I’ve noticed a considerable increase in wasps lately in my garden which means, of course, that there is most likely a nest nearby. If you have never been stung by a bee, wasp, hornet or yellow jacket, thank your lucky stars because they can cause extreme pain to not only to the injection site on your body but to your psyche as well. My first sting occurred on the family farm in the fruit orchard when I was quite young and the second at a nearby grocery store in the fruit and vegetable aisle. Both stings left me sore and itchy and hopping mad. These days, I proceed carefully around my yard and am always on the lookout for a possible sting operation!

Wasps play an important role in our ecology because they eat a lot of garden pests such as filth flies, black widow spiders, and cicadas and they even feed their larvae dead insects. Des Kennedy points out in his book, LIVING THINGS WE LOVE TO HATE, “a wasp-free garden is a sick garden” and that wasps should be considered as beneficial insects much in the same manner we regard ladybugs or praying mantises. Most wasps and bees are solitary in nature and go about their business quietly without stinging humans.

However, social wasps are another story. Known as “social terrorists”, these insects will defend their colony by swarming your face and stinging you over and over again. The venom from their stingers produces a burning sensation and causes “swelling and extreme itchiness”. According to Adrian Forsyth, “Biochemists praise these venoms as the most elegant toxic secretions yet evolved”. While most of us are aware of the fact that wasp stings kill people every year, I bet you didn’t know that their venom kills faster (30 minutes or so) than a rattlesnake bite (under six hours, I’ve read) and that they were used by the Vietcong to thwart South Vietnamese troops. Not bad for “winged guerillas”!

I have always found knowledge to be a wise tool in understanding insects and their behavior. Forewarned is forearmed is smart advice and everyone should treat all wasps with respect and a wide berth to ensure personal safety. Paper wasps have a black, brown or yellow body with two large reddish spots on the sides of their abdomens. Usually passive, they create their umbrella-shaped nests from a mixture of weathered wood fibers and saliva to support a colony of 30-50 and are often located under the eaves or window ledges of buildings.

Hornets are scarier because their “inverted tear-drop shaped ball” nests are usually attached to trees or the sides of bushes and often contain thousands of wasps which will swarm if threatened. You can identify them by their black bodies which have white markings on the abdomen and head, not to mention the loud buzzing sounds made as they forage for flies.

Yellow jackets have smooth, yellow and black bodies and they form spherical nests underground, usually in abandoned mouse holes and mole runs or in logs. Occasionally, they will hang them in the open air. The adults have a “sweet tooth” and are attracted to ripe fruit, aphid honeydew and picnic foods, which explains why they make a pesky appearance at the weekend barbecues. Newly introduced to Ontario about thirty years ago, these insects are “suicidal zealots” and will sting repeatedly if you accidentally swat or attempt to remove their nest during the daytime. They can number 2,000-4,000 by the end of summer so be careful when you are picking fruit.

If we are to adopt a “live and let live” philosophy towards wasps, there are some precautions that will help us all to be prepared. While only the female wasps sting, they can sound off the alarm with a chemical pheromone that will call all other wasps in the area to the rescue. Therefore, stay calm if a wasp comes near you and try not to scare it by flailing your arms like a windmill. I have been informed that wasps don’t like bright colors, perfumed toiletries or strong food odors. Clean up after outdoor meals, make sure your garbage is contained and definitely pick up any ripe fruit that falls to the ground before it starts to rot.

Should you receive a sting from an angry wasp, wash the area and apply ice or a witch hazel compress. I have found a fresh onion slice placed on the sting rather cooling and relieving whereas others have mixed baking soda with vinegar into a paste or dabbed on meat tenderizer. If you are out in the wild, chew some plantain leaves in your mouth and apply the macerated mixture to your wound. It will draw out any remaining stinger and ease the pain as well. Those individuals who are allergic to bee or wasp stings may experience nausea, blurred vision or have difficulty breathing and should be treated with an epi-pen and rushed to the hospital for emergency care.