Oh, Sandy ... that hurts ... so sorry !

Rosie ... that is down right scary ! I used to think I was allergic because I had had a bad reaction when I was young, but then when I got up here, I was stung and had no reaction. I don't know if I am allergic or not. I am assuming I am and am being cautious about it.

It entirely depends on the stinging insect
A huge swollen area, limb, foot, leg, is a reaction that is significant...etc., but allergic is a reaction we consider when it is distant from the sting . Ex. He was stuck on hand...but his lips face chest all became enormous ..blood pressure droped, etc

If it was a yellow jacket...it is very likely he can be stung by hornet, bee, etc., with no untoward effects. It could be you had two different creatures sting you.

Thanks, Rosie ...

I really didn't know, but I used to be afraid of anything that had a stinger. Now, I just try to stay out of their way.

When I was young, I was stung by a bee when I was floating in a swimming pool. Up here, it was a yellow jacket. Two different kinds of insects. With the bee sting, my hand swelled up badly. With the yellow jacket, I slapped on some aloe vera and the stinging sensation went away in seconds and no swelling.

So far, I haven't had any other experiences with things that have stingers.

@Weedwhacker, Sandy ...

I've got an idea ...

I had a yellow jacket or wasp nest behind the flashing on my front door a couple of years ago. I couldn't get wasp spray into the crack to get to the nest. I sprayed the whole door, the flashing, the side of the house with white vinegar. They moved the nest. I guess they didn't like the smell of the vinegar any more than I did.

You might try that. I really, really soaked all of the wood with that vinegar. It worked for me.

RoseBlush1 said:Thanks, Rosie ...

I really didn't know, but I used to be afraid of anything that had a stinger. Now, I just try to stay out of their way.

When I was young, I was stung by a bee when I was floating in a swimming pool. Up here, it was a yellow jacket. Two different kinds of insects. With the bee sting, my hand swelled up badly. With the yellow jacket, I slapped on some aloe vera and the stinging sensation went away in seconds and no swelling.

So far, I haven't had any other experiences with things that have stingers.

Of course just my opinion, but both your experiences sound like regular stinging insect reactions. Not " alllergic" responses. Swelling badly..hurting..hot where the sting occurred and even adjacent to it...itching ...are all common reactions ( some or one or all ) of a sting. Now if you got stung on the hand and it swelled badly ( or not ) and you alsobroke out in hives...or your eyelids swelled..etc...wheezed...faint, sweating, ..etc., that sounds allergic.

Blow torch will work to get that nest!

This year we used a yellow jacket trap, it also took care of the wasps. I mixed up my own concoction to lure them to the trap with apple cider vinegar, a little honey and some water well mixed together works like a charm. We finally don't have yellow jackets or wasps in our yard, very nice since I got painful stings by yellow jackets last summer.

@MISSINGROSIE
Yikes! I can see why it is terrifying! You can't predict when it's going to happen just like shaking hands with the plumber. Oh my gosh!

@Weedwhacker
Sandy, can you tell where they are entering? If you can, then can you caulk the entry hole? Then they can't get in or out. Also look for any possible exits & caulk them.

Lyn -- I love the idea of using the white vinegar spray; I've done that before to keep spiders from building webs in the GH, but didn't know it would discourage wasps as well. Even though the Rion GH is made of some sort of plastic/resin, and not wood, I may give that a try if the wasp spray doesn't seem to be working. I could really drench everything with vinegar, which I would be hesitant to do with the wasp spray (I spend a lot of time in there, after all!).

Ann -- I'm not sure it will be possible to caulk all the entry points; I think there may be a lot of different places (both outside and inside) where they could access the inside of that ridge tube (which is made of multiple pieces that fit together something like a puzzle, LOL).

Rosie's blow-torch suggestion might be my best option! (except I'd probably be arrested by the DEQ for burning all that polycarbonate ...)

Sandy ...

I use the white vinegar for spiders on my patio and my wood pile, too. It might work. No promises. I am just a short wuss who would not get up on a ladder and try to get the wasp spray up behind the flashing, so that was all I could think of to do ...

Rosie .. thanks for the info ... I didn't know. Back then, there was no internet to look things up and I wasn't going to pay a doc ...

daylilydreams said:This year we used a yellow jacket trap, it also took care of the wasps. I mixed up my own concoction to lure them to the trap with apple cider vinegar, a little honey and some water well mixed together works like a charm. We finally don't have yellow jackets or wasps in our yard, very nice since I got painful stings by yellow jackets last summer.

Could you describe what you used?

oh my............so scary that these allergies can "hit" so quickly and badly.
my DH feeds the yellow jackets on his hand......... just sayin'...... He's a critter magnet - they love him......

Rosie, this is the trap we used http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ster... the attractant that came with was not that great. We mixed up about a half cup of apple cider vinegar added maybe a tablespoon of honey a bit of dish soap then put it in the trap and topped it off with water to the fill line gave it a shake and it was good to go. We hung it in a semi shady area away from the patio it seems like the scent of the apple cider vinegar really attracted the yellow jackets and the few wasps we had around here, they get inside the trap and can't get out. This worked very well for us likely any trap with my mix would work.

I've used the wasp traps and I think they work fine to, say, lure wasps away from an outdoor eating area... but when there is a nest that you need to get rid of it's a different story. A couple of years ago I had a huge hornet nest in the greenhouse, down in a big container (like a plastic clothes hamper, but no holes) where I store my tall plant stakes and stuff. I actually never got a good look at it while it was active, didn't realize it was there until it was really big... ended up just drowning the hornets out by sticking the hose end in the container, then (rather quickly) exiting the GH and turning on the water. Eventually we saw the queen come crawling up one of the poles and zapped her with some wasp spray, and had no more problems for several years... until now. I'd love to just live and let live with the wasps and hornets, I appreciate the work they do in the garden and in the world in general... but we have acres of woods where they could nest unmolested; when their nest is in my GH (or under my deck), where they are eventually certainly going to sting someone (probably me), I do feel the need to eliminate them!

I'm definitely going to try the vinegar -- if I can just discourage them from nesting in the areas where I don't want them, it would be a lot better than killing them outright! (not expecting promises of success, Lyn )

daylilydreams said:Rosie, this is the trap we used http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ster... the attractant that came with was not that great. We mixed up about a half cup of apple cider vinegar added maybe a tablespoon of honey a bit of dish soap then put it in the trap and topped it off with water to the fill line gave it a shake and it was good to go. We hung it in a semi shady area away from the patio it seems like the scent of the apple cider vinegar really attracted the yellow jackets and the few wasps we had around here, they get inside the trap and can't get out. This worked very well for us likely any trap with my mix would work.

Thank you!

MY MOTHER

Ok, thanks for letting me get that out.

My mother is gone but I do remember those loving thoughts!

I wish you could meet my ....sister.....

*sigh*.............I miss my Mom. I want to show her the blooms on my trumpet vine.............the way my wisteria is starting to wind around the wire panel. My brug blooms. My nice yard. Our "landscaped" places where we took out the old corncrib and removed the cement from our garage/furnace house fire. I miss not having anyone to do "Word Police" with.............I miss not seeing her out in the audience at our City Band concerts..........picking her up to come to Squeeze Box Night (accordions playing...........I play and she'd come and listen). Yeah, I miss my Mom. It will be a year Aug. 28th.

I know one day she will be gone, well her or me, at this point i would bet on me. She can put a big testing on. Sure makes me rethink my mouth with my own girls. So far so good.