Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Yellowjackets Are On Notice

While I was mowing the lawn yesterday, I passed by an old stump. I saw something flicker about my legs and then I felt the sting. Ow-ouch! sunuva . . . then it stung me again.

Now here's the thing I hate about yellowjackets: They can sting you as many times as their dark little hearts desire and it doesn't kill them. When a honeybee stings you, at least you have the satisfaction of knowing that in doing so its tiny guts were ripped out of its body. But not the yellowjacket.

I was stung a third time before it was all finished, on my calf, as I ran away screaming like a little girl and flailing my arms wildly. More than 24 hours later, the stings are red and swollen and hot to the touch. And they kinda itch.

3 comments:

Jamie Dawn said...

Oh, man! I'm wincing at the thought.
I haven't been stung in many years.
I remember getting stung in my armpit while we were on vacation on a houseboat when I was about 13 or so.
Gosh that hurt!!
There are big wasps around here, and thankfully none of us has been stung since we've lived here.
My brother got stung by a lot of wasps when he was little. He accidentally disturbed a nest and he paid for it. Poor fella. He is still very afraid of flying insects of any kind. He was traumatized for life.
Too bad there's not a video of you screaming like a little girl and flailing your arms like crazy. It would have been funny, I'm sure.

Montana Sherry C said...

Our local high school has the Fighting Yellowjackets as its mascot, and with good reason.

Anonymous said...

Oh, man, I got stung twice a couple weeks ago mowing, my leg swole up from toe to knee for 5 days, but I got even.
I located the nest and slaughtered 'em with killing dust, which I picked up at the hardware store.
I love the smell of killing dust in the evening; it smells like....Victory.