"The wasps went absolutely ballistic"

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/animals/invertebrates/invasive-invertebrates/wasps

@bernieq My grandmother used blue bags in her wringer washing machine. She used to use them for bee stings too. 1960's ?. I think a kid stood on the nest while playing hide & seek by torchlight. Wasps have an 'alarm pheromone' to rally the nest and mark targets. When tramping, it's typically the 1st 2 passersby that stir them up & the 3rd person gets stung. When farming in the King Country we would go back to the nest opening at twilight & wodge the opening with a diesel soaked sack. Fumes & the liquid killed them. Swear I'm taking wasp spray with me next time i'm staying at Sabine Hut. edit: corrected spelling 'passersby'

Do you think 2l of petrol was a bit much? It was still leaded in those days

Diesel lingered. One sniff or touch went straight through them. Huffing petrol ?. Probably just stoned them for a while ?. Could have done some long term damage ?.

Could smell the petrol for a week. Day after pouring the petrol in there was around a dozen wasps but they didnt look healthy. Next day there were none. 2 weeks later the neighbors lawn died

I've had a few nests at my place. No trouble getting rid of them If you can find the nest. Petrol down the hole at night then block it up. What I am interested in is what's available if someone gets an allergic reaction to a sting especially around the face

My tramping companion got stung on the leg at Broken River Hut as she was closing the door. Didn't think much of it other than it hurt a great deal. She has never been allergic to stings. Two days later her leg was twice the size, and infection had set in. It was a toxic reaction - and it is suspected the wasp had been feeding on something containing a nasty bacteria (down the long drop, carrion etc). She was treated with intravenous antibiotics immediately. A reaction like this on a multi-day tramp could immobilise a person. I take an antihistamine tablet before a tramp and keep it topped up during the trip. How best to treat a sting to prevent infection is the question? Antibacterial cream and a bandaid?

wasps can carry bacterial infections themselves, they go to some pretty scungy places seeking out food and insects to eat. the bacteria can get into the venom sack as well. when they sting they spread the infection...

Antiseptic creams or antibacterial creams do reduce the chance of infection but most will do little to the other qualities of the sting. Also depending on how deep the sting went thickness of the skin there etc they wont do much for an infection under the skin. Then you are into real antibiotics and a lot of trust in your own immune system. Ive had many minor skin infections that have been dealt with by squeeze out the puss and load up on antiseptic cream but one got away and needed antibiotics It wasnt pretty. First visit to the Doc was 1 gram tablets of Amoxilin and I had to convince the Doc that we were so busy at work I couldnt take time off. 2 days later when the Amoxilin had turned my guts into something I wont describe here in case people havent eaten he said your knees getting worse as well You will listen this time. It was go home leg above the body all weekend and a different equally strong antibiotic. Just to rub it in he said if it gets worse dont go to the emergency medical center go straight to hospital where you will be admitted. I think if I had told him the infection had been there 3 weeks before going to the doc he might of thrown me out the window. Dont know what caused it.

If you get cellulitis, it can be fatal as it can lead to septicemia and multi-organ failure. Glad I didn't know that when we radioed for a medivac in Fiordland. I understand the nest goes through a sugar collecting phase and then the protein acquisition phase. The latter phase is when the wasps get more aggressive. Frank pushed his luck by loitering by a nest entrance on Monday and got a sting for this. Luckily it was on his scalp. I think there is not so much of a reaction when stung on the scalp. A deerstalker had puffed a bit of carbaryl in the entrance 2 days before. I think it is better to deposit the carbaryl within the entrance with a teaspoon on a long stick so the wasps have to crawl through it. These wasps were flying past the carbaryl powder. Anyway the Spot on/fish paste mix is less scary and just as effective but not so cheap.