# Yellow Jacket Stings



## loafer89 (Aug 2, 2005)

I was working on the landscaping by my fish pond on sunday, when I accidentally disturbed an unknown Yellow Jacket nest.

The net result was being stung on my left elbow joint area many times and I have alot of swelling, irritation and pain in that area.

Killing those bastards with spray was fun and offered only temporary relief.

Anyone have advice for easing the pain?


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## thetrailboss (Aug 2, 2005)

Go see your physician...especially since the swelling has not gone down.


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## skijay (Aug 2, 2005)

Are you having a mild allergic reaction to the stings?  My uncle who became allergic to stings started getting worse symptoms after being stung each time.  He had to carry an epi-pen (I think that it is what it is called).  

Last summer I had to rush him to the emergency room where he was in the hospital for a week.  It also does not help when you have a lung disease and the steroids they normally give you are not mixable with the steroids you are on for your lungs.

Not to trying to scare you, but just be careful.  If you having breathing problems go the ER room. 

As for relief (pleasureable)  I like to take the garden hose and wet the nest and shoot them down with the sprayer. I have more fun doing this with the power washer and some soap in the resivoir.  8)   

As for the pain, I take tylenol or advil to reduce the swelling.  I get stung at least twice in the early summer "discovering" nests around my property.


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## loafer89 (Aug 2, 2005)

Thanks for the advice. I am not having any breathing problems or a fever. The swelling is quite large and will not go away. I am thinking about seeing my doctor in the evening for a checkup.

I have been stung before, but this time I think it was multiple times in the same spot.


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## loafer89 (Aug 2, 2005)

I just read about the stings from these lovely little pests online. Appparently I am having a large local reaction to the venom that peaks in pain about 48 hours after the bite (last night) and takes about 7 days to go away (lucky me) :roll: 

Nothing anyone can do for it except to apply ice and analgesics and suffer through it.


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## thetrailboss (Aug 2, 2005)

Well, at least you got rid of them.


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## ctenidae (Aug 2, 2005)

Take some benadryl- it'll help reduce the reaction and drop the swelling. You can also put a paste of water, baking soda, and a couple of crushed up aspirin on it to reduce local pain. This treatment's good for fire ants, yellow jackets, bees, hornets, chiggers (though not so much), caterpillars (yes Virginia, some sting), and horseflies. Growing up in the South comes with its fair share of bug bites.


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## loafer89 (Aug 2, 2005)

thetrailboss said:
			
		

> Well, at least you got rid of them.



Oh, I got them alright, they tried to get me as I sprayed the nest area and the airesol killed thim in mid-flight     Wasted a whole can of spray on them I did.

I just came back from the pharmacy and the pharmacist told me I will live, and to take Motrin and appply Hydrocortisone cream to the inflamation.


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## smitty77 (Aug 2, 2005)

I feel your pain.  I did that once bushwacking on Monadnock with Max.  We stepped on a decent sized nest and were both stung 15 or 20 times.  Max asks if I'm alergic.  I tell him "I don't know, never been stung before."  He says he'll keep an eye on me. 

Thankfully, no adverse reaction except for some pain and a litle burning sensation.  I remember a dip in the pool afterward helped some (though may only be psychological).

Smitty


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## bigbog (Aug 2, 2005)

*...*

Hate those things, particularly have to watch em' in humid weather, the humidity for some reason makes all bees/wasps..(Y-jackets) more aggressive than normal.
..loafer89, you have a trout? pond..., extremely envious if you have some browns _around the backyard_...


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## loafer89 (Aug 2, 2005)

No trout pond, but I own 8 Japanese Koi. The pond faces south in our backyard to reduce the ice depth in the winter.

Right now the water in the pond is about 85F, I think that trout would do a back flip onto our barbeque grill with that water temperaure.  

I saw plenty of trout on the Farmington River, of course I only saw then where there were no fisherman around   :wink: 

How is the weather in Maine, did the thunderstorms get you? They must have been wild to cause the Air France jet to crash in Toronto.


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## ALLSKIING (Aug 3, 2005)

I just saw a show on killer bees  Now that could be a problem when the whole hive comes at you at once. :blink: Glad your ok.


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## bigbog (Aug 3, 2005)

*.....*

_loafer89_...
Yes, we had a lot of T-boomers all around central to northern Maine.  Some good flying...by that Air France crew.


