What to use for hives? (yellowjackets are aholes)

[zxcvbob]

I was moving a wood pile yesterday and stirred up a yellowjacket nest (I haven't found it yet)  Got stung about 6 or 7 times.    Only 3 of the stings are causing any discomfort today, and 2 of those are almost gone at this point.  But the one on the back of my thigh where the bastard crawled up the leg of my cutoffs and stung me after I'd run away still hurts like a son of a gun; is red and slightly swollen for about a 4 inch diameter circle.  It was a 2" circle w/o hives yesterday.  My jeans are stiff right over that spot from the serum leaking out.

I'm taking Benadryl.  Covered with a loose bandage, or open?  Do I put Calamine lotion or zinc oxide on it?  Or hydrocortisone 1% ointment?  Or do I need to goto a doc and get some Prednisone?  I'm not allergic to them, but I think the venom contains histamine.

Just before dark tonight I'm going to tear the woodpile apart to expose the nest -- using a 16 foot fiberglass pole (maybe longer) with a hook on the end.  Then with a flashlight after it gets dark, throw some Sevin dust on them.

[Ben]

I'm gonna go ahead and assume this wasn't a post about left wing yellow jackets and move it from politics to RT. :)

[AmbulanceDriver]

Benadryl, hydrocortisone would be my approach.   

[zxcvbob]

Did I post it in Politics?    Sorry about that!

[wmenorr67]

Damn, three responses in and no one said det chord or kill them with fire.

People we are slipping.

[TechMan]

Did I post it in Politics?    Sorry about that!

Apparently yellow jacket stings make you disoriented as well.

[KD5NRH]

Damn, three responses in and no one said det chord or kill them with fire.

Thought it was implied.

WalMart carb and intake cleaner has become my go-to; cheaper than starter fluid but still reliably starts the mower and burns the wings off of wasps.

I think I even cleaned a carburetor with it about a year ago.

[brimic]

If its a ground nest, pour Sevin dust down the hole- problem solved.

[zxcvbob]

If its a ground nest, pour Sevin dust down the hole- problem solved.

I've done that many times; usually methoxychlor instead of Sevin, but both work.  Using dust instead of liquid is the key, it doesn't even take very much.  I don't know where the nest is yet.

[KD5NRH]

I've done that many times; usually methoxychlor instead of Sevin, but both work.  Using dust instead of liquid is the key, it doesn't even take very much.  I don't know where the nest is yet.

Wrap some Tannerite up in bags of Sevin, pitch it in the general area, cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.

[zxcvbob]

It's been over 24 hours, and all the stings except one are fine now.  That one continues to get worse.  (I was gonna say it looks like a brown recluse spider bite, but I googled it and the pictures are gross.  It doesn't look anything like *most* of those pics)  If it's still worse tomorrow, I'll need to see a doctor.

[Larry Ashcraft]

If you put an aspirin poultice on any sting, the pain and swelling will immediately go away.  I'm allergic, but since I discovered that, I've been stung numerous times by scorpions, yellow jackets and bees.  No problems from any of the stings.

Oh, and I wouldn't use Sevin.  The 27 foot wasp sprays work much better.  They have something in them (oil, maybe?) that immediately disables the wasps.

[roo_ster]

WD-40 works, too.  Gotta get closer than the wasp sprays, though.

[RoadKingLarry]

I recommend 10 frame deeps.

http://theohiobeeboxcompany.com/


For yellow jackets - napalm.

[zxcvbob]

I found another huge wasp nest (hornets?) under the deck railing just seconds before they found me.  I bumped the railing with a rake handle on the other end of the deck and I saw them boiling-out out of the corner of my eye and ran to safety.  I might have been far enough away already, but I didn't wanna find out.

I went to Walmart and bought a can of hornet spray.  It says it sprays a stream up to 27 feet.  It sprays foam for about 10 feet.  (I have a pump sprayer that does better) I didn't like getting that close to a nest that big (about the size of a football), but I sprayed them pretty good a few minutes ago.  I will spray again tomorrow just after twilight; hopefully I killed most of 'em tonight.

And I think there's another nest inside a gas grill I haven't used in years.  Every once in a while I see one crawl in or out of a little hole on the side.  Obvious thing to do there is to light the grill, but it doesn't have a propane tank hooked up.  That one might be a candidate for detcord...

[lupinus]

Sounds like a good excuse to justify to the wifey why you need a flamethrower.


Sent from my iPhone. Freaking autocorrect.

[zxcvbob]

[Scout26]

Re: pain in the leg. from the sting.  Most important thing is to get the stinger out as quickly as possible.  Even after the yellowjacket has left, it will continue to pump venom into you and increase the pain, redness, swelling, etc.   Several good poultices available at most drug stores.  The Aspirin poultice also works good to reduce pain.

If you have a local surplus store, I would recommend buying a MOPP suit as it too thick for yellowjackets to sting through the suit.  (Work gloves and a good head gear are important also, to prevent stings.)   It will be hotter to wear, but well worth it.  Ask me how I know.

Good luck finding the nest(s).  Fire is your friend, especially after dark....

[RoadKingLarry]

Unlike bees Yellow Jackets and other wasps do not leave their stingers behind. They can sting multiple times. They do however release an alarm pheromone when they sting which signals their friends to join the attack.

[zxcvbob]

Re: pain in the leg. from the sting.  Most important thing is to get the stinger out as quickly as possible.  Even after the yellowjacket has left, it will continue to pump venom into you and increase the pain, redness, swelling, etc.   Several good poultices available at most drug stores.  The Aspirin poultice also works good to reduce pain.

If you have a local surplus store, I would recommend buying a MOPP suit as it too thick for yellowjackets to sting through the suit.  (Work gloves and a good head gear are important also, to prevent stings.)   It will be hotter to wear, but well worth it.  Ask me how I know.

Good luck finding the nest(s).  Fire is your friend, especially after dark....

No stinger to remove; that's a bee thing, yellowjackets and hornets don't leave a stinger.  OTOH they can sting multiple times where a bee just has one shot.  

My leg got bad enough that I went to the doc.  He said it was cellulitis (it's not cellulitis) and gave me antibiotics.  I asked if I could get an oral steroid (Prednidone) too for the itching and inflammation.  He said the prednisone will make it heal slower, and I told him I didn't care if it took an extra couple of days if the itching and swelling and drainage goes away.  He gave me the prednisone.  I'm taking both to cover all the bases.  It looks a lot better (2 inch lesion with well defined edges, it was 4 to 5 inches, weeping, and poorly defined) and doesn't hurt or itch anymore.

I wussed-out and hired an exterminator.  I've got at least 3 nests; two of them are huge and I don't know about the 3rd.  And there may be a 4th in an old abandoned doghouse, I can't get close enough to check.  I try to deal with one and it stirs up the others.  I'm getting $6500 from the insurance company to replace the roof, and I didn't think they would cover it.  $150 for the exterminator will come out of that; it's cheaper than another trip to the clinic.

MOPP suit?  Is that like Tyvek coveralls and a bee hat?  (be sure and put boot bands around the cuffs to keep the bastards out)  No, 4-letter acronym instead of 3 means it's military. :)

[lupinus]

Hire the cheapest goofiest exterminator you can find, keep your distance, and get his efforts on video.


Sent from my iPhone. Freaking autocorrect.