Bee Stings

Question

I just found in ground yellow jacket nest with lawn mower and 3 bees found me. 2 on wrist and one on ear. 
I am on peg and riba. Just finished Incivek 2 days ago.  i treated stings with a  cortisone  liquid dabber.  
Do I need to bee careful with any sides on sting relative to tx? I do not have any reactions normally to stings except tourettes.  Did I do the right thing or should I watch for something to develop.  It has been half hour and I am going to war in few minutes with sevin dust.

flcyclist · Accepted Answer

If you don't have an immediate reaction, besides a few swear words, then just keep a close watch to make sure these areas don't get a secondary infection.  If you do have some swelling, some benadryl should help - maybe put you to sleep, too ;)   And yes, "bee" careful.  :-)

uncledudeness · Answer

oh boy, i could see it now; can i get HCV from a bee sting....

i got stung 6 times last week by wasps, not much fun. i just had to poke the hive with my pool cleaning pole....not too smart....if i was in treatment i would be concerned....good luck and stay away from the little buggers..buzzz off.

Advocate1955 · Answer

Let's hope that the nasty little insects got a good dose of Interferon, Ribavirin, and Incivek, enough to make them stay away in the future.
Advocate1955

BoceprevirGal · Answer

Not sure about bee stings, but I should think that perhaps the Inf shot + Riba pills, will have an antihistimine type affect, perhaps?
   I just happened to notice that my poison oak
cleared up WAY aster this summer, than last summer, and attributed my miraculous recovery, to the Interferon.

orphanedhawk · Answer

Yellow jackets are wasps. I believe only wasps and hornets live in the ground.
Nasty things those yellow jackets.

rog1958 · Answer

Thanks Ceanothus, I will note that. Flcyc, yes pm me please. I went and played 9 holes at local course up street and got some exercise. Came back and starting to dusk up and inspected kill area. No bees/wasps, these have to bee wasps because they did not leave stinger. I leave honey bees alone but these are meat eaters. I am actually trying to burn out some stumps and there was nest close to burn area. I started fire and peed in wasp hole. I can bee such a kid sometime. I will post my man boob for all you pervs in the name of science. :) Cean, I want to dig up hive for viewing purposes but based on what you say, I will wait till next weekend and just monitor and dust and pee.

flcyclist · Answer

Rog, as far as suggestions for eliminating the yellow jackets, I'd be happy to give you some suggestions, but perfer to do it as a pm.  Since this is on the medical side, I don't want to go too far off topic and bore others with things unrelated to HCV.  Yes, an extensive insect collection was a requirement for my degree.  

As far a fire ants, I agree with using Amdro, but sprinkle just a bit around the mound.  Otherwise you'll be just chasing them to your neighbors yard, then they chase them back to yours.  I hate getting stung by those buggers.  Some people are very allergic to their venom.   If anyone has any buggy questions, I'd be happy to assist via pm.

1fish2fish · Answer

Ain't that the worse, they come from nowhere. I've had that happen to many times. This past week I got stung on the back of my calf. The only change that I notice was it hurt like hell for about six hours. To me this was not normal to have that much sting for so long. Still no big deal, but I did wonder if tx had something to do with it ?

frijole · Answer

Fastinating thread.  Rog, I am glad you aren't allergic but the manboob does sound interesting.  As my husband ages his reaction to stings gets worse. An allergist told him this is common.  Once you have a bad reaction you will continue to get worse reactions.  The last time he was stung by a wasp, we should have taken him to the hospital but were too stupid.  He carries an EpiPen now.

I don't think the medicines you took or the sting poison will impact your treatment. Even if you have to take a steroid, assuming the stings do not go down, it is a matter of necessity and that trumps the treatment.  Normally steroids should not be used while treating.

Idyllic - what part of texas are you in?  Our fire ants have not been too bad the last two years because of our drought.  I use boiling soapy water in the mound or, my last chance method is Amdro.  However that just moves them next door for awhile.

