Saturday, September 6, 2014

My Wasp Attack

Went for a walk. Had a nice breakfast. Was reading the paper when I decided to head out to the garden to pull weeds, as the soil was soft from the previous night's storm, cleanup and spread soil and grass seed as another gardening season is coming to a close.

I was almost done with the front yard, snipping a few dried leaves, when I felt a sting and saw a wasp on my left wrist. As I brushed it off, I felt stings on my right arm and leg. At the same time, a number of its family members came out of a bush and flew around me. I screamed, dropped the snippers and ran for the front door. 

Some time ago, the door would have been unlocked but since reading about opportunistic thieves who enter the front door while the homeowner is in the backyard, I always  lock the door.  That's all well and good to thwart a robbery but not while trying to evade angry insects as I tried  to get the key in the lock with one hand while waving the other around my head. 

I finally got the door unlocked, rushed in and saw a few wasps were now on the inside with me; great. I stripped by the door and rushed to the kitchen sink to wash my arms while wondering if I would have a bad reaction to the stings and how to get these pests on the inside back outside. 

As there was no reaction apart from feeling like I had rubbed a scotch bonnet pepper on parts of my skin, I quickly showered. Back downstairs, I could see a few wasps buzzing around the front porch and wasn't about to open the door to shoo the inside wasps out and invite outside wasps in. I'm sorry to say, I had no choice but to swat them; it was them or me. 

At some point I have to retrieve the snippers and yard waste bag, put them in the garage and figure out how to deal with a nest  of easily provoked wasp, living in my garden. 

Last winter, with its abundance of snow and ice and all the shovelling I had to do, condo living was looking quite attractive. If I have to dress like a beekeeper to do my gardening, moving to a condo and spending Saturday mornings relaxing with the paper is looking pretty darn good. 

Will keep you posted.