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## Tyrolean_skier (Aug 5, 2005)

loafer89 said:
			
		

> I just read about the stings from these lovely little pests online. Appparently I am having a large local reaction to the venom that peaks in pain about 48 hours after the bite (last night) and takes about 7 days to go away (lucky me) :roll:
> 
> Nothing anyone can do for it except to apply ice and analgesics and suffer through it.



I got stung too recently and I am surprised by how long it is taking for the itchiness to go away.  I did not apply anything to it - just suffered through it.  I also got stung in two places when I was cutting down some overgrown weeds.  Apparently there must have been a nest someplace because it was when I pulled down some cut branches that I got attacked.  I know what you are going through.


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## loafer89 (Aug 5, 2005)

Well I am nearly 100% healed except for some itchiness. I discovered that I did not get kill of of my little freinds, so I went to Home Depot and bought 6 cans of spray   . The look from the lady :blink:  :blink: at checkout was priceless.

I have destroyed one nest by my firewood rack, and killed about a dozen of them.

I have alot of fat honey bees by the pond with all of the Black Eyed Suzy, Hysopp and Catmint I have planted. I am expecting a free jar of honey from those guys any day now


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## noreaster (Aug 5, 2005)

If you are talking about the yellow jackets that live in the ground, then I would recommend soaking the ground with about a pint of gasoline.  Don't burn the gasoline, just pour it on the ground in their hole.  No need to toast the little guys, the fumes will kill them.  

Another tip for a different kind of bee.  Those big black hornets with the white a$$ build some very large nests in trees.  They say you don't know what its like to get stung until you have been stung by one of these guys.  I have read and seen these guys killing one of their favorite foods which is bumble bees.  That's right these hornets kill bumble bees for food.  When I had a huge nest of these hornets I found a bumble bee nest in the ground not far from the hornet nest.  I  killed the bumble bees with gasoline.  No more bumble bees and the hornets left town.   

BTW I got stung twice this year by yellow jackets, which is two times more than most years


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## JimG. (Aug 7, 2005)

noreaster said:
			
		

> If you are talking about the yellow jackets that live in the ground, then I would recommend soaking the ground with about a pint of gasoline.  Don't burn the gasoline, just pour it on the ground in their hole.  No need to toast the little guys, the fumes will kill them.



Bleach works great too, as does liquid butane. It's important to do your exterminating after sunset when the bees are in their hive and inactive. Personally, I find it hard to resist setting the night sky aflame!


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## Stephen (Aug 7, 2005)

JimG. said:
			
		

> noreaster said:
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Just be sure to not mix up the anitidotes with the removal methods in this thread! :lol:

-Stephen


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## ctenidae (Aug 8, 2005)

We used to use the gasoline trick for fire ants- we'd turn the whole mound over, dump on some gasoline and get the ants good and riled up, then toss in a match. Sounded like rice krispies. Very satisfying. Just don't use the gasoline if it's in the middle of your yard. Grass will never, ever grow there again.


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## ctenidae (Aug 8, 2005)

Screen in teh elevator here said to moisten an AlkaSeltzer and rub it on the sting.

Interesting.


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## loafer89 (Aug 8, 2005)

I got stung by Jellow Jackets that had made an underground nest in my parents lawn many years back. I poured Bacardi 151 down the hole and set it on fire.

It's was amuzing and satisfying to watch them try to fly out of the hole with there wings on fire 8) + I had no problem getting the grass back in shape as it burned really quickly.


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## skibum1321 (Aug 9, 2005)

Bees are miserable creatures. I got stung for the second time this year while biking the other day. The first time was right above the eye and yesterday was in my ankle. I had a pretty bad allergic reaction and was in the hospital for 3 hrs. Now I have to carry an epi-pen around with me -- sweeet.


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## Stephen (Aug 9, 2005)

loafer89 said:
			
		

> I poured Bacardi 151 down the hole and set it on fire.



I've heard of that one before... The Flaming Honeycomb  :beer: 

-Stephen


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## Paul (Aug 9, 2005)

Stephen said:
			
		

> loafer89 said:
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Me too...although I usually refer to it as "Alcohol Abuse"  :flame:


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## ctenidae (Aug 9, 2005)

We are one sadistic bunch. Good things there aren't any bugs out in the winter...


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