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Am I overreacting to a yellow jacket sting?

fiercecupcake — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:41:13 -0800

Is this yellow jacket sting normal? I have a doctor's appointment for later today. I'm not sure if I'm overreacting. I know my histamine response is! Pics and I had never been stung by anything before. I got stung on the back of the calf on Sunday, mid-morning. That makes today Day 3 (Day 2, Day 1), and the itching is unbearable and there is still a lot of swelling and inflammation. My dad got stung 5 times and his itch, but are getting better. My wife got stung 4 times and hers are almost gone (even one on her thumb). Mine just seems to get worse and worse.

I read this bee sting thread, but I know yellow jackets are supposed to be worse. The swelling extends about 1 inch from the sting site on all sides, and then the inflammation spreads about 6 inches down my leg. What's the worst that can happen? What will the doctor do? Am I better off just taking a bunch of Benadryl and toughing it out, or is my leg gonna fall off?

(Possibly useful information: I'm the girl who gets eaten alive by all bugs, no matter how much DEET I have on, and swell up around the bites and itch for days. I've spent at least half of every recent vacation in a Benadryl haze. Chiggers, mosquitoes, no-see-ums -- they ALL love me!)

I've pissed off the local yellowjacket population.

Salmonberry — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:32:55 -0800

Exposed a Yellowjacket nest in the backyard. How do I get rid of many pissed off wasps? I was moving a tarp that had been sitting in a corner of the yard. When I flipped it over wasps came flying out. The nest is small, not much bigger than an orange. I'd say about 100 wasps all told. I was able to get inside the house without getting stung.

The nest is now exposed to the elements, which I suppose might help, but what to do now? Most extermination guides say to use dust, but now that the nest is face up, dust will just blow off of it. My main concern is that they'll just try to settle in another part of the tarp.

Obviously I'm not going anywhere near it until the sun goes down, and even then I'm not a fan of wasp stings.

Will the fact that the nest is exposed mean that the colony will leave on it's own, or should I plan more aggressive measures? I can't leave it be, it's now right next to where we sit out on the patio. It's an us or them situation.

Yellow Jacket in the House

javelina — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 21:59:51 -0800

We have a wasp/hornet/yellow jacket in our house. How do we get rid of it? We have a wasp/hornet/yellow jacket in our house. We need to know how to get rid of it. My wife is allergic to bee stings. We live in a two story town house, and it was last seen in the one of the windows over the stairs, too far to reach with a fly swatter or even a broom. What should we do?