Honeybees, Hornets and Wasps, Oh My... God, Someone Help Me, I Am Freaking Out!
Apparently I have a phobia of yellow jackets. I didn't know this until I found a dozen of them flying around my kitchen this weekend and, after several minutes of smushing each and every one, found myself nearly fetal on the floor of the hallway, hyperventilating, with David on the other side of the baby gate asking if I was okay.
"What's wrong mommy? Did those yellow jackets sting you?"
Me sobbing: "No, David. Mommy's is just really, really scared of them. I'm just feeling very sad right now."
David: "It's okay, mommy. It's all right. You're okay, mommy!" He didn't appear to be anxious seeing me like this, but he did begin climbing over the gate.
Me: "What are you doing, honey?"
David, struggling to get over: "Oofff...I'm coming to rescue you!"
Me: "Wait, I'll come over there so you can rescue me..." I step over the gate and he gives me a big hug. He smiles.
David: "All better now?"
Me, weakly: "A little bit."
So we're infested. Right now they're more or less contained, but they're nesting in one (that we know of) wall of our home and they are all over the property as well. I'm not bothered by the honey bees, but there are yellow jackets and hornets making their homes in the hillside and on our lawn and earlier in the week I found myself standing smack in the middle of one and didn't realize until it was way too late. It was out back by the kids' playhouse and I had wandered over to some flowers I saw blooming and felt a whirring, buzzing sensation near my ankle. I looked down to find them swarming all around my legs and then I felt the first sting in my toe, another in my calf and then found one attacking my hand. I started whaling my hand against the ground, and finally got it off. I ran to the door of the playhouse and scooped up Sofia and tried to get David to come out...It was like a scene from a war movie, or something.
"David, we've got to get back to the house, mommy was attacked by hornets (At the time, I thought they were hornets)"
David's not moving.
"We've got to go, man, now! We're under attack!"
David: "Oh! I don't want to get stung!"
me: "Then we've got to move...MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!" I grab his hand and take off, ducking my head like I'm dodging bullets or something. David is saying something like "Aaaahhhh!!!" the whole way back to the house. Sofia just cries.
And so began one of the most unpleasant weekends we've had since we moved here. Ernesto has spent a good chunk of time this weekend using wasp poisons, setting up outdoor traps, plugging holes in the walls and making calls to pest control places that apparently are either too busy or too lazy to get back to us. I have contributed mostly by freaking out and showing how incredibly displeased I am by all this. The kids, for the most part seem unaffected, but curious to watch their mother's rapid descent into madness.
Things are quiet for the moment and today we've seen only a few of the nasty buggers inside. Perhaps they are mostly gone, due to all the spray we used, or maybe...
maybe they're just waiting to come creeping back out after Ernie returns to work on Monday, the kids are napping and I'm all by myself. Someone send me some Valium. Quickly.
"What's wrong mommy? Did those yellow jackets sting you?"
Me sobbing: "No, David. Mommy's is just really, really scared of them. I'm just feeling very sad right now."
David: "It's okay, mommy. It's all right. You're okay, mommy!" He didn't appear to be anxious seeing me like this, but he did begin climbing over the gate.
Me: "What are you doing, honey?"
David, struggling to get over: "Oofff...I'm coming to rescue you!"
Me: "Wait, I'll come over there so you can rescue me..." I step over the gate and he gives me a big hug. He smiles.
David: "All better now?"
Me, weakly: "A little bit."
So we're infested. Right now they're more or less contained, but they're nesting in one (that we know of) wall of our home and they are all over the property as well. I'm not bothered by the honey bees, but there are yellow jackets and hornets making their homes in the hillside and on our lawn and earlier in the week I found myself standing smack in the middle of one and didn't realize until it was way too late. It was out back by the kids' playhouse and I had wandered over to some flowers I saw blooming and felt a whirring, buzzing sensation near my ankle. I looked down to find them swarming all around my legs and then I felt the first sting in my toe, another in my calf and then found one attacking my hand. I started whaling my hand against the ground, and finally got it off. I ran to the door of the playhouse and scooped up Sofia and tried to get David to come out...It was like a scene from a war movie, or something.
"David, we've got to get back to the house, mommy was attacked by hornets (At the time, I thought they were hornets)"
David's not moving.
"We've got to go, man, now! We're under attack!"
David: "Oh! I don't want to get stung!"
me: "Then we've got to move...MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!" I grab his hand and take off, ducking my head like I'm dodging bullets or something. David is saying something like "Aaaahhhh!!!" the whole way back to the house. Sofia just cries.
