[Nigel Bolton]

Well, after being 'harassed' by the little blighters all day whilst trying to mow the lawn that was very long and wet, one finally got through and stung me on the chest. Fortunately, it is not too painful, and I am sure it will be fine by the morning. This is the 'waspiest' year I can remember since 1995.

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[Nigel Bolton]

Notice from another thread, Chris has been stung, that makes two of us. Fortunately, my sting was very mild, and had gone by the following day. Generally though, they are not too aggresive just yet.

Was problem was quite acute in Poland too, similar type to ours, small and buzzy, but they had an extreme liking to Tatry beer.

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[Chris Alder]

I thought I put that in the thread??? Guess not, its ok this morning but could of done without the unpleasentness at the time!!

[Ed wxman]

Imagine what wasps must think of us? how selfish to think they don't deserve a bite of the cherry like the rest, perhaps annoying at times yes, bit like well you've guessed it...?

[Nigel Bolton]

Man killed the other day by wasps in Yorkshire whilst he was doing some farm work and disturbed a nest.

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[Bazmundo]

That was anaphylactic shock wasn't it? Must have been a heck of a lot of stings to cause a systemic shutdown.

[barkin666]

Amazing amount of wasps here this year, cannot sit outside for more than a few minutes without a wasp appearing, quickly followed by a lot more. Ruining the warm weather. At the local pub most people are sitting inside no matter how warm. Even today 27c and people couldn't sit outside. Far more than recent years!

[Bluebreezer54]

Quote

Bazmundo - 23/8/2009 20:25

That was anaphylactic shock wasn't it? Must have been a heck of a lot of stings to cause a systemic shutdown.

http://farmingforum....ead.php?t=16078

Apparently it was quite a few stings, but a friend of mine has gone into anaphylactic shock in the past, on the strength of just one sting from a wasp. For some people thats all it takes.

Some years ago I thought my time had come after being bitten on the tongue by a wasp. Within minutes my tongue had swollen to the point I could barely breathe and I was rushed to hospital by ambulance. To this day I thank the medics for their quick thinking.

I hate wasps with a vengence, and have developed a fear of the blighters.

[louise79]

we have gone from very few wasps here to lots almost over night, up untill this morning i have only had a few stray wasps venture into the house, and even out side, i have seen very few......untill this morning, i knew it was too good to be true, they have to wage their yearly vendetta on me and have me running and screaming like an even bigger lunatic than i really am, and today it has started!

i have been stung in the past so im not allergic, but that dosnt stop the fear that comes over me, totally irriational and i have no controal over it, and thats the scary part, i now realise why i prefer winter to the summer!

this is the time of year when they are dying off so they are more likely to sting you, and crawl about the carpet or floor, and i sware that they single me out for a suicide mission.

i do have a question though.......all these single wasps that fly into the house, or dive bomb you in the garden, how far away would the nest be, how far would a wasp fly from its nest?

[Thesme]

This year has been a low-wasp year in Dublin, and still is in my area, but seeing as they have ERUPTED over Randalstown, they're probably about to unleash themselves (thanks to orders from their hideous Wasp Overlords) down here. I have apples ripening and I know they're going to munch their nasty way through them before turning on us poor humans. Gits.

[diddy1]

don't worry.
The wasps will be killed off soon enough when the Giant Asian Hornet eventually crosses the channel !

Then you will really have something to worry about.

[Bazmundo]

Haha, was just looking for any information on flight distances and I think I found our opposite number in the wasp world:

http://www.waspwatch.co.uk/

[cyfrin]

My husband has to carry an epi-pen with him at all times due to his severe allergy to wasp stings...but here on the western outskirts of Swansea I have only seen 1, and that was yesterday! But maybe it#s because we are 6-700 asl ??

[Nigel Bolton]

Quote

diddy1 - 25/8/2009 13:51 don't worry. The wasps will be killed off soon enough when the Giant Asian Hornet eventually crosses the channel ! Then you will really have something to worry about.

I think they may have occasionally visited our shores, but in small numbers.

About 13-14 years ago when I was living near Southampton, this 'thing' flew into my house on day in June that year. It was wasp shaped and coloured, but the only difference was that it was about THREE INCHES LONG!!! Being rather scared of wasps, I refused to go any where near it, especially as I could see its sting from the other side of the room. I sprayed some fly spray into the room, then beat a hasty retreat.

Later, when dead, transferred it to a large jam jar, the squat 2 pound variety, and this thing from nose to sting was as long as the jam jar was in diameter.

Earlier this year, a similar monster flew through my garden here in Devon. I heard it before I saw it, but it was obviously on a mission as it flew straight through the garden from north to south with no deviation, then off down the hill until I finally lost sight of it.

By the way, do not squash wasps. They release a pheremone that tells the rest of its mates its being attacked. This causes other members of its colony to fly out and to be aggressive, one reason why if you squash one wasp in the home, you then get lots more in.

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[Nigel Bolton]

Little known fact. Badgers will eat wasp's nests. They love honey, and will dig into a bank or tree stump to retrieve. It has thick skin and fur, impervious to wasps and their stings.

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[Nigel Bolton]

A sudden resurgence in the number of wasps after being relatively quiet this year.

Reports of wasp swarms terrorising dog walkers in a wooded habitat somewhere in Cornwall.

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[DonnyRover]

We had a wasp nest removed from our loft just last week. Tiny hole they got in through, made a lot of a mess, thousands of them in the thing aswell.

[Nigel Bolton]

Quote

Nigel Bolton - 4/8/2011 17:55

A sudden resurgence in the number of wasps after being relatively quiet this year.

Reports of wasp swarms terrorising dog walkers in a wooded habitat somewhere in Cornwall.

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Just found out why.

Just uncovered a huge nest whilst clearing some flowers from a raised bed. Needless to say, I have just broken the land speed record for a bi-ped.

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