Bee Sting!

Stinging Pests: Facts, Identification & Control

The best way to prevent unpleasant encounters with social wasps is to avoid them. If you know where they are, try not to go near their nesting places.

Wasps can become very defensive when their nest is disturbed. Do not try to remove the nest of a wasp or remove honey bee hive yourself. Even if you do your own pest control, avoid this temptation.

If you cannot avoid them, call the pest expert to help you, simply pick up the phone and say “remove beehive from my home” at 1800 200 7378.

For understanding and controlling and to make sure your home is BEE free, contact Pest Act Pest Control they can do an accurate identification of the problem you are experiencing and suggest the best suited method to control these.

Mostly in North Indian plains, we encounter honey bees and wasps, their main difference it that one is friendly (Bee) and other is very furious (Wasp) and bite unnecessary to create havoc.

Wasp Sting

The stings from wasps, bees, hornets, or yellow jackets really hurt, its burning feeling, very painful, especially in kids it creates a terror, if bitten the kids are difficult to control. The stings not only hurt and give instant, sharp pain, they can also cause more serious health issues like painful swelling, infections, nausea, and in rare cases even death.

“About 10% of people have adverse reactions to wasp stings and insect bites, Pain, redness, minor swelling, and itching are common symptoms of a wasp sting. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction include swelling, dizziness, and difficulty breathing. A person experiencing these symptoms should be taken to the emergency room.”

Anaphylaxis following a wasp sting

The most severe allergic reactions to wasp stings are referred to as anaphylaxis.

For some people with severe allergies, exposure to their allergen can result in a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction to venom, food, or medication. Most cases are caused by a bee sting or eating foods that are known to cause allergies, such as peanuts or tree nuts.

Anaphylaxis causes a series of symptoms, including a rash, low pulse, and shock, which is known as anaphylactic shock. This can be fatal if it isn’t treated immediately.

Anaphylaxis occurs when your body goes into shock in response to the wasp venom. Most people who go into shock after a wasp sting do so very quickly. It’s important to seek immediate emergency care to treat anaphylaxis.

Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction to wasp stings include:

• severe swelling of the face, lips, or throat
• hives or itching in areas of the body not affected by the sting
• breathing difficulties, such as wheezing or gasping
• dizziness
• sudden drop in blood pressure
• lightheadedness
• loss of consciousness
• nausea or vomiting
• diarrhea
• stomach cramps
• weak or racing pulse

You may not experience all of these symptoms after a wasp sting, but you’re likely to experience at least some of them after a subsequent sting. According to the Pest Act Pest Control’s expert, people who have gone into anaphylactic shock after one sting are 30 to 60 percent more likely to show the same reaction in the future.

Epinephrine relaxes your muscles and blood vessels, helping your heart and respiration rates return to normal, in case you suffered anaphylactic shock, you must keep Epinephrine with you, Always!.

If you’re stung

If stung, the wound should be washed with water which helps remove some of the venom, and treated with an anti-sting product or antihistamine cream which can reduce the pain and spread of the venom.

Generally if a wasp sting remains hot and inflamed after 8–12 hours with no sign of improvement, it’s best to seek medical advice about getting antibiotic treatment.

If a sting does become infected then it’s best to stop the topical steroid and take oral antihistamines. Unfortunately, the sedating antihistamines are the ones that work best so driving might then become a problem. The other problem with wasp stings is that in many cases they are heavily infested with bacteria picked up by the wasp from faecal matter during hunting. Because the bacteria come from faeces they can cause quite nasty infections and early treatment is recommended with antibiotics to prevent sepsis.

Use of topical antihistamines (as opposed to oral antihistamines) may occasionally lead to skin sensitisation (a form of allergy). It is safer to use topical steroids instead which are just as effective at combating the stinging sensation and itch felt with wasp stings. Additionally though, steroid creams also help fight inflammation and the “tight” feeling from stings.

Allergies to wasps stings are obviously more of a problem. They can occur even if you have never reacted to previous stings. Importantly, adrenaline is required to reverse the potentially life threatening effects of swelling of the throat and constriction of the airways.

