Plaster of Baking Soda

[gerisullivan]

I'm okay. The plaster of baking soda helps, but interferes with typing.

Cleaning the garage was a natural follow-up to mowing the lawn this afternoon, especially since it included useful tasks like installing the downspout extenders I bought back in June. That was the most obvious "away" place to put them, right? Right. I moved kindling and firewood into a couple of bins, then swept the floor where it had been piled. Then I swept the thistle seed just outside the garage door, where it had piled up. I've done that every couple of months since moving in, always without difficulty. Oops. Not today.

The broom bristles disturbed an unseen nest lurking under the bottom edge of the siding. I took about a half-dozen stings before getting far enough away. It's the first time in my life I've had such a problem, but a childhood complete with 3-4 hives for the honey honed my instincts, and they served me well today. They weren't yellow-jackets; I think they were hornets. Whatever their species, what they were most off was pissed. They were also between me and both unlocked doors. I didn't want them following me into the house anyway. I ran toward the pond, grabbing my cell phone out of my pocket in case I ended up jumping in the water to escape...and also so I could call for help if I started reacting to the stings. I've only been stung one other time in my adult life. That was just a couple of years ago, and my reaction then wasn't dangerous. So I thought I'd be okay, especially after I could get inside and take some Benadryl. There weren't that many stings. Still, I was grateful for my practice of carrying my cell phone in my pocket when I'm outdoors here. I could reach help if I needed it.

Still in the grasp of the adrenaline rush, I called Ben and confirmed that Benadryl was the right response. Yesterday and today, I acted on something I "knew" was true rather than confirming it first. kipw is bailing me out on the schedule conflict I created with that mistake. Thanks, Kip! I tried approaching the house a couple of times. Angry hornets were still buzzing 12 feet away. I waited a bit longer, then carefully circled around to the mudroom door from the front lawn. Inside! Bee-free! Success!

I went for the Benadryl first, then took stock. I already knew from the pain that one of those stings was in a very delicate spot. Not my kink. OUCH! OwOwOwOwOw. I started with the cool washcloth, and called debgeisler to share the painful details. She winced at the specific. Ow! And she reminded be about the usefulness of baking soda. Yes, I knew about it. The stings were still hurting enough that when we finished our conversation, I came back downstairs and made a custard dish of plaster of baking soda (aka, a paste of baking soda and water). It's working. And as soon as I post this (and get up the nerve to go back outdoors) I'm going to conduct chemical warfare. Fortunately, I had this can of Ortho "guaranteed kill" hornet and wasp killer under the kitchen sink. While my general approach to my woodland life is "I get to live indoors; other creatures get to live outdoors", I do need to be able to sweep up the fallen seed, and people need to be able to walk in reasonable safety to and from my door. These guys, whatever they are, get to go.

It looks like it's safe to venture back outdoors, and the plaster of baking soda is flaking off the sore spots, which are now less sore. Onward.

Comments

Wasps!

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

Bad, bad, bad.

Re: Wasps!

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

"If you have multiple stings (more than at least 10-20 stings) but no evidence of an allergic type reaction, you sometimes may require prolonged observation in the emergency department or admission into the hospital. Multiple blood tests may be indicated." -- not a doctor, but it sounds like you may be safely under the ER trigger as long as you do not react.

Re: Wasps!

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That didn't turn up on my searches. Of course, I was trying to identify the insects and only checked a couple of pages to confirm that I knew how to treat the stings.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

Ice will also help, and an ice pack (20 minutes on, 20 minutes off) won't flake. Benadryl--or any antihistamine--is a good first thought; you'll probably want to repeat it at bedtime. Make sure the stingers are out. Soaking in cold water also works. Long term, hydrocortisone cream may take down the swelling, if they're not infected.

If you're going to attack nests in the future, bees & wasps and less active at night, or in cold weather.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Bedtime is coming later than usual tonight, but I'm still going to follow your advice about a second dose of the antihistimine given the multiple stings.

[jbru.livejournal.com]

If their nest is in the siding, you'll most definitely want them out. We had yellow jackets that nested in our stucco just outside our back door; the one we and everyone else use all the time. After ridding ourselves of those buggers, we also filled in the holes so they wouldn't find their way back. You might want to have a look around for similar ways to prevent future infestations.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I'm going to watch the area for quite some time to confirm nothing is flying in and out before I get close enough to it to fill whatever gap is at the bottom of the siding there. Quite some long time. I did give the area a thorough soaking with the wasp and hornet spray well after dark tonight. From about 6 feet away. Nothing moved. That was good.

And I finished the work in the garage; it's looking much better now!

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

ow! *gentle hugs*

[pameladean]

Owie. Hope the swellings go right down.

P.

[elaine-brennan.livejournal.com]

owie. owie. owie.