Idyllic · Answer

Hey Rog sorry about the bee stings. I guess there is not truth to the old adage, "They are more afraid of you than you are of them, so let them bee"

I hate to hijack this thread but with two entomologists on board ... I live in Southwest Texas and I can't resist saying how incredibly overwhelming the fire ants have been this year. 

I cannot believe how amazingly resilient these ants are! Boy-o-boy do they ever work together!

Check out this image:
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id180.htm

Here is First Aid Fact Sheet for those who live in this part of the country:

http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/factsheets_pubs/pdf/FAPFS023.2002rev.Medical.pdf

http://fireant.tamu.edu/about/faq.php

ceanothus · Answer

Bug collection, oh yes! Major bug collection! We donated some of it to the California Academy of Sciences, but need to donate more. Hey Rog, don't count on those yellow jackets being killed off that fast. Seriously, it can take several days, as the active wasps have to carry the poison into the deeper parts of the nest a little at a time and it slowly gets to the brood and queen that way. It's not a one-day process, and you will seriously regret it if you dig up a nest with lots of live wasps still inside it. We are actually dealing with a nest in our yard right now too. We started applying sevin three days ago and that nest is getting weaker but it's still too active to get near it during daylight hours. Be patient and give them time to carry the stuff inside and poison the brood as well. Once you've really gotten rid of them with the sevin there really isn't any reason to dig it up unless you just want the visual verification. Good luck!

dontworry_behappy1 · Answer

Look on the website of the meds you take.  They usually have a number
you can call. Most likely want to hear from you if you do have a reaction
or if you think you might.

rog1958 · Answer

Been an hour and no adverse effect.  I just did not know if bee venom would react with pen and riba, I know I have to stay away from prednisone for poison ivy but was unsure of bee venom issues.  This nest is in ground so spray will not get to queen. Only way is with sevin dust and I can pour it on edge.  I watched (idiot) as returning bees walked through it and carried it in hive. I know it doesn't  take much so hive should be dead by morning. Under eaves and deck paper wasps I use the spray with good knockdown agent and run.
 I can move tractor, trailer and find errant bifocals tomorrow. for now, please excuse typos.

Do any of you entomologists have bug collection?

rog1958 · Answer

You should see my stomach, it looks like a man boob. lol.

rog1958 · Answer

I took your advice, I am the hell away from the nest.

rog1958 · Answer

I am not that smart, I already hit them with sevin and it only cost me one more sting. right on stomach.  Know I look like I have giant single man boob.  I have dealt with these boys before, hive was relatively back to normal prior to dusting. After dusting the returning bees had tourettes and went crazy.  I backed off, will let dust do job and dig up in morning. Must be big hive as hole is about 2 inches big.  They have had their peace for quite some time and now it is armageddon for them.  I think I am done outside for day.  
I wish I were entomologist, fascinating study.

dontworry_behappy1 · Answer

Rog..... forget the sevin dust....get the hell away from the nest.  The spray
can that kills wasps from a distance is the stuff. Using sevin with Tourette... maybe NOT a good idea.  : )

flcyclist · Answer

Hey ceanothus -  I'm an entomologist also.  Small world.  

I always like the approach of driving up to the nest in a car with the window opened just a bit, then spray with hornet/wasp killer, then quickly roll up the window.  If you can get close with a car, then do at night as suggested and know your escape path, since you'll probably need to use it.  :-)

ceanothus · Answer

I can't answer as to whether there may be extra sides in addition to Tourette's (I always get that one too!), but my spouse is an entomologist, and he would strongly advise against doing anything around or to that nest until after dark. They will be much quieter after dark. Then you should have an assistant standing 10-15 ft away with one of the cans of "wasp freeze" just in case they go after you anyway. Then the best way to apply the sevin is with a turkey baster (single purpose only). Sevin is the right chemical to use. Good luck!