If you do not have adrenlaine with you then its best to create your own through physical exertion. Do not lie down and rest because this may result in permanent rest!

If the sting is in the throat or mouth, or if an allergic reaction occurs, seek medical attention immediately. Symptoms of allergic reaction may include difficulty in breathing, dizziness and nausea. One symptom which should alert people that they may be having a reaction is feeling very tired. If you are stung and you want to go to sleep — get help! If you or someone in your family have a history of hypersensitive reactions, you MUST have a sting emergency kit available with you. High-risk persons should wear a medical alert bracelet or other alert item while camping in wild or living near bees.

A site visitor from Vidisha, offers this suggestion for sting treatment:
“Soak a cotton or cloth with vinegar, and apply to site of bite. This will relieve the stinging in a few seconds.”

A site visitor from Ludhiana offers this suggestion: “If you are stung by the bee, put a teaspoonful of instant coffee under your tongue, this will work effectively as a temporary antihistamine, and allow you more time to get medical help.”
A visitor from Etawah suggests:
“A bunch of wild plantain to be chewed and press it onto sting you can also — add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 tablespoon of vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to chewed plantain in mortar — mix well and apply.”

Badri from Rajkot suggests this simple, natural remedy:
“Mix water and baking soda on a soft cloth to form a paste, apply this paste sting for 30 minutes to an hour. This works for wasp, yellowjacket and non-poisonous scorpion stings.”

Salma from Jharkhand has this simple remedy:
A wasp sting is also relieved by cutting an onion in half and continuously rubbing the cut part on the sting site.

Somdutt from Almoda has this suggestion for deterring wasps from building nests in your property:
Up there in Himalayas, If we paint our house overhang with sky blue color paint. The paper wasps and the mud daubers will not build a nest on the blue paint. So Blue colour is helping them.

Prevention is better than cure!

Seal entry points. Do not let them in!

Solitary wasps in the home can be a nuisance; daily sightings of wasps in the home may indicate inside nest building, and more attention to the problem is required. Searching for and sealing off their point of entry is the best line of defence. Check your house for unsealed vents, torn screens, cracks around windows and door frames and open dampers. Observe the flight path of a wasp, especially in the morning, which may reveal the entry/exit point.

Remove food sources. No Smell of lying food!

In spring and early summer, wasps are attracted to protein foods. Any food left outdoors, such as pet food, picnic scraps, open garbage containers or uncovered compost piles should be removed or covered. Wasps imprint food sources, and will continue to search an area for some time after the food has been removed.

In late summer and early fall, the wasp food preference turns to the sweet. Their behavior is also more aggressive. Open cans of pop, fruit juice, fallen apples beneath fruit trees and other sweet food sources will attract wasps. Be sure to cover drinks and open food containers, keep a lid on the compost and avoid walking barefoot near fruit trees. Remove any fallen fruit rotting on the ground.

Avoid swatting. Amazing, Is’nt it?

Swatting and squashing wasps is counterproductive. When a wasp is squashed, a chemical (pheromone) is released which attracts and incites other nearby wasps. It’s best to walk away from a hovering wasp.

Avoid wearing bright colours or floral patterns. If you look like a big flower, you may be attracting the curious wasp looking for nectar. This one really tickles.

Minimize use of perfumes and other strong scents. In the later part of the summer, wasps are attracted to sweet smells. Again more tickling.

Wasps building nests in your bird house or Dog house? This common problem can be minimized by lining the under-roof area with aluminium foil. Use a staple gun to attach.

Another option is to rub the under-roof area liberally with bar soap — ordinary soap like Ivory soap will do. One application can last through an annual wasp season.

Traps

There are varying opinions on the effectiveness of using traps to reduce the wasp population in specific areas. This is partly due to the distance wasps will travel when foraging. Wasps have been known to fly from 300 to 1000 yards (meters) from their nest in search of food. Traps are more likely to be useful in small areas.

Setting out traps in the early spring, when only a few wasps may be evident, can be most effective. This is because these early season wasps are usually queens, and it’s estimated that each trapped queen represents several thousand worker wasps in the late summer. You can buy wasp traps or make your own.

Please get in touch with a professional Pest Control Company for expert Bees and Wasp control programs!

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