And so began one of the most unpleasant weekends we've had since we moved here. Ernesto has spent a good chunk of time this weekend using wasp poisons, setting up outdoor traps, plugging holes in the walls and making calls to pest control places that apparently are either too busy or too lazy to get back to us. I have contributed mostly by freaking out and showing how incredibly displeased I am by all this. The kids, for the most part seem unaffected, but curious to watch their mother's rapid descent into madness.
Things are quiet for the moment and today we've seen only a few of the nasty buggers inside. Perhaps they are mostly gone, due to all the spray we used, or maybe...
maybe they're just waiting to come creeping back out after Ernie returns to work on Monday, the kids are napping and I'm all by myself. Someone send me some Valium. Quickly.
posted by Kristen @ 2:33 PM
8 Comments:
At 6:53 PM,
Cat Jordan said…
Oh good grief, Kay, I don't blame you for freaking out! I'm wondering why they keep going for you and not the kids? Do you suppose there is some built in sensor to young innocents? I pray that you flush the enemy out, and soon! I've heard of the wall infestation before and I can't imagine it's pretty. Maybe you should set up a scarecrow in some of your more recent outfits in your kitchen. Make sure it smells good and Kristen-like and perhaps it will be a good decoy! JK, good luck gal!
At 10:05 PM,
Kristen said…
I don't know, but I'm thinking they sense my fear. The kids are fascinated by insects, not intimidated at all...normally neither am I. Just a bad week for me I guess! Luckily we've got someone coming first thing Tuesday morning and he claims that once they're gone, they're gone. He's never had to come back to spray a house a second time, so we'll see...
At 2:38 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hey Kristen, I freaked out about a big fat spider on the lid of the compost bin yesterday. Yucko! I linked to your post.
At 7:29 PM,
Kristen said…
Yes, Peter, I was told just about the same thing. We ended up having someone come out earlier in the week and the stuff he used is supposedly safe, he put it directly into a small hole we drilled into the wall. He also used it on the opening they were getting in through on the outside of the house. It didn't take long for all of them to die off and I'm happy to report there is no more activity. Of course now I'm seeing more black flies in the house, due to there being no yellow jackets left to eat them! Oh well- I'd rather have the flies!
At 4:11 PM,
Idaho Dad said…
When I was a kid I would become paralyzed with fear. Somehow, I don't really know how, I overcame the fear in the past few years. I guess I just wanted to teach my kids not to be so scared like I was. I just keep telling them, "Don't bother bees, and they won't bother you."
We don't have nests in the ground in our yard, though... That's a different story. I am kind of paranoid about the kids going off the path when we hike in the woods (especially this time of year when the yellow jackets are so aggressive).
You gotta love winter, though. A long hard winter to kill of those pests! Then, in the spring, stock up on those yellow jacket traps. Ours worked really well. You have to get them out early to catch the queens.
At 10:35 PM,
Kristen said…
Phil- I was more scared of people than anything else when I was a kid! But my reaction to the yellow jackets was really strange, because I've never been particularly afraid of any kind of insect or creep-crawly things. Heck, if I find a spider in the house I'll pick it up and put it outside (provided it's less than 4 inches in length) so I'm not sure what came over me. I think it was a combination to being stung, then seeing a few in the house, then seeing lots more and thinking it was gonna end up like some horror movie, with them just everywhere. I was also really scared that one of the kids would get stung. For some reason they only go after me. I guess since I'm bigger I get in the way more easily...But they're gone now and man, I am actually looking forward to the winter, and a long Vermont winter is just the cure for too many pests...of course it keeps any friends or relatives from stopping by, too!
At 3:26 PM,
Anonymous said…
I so understand! I grew up with my Dad's honeybee hives and the resulting honey was wonderful. But the trauma of him suiting up and smoking and then robbing the hives sent me diving under the bed and hiding. I was sure the ANGRY bees were coming for me. This has translated over into my adult life and it is not unusual to see a 41 year old woman bobbing and weaving while running at full speed out of the garden.
At 9:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
When will wasps and yellow jackets die? It's October and they are more ornery than ever- it's 87 in Oct in Ohio- what the heck is going on? We have a wasps nest in our eaves and a yellow jacket nest in the bushes- everytime I step outside- a big- huge "Bouncer" wasp comes out to protect it's territory- and the Yk's come along for the ride- I'm scared crapless of these buggers and I can't wait for the first frost- every apt we've lived in has had wasps or bees invade the inside of our home- we have cats- and I'm afraid they will get bit if the bees come inside-
When do these thing die?
It's supposed to be in the high 80's until next wed. (Mid Oct)
Come on snow....... :)
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