How does your body react to yellow jacket stings?

[Car Doc]

Yea, it is a female type of wasp, I think...

legend has it they can kill cows...not sure if that is true, though. It's what I've always called them growing up.

Mutillidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I tried stepping on one several times, even twisting my foot, and it wouldn't die (on dirt, not concrete)...I let it go after that.

Well now at least I know what they are now we have a bunch of them big fuzzy red ants running around here this year! yikes

I sure wasn't going to tempt fate and see if it would bite I figured they will as big as they are but I have kept my feet away from them so I dont get one on me and find out the hard way. :thumbsup:

As far as yellow jacket stings they are about like a cigarette burn to me they feel just like one and leave a burn like area for a couple days very annoying and they smart pretty good at first the tobacco is just what my grandma used to do too it does work!

 

[retiredmgn]

Wait until you get some in an area I don't feel comfortable talking about on this site...

You mean like in the back yard?

 

[xtn]

You mean like in the back yard?

Think he's talking about the romantic little privacy area where the lanterns hang.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

On chiggers mom used to put salty bacon grease on them. I guess they have to breathe so it likely just clogged up the area. I put it on my kids too. Old ways!

I haven't had chiggers in forever.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

On chiggers mom used to put salty bacon grease on them. I guess they have to breathe so it likely just clogged up the area. I put it on my kids too. Old ways!

I haven't had chiggers in forever.

But then she also put a piece of bacon on a splinter and next day you could pull it out. I still do that too if I can't get a wooden one out, it likely swells from the moisture. I wrap the place good and tape it, and just use a small as possible piece of bacon.

 

[retiredmgn]

clarification so we're all talking the same little bistids
First - Hornet, specifically white faced hornet. The biggest, meanest of em all. Nests are paper, usually rotund, enclosed with an entrance hole at the bottom. Found in trees or eves. These are the ones we threw rocks at as kids because it was such a tempting target. Would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck when they would swarm out trying to find you.
Second - Wasp. In Maine these guys are mostly brown. Nests are paper, often under eves consisting of individual pods containing larvae. Aerosol in any form - hornet/wasp spray, WD40, spray paint - is better than poking with a stick no matter how tempting.
Third - Yellow jacket. Nests are paper in tree holes, buildings or underground. I think these are what is referred to sometimes as ground bees. Ground bees are straight from He!! and need to be treated as such. Burn em all.

 

[deepNdirt]

been stung many times in my life by that littler critter in the 3rd picture,
definitely a yow!llow jacket, the symptoms I have fallowing a sting or stings is usually fatigue, swelling of the area's, joints start stiffening up, I have early stage of arthritis and some times stings help to relief the joint pain, I never have became sick or nauseated from a sting, or has it ever caused my heart to speed, if anything it slows down my heart rate because I become tired and sleepy after a few hours from the stings, But not everyone is effected in the same way or has a tolerance of the bee venom like I do,
if a sting causes you to feel sick or dizzy headed, you should seek treatment immediately.

I heard about something a couple weeks ago when I got all them stings, I was talking to a person, actually telling her about the many stings I got at one time, and how I'm always getting stung, she told me the next time I get a sting to take a penny and hold it to the sting for a little while, soon you will not feel the sting and it will not swell up, has anyone else heard of this before?, I personally haven't tried it but my wife got a sting the other day and I had her try it, she said it works.... must have something to do with the copper,

 

[9973720wb19]

for me:
wasp - hurts quickly goes away no swelling or redness -this is the least one that bothers me.

Bumble bee: does not hurt too bad and pretty good swelling itching redness and heat

yellow jacket - hurts like ****...the worst...just leaves a small red mark but the pain goes on for some time

 

[groundcover]

I had a couple of bad reactions as a kid but seemed to grow out of it, they still hurt plenty though. Another good reason for a cab tractor :thumbsup:

I did save a guy with an epi-pen, he was up a ladder painting and got into a nest, by the time I got there he was circling the drain. That was the worst reaction that I have seen. My Aunt told my about getting stung while playing golf, good place I guess as a Dr. was there and gave her a shot right in the rump:laughing:

 

[General Lee]

To the OP, you need the epi pen. Your reaction is already an allergic one and the risk is this.... you're brushmowing and all the sudden you get stung 5 times in the neck. That cute little 4x6 inch square of swelling from one little bee is not just the surface it acts deep. Those 5 stings will swell your throat shut and you can die. The epi pen won't stop it but it will buy you time to get to get help where they can administer more drugs and insert the tube so that you can breathe.

Allergic reactions get worse with each exposure. So the first sting is no big deal, the next (a month later maybe) you swell more, and so on until you get the whole body reaction. Now some sting locations cause worse reactions since your blood can really scoot the venom around the body before the histamines can start killing it. Your face is a great example of this. Stung on the arm = no big deal, stung on the head and right away your feet and beltline start itching.

I keep the epipens in the truck.

The things you mention is on the same page with what I am thinking. I'm a little nervous thinking what kind of reaction I would have if I was stung multiple times. Like I mentioned before, one sting was no big deal pain wise and swelling really didn't show until the next day. Seems like a bit much for one sting.