung by a bunch of wasps in my yard a few years ago, and am not allergic to them, but still did 50 mg of Benadryl and a gram of Tylenol immediately afterward..... almost no sign of the stings within a few hours. Check with your physician before taking either of these OTC meds. Very few people are allergic/sensitive to either or both, but be careful anyway.

 

The Tylenol will relive most of the pain, and the Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) will alleviate the itching and redness from the stings.