Should i be afraid of wasps

If the area around the sting is itchy, apply calamine lotion or a baking soda and water paste mixture. If you see an influx of wasps around your property, it is important to let a pest professional take care of the wasp removal.

You can knock down wasp nests in your yard or around your home, but before you know it a new wasp nest has been built. To permanently remove wasps from your home and to keep you and your loved ones safe, call the experts at Preferred Pest Control. Don't wait until it is too late and you have a serious issue on your hands! You can check out our wasp removal process and give us a call today at or schedule an appointment online.

Your browser is extremely outdated and not web standards compliant. Your browsing experience would greatly improve by upgrading to a modern browser. Bed Bugs. Pest Prevention. June 17, Does the buzzing sound of summer pests typically send you running?

Types of Wasps Did you know that there are over 30, types of wasps around the world? Social Wasps: Social wasps form colonies within a nest, and each colony is unique since it is started from scratch each year in the spring. It is at this time the fertilized queen wasps that hibernated throughout the winter will build a small nest with the help of a starter brood of working female wasps. From this point to late summer, the workers will build and expand the nest for the queen to lay her eggs.

By the end of this time, it is common for there to be more than 5, wasps. Solitary Wasps: The largest subgroup of wasps are solitary wasps. This type of wasp does not form their own colonies since they prefer to live and hunt on their own. The difference between both of these types of wasps is that social wasps use their stingers strictly for defense, whereas solitary wasps use their stingers and venom for hunting prey.

This means solitary wasps will rarely harm humans unless they feel threatened. Types of Wasps in Iowa Here are brief descriptions of the four most commonly found wasps in Iowa. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Discuss your fears with a therapist. It is not always necessary to use a therapist to treat phobias, but some people may feel more comfortable having a professional to guide them through different strategies. The most common methods for treating phobias are exposure therapy and cognitive therapy.

Many therapists will be open to trying other methods such as social learning theory modeling , biofeedback, and hypnotherapy. When it comes to deciding between self-administering and seeking a therapist, you should consider the severity of your phobia and your need for support.

Go to source Hypnotherapy should not be attempted without professional guidance. Use imaginal exposure. Flooding is the process of exposing a person to the object of his or her phobia, in this case a wasp or bee, in a controlled environment. This is called imaginal exposure. Wait for the fear and anxiety to subside. When you are exposed to a stimulus long enough and nothing bad happens, you will eventually stop being anxious or afraid.

Note that this can take hours, and in some cases multiple exposures. Be persistent and allow the fear to pass. Repeat the exposure as many times as needed. There is no set amount of exposures that will cure a phobia. You may find that one exposure does the trick, or you may need many exposures to be completely at ease with wasps and bees.

Either way, expose yourself as much or as little as you need. Method 2. Learn to relax. Systematic desensitization is an application of counterconditioning, or removing a learned response to a stimulus. It works on the idea that you cannot be relaxed and anxious or fearful at the same time.

Before you can learn to substitute a relaxation response for a fearful one, you must learn to relax. Make a list of things related to wasps and bees. Whereas flooding exposes you to your wasps and bees all at once, systematic desensitization exposes you to your fears gradually.

You should write out items or scenarios related to wasps or bees that cause you to feel anxious or fearful. You will expose yourself to each of these scenarios over time. Rank the items on the list. Use a scale of to rank all of the items on your list. Zero designates no fear or anxiety associated with the item or scenario and would be the most fear or anxiety that you can imagine. There is no need to overthink the rankings, just use the first number that comes to mind for each item. Sort the items into categories based on rank.

You should have five levels of fear or anxiety ranging from low anxiety to high anxiety. It is ideal to have at least two items in each category. If you do not have two in each category you may need to reconsider your ranking of some items, or add new items into those categories.

Choose items for your first session. You should choose up to three items for your first systematic desensitization session. These items should come from the low anxiety category, and maybe the medium-low anxiety category. You do not want to overwhelm yourself with the first session. I have the symptoms of shivers after encountering them. I just hate the way they move, fly, look, sound, and their reputation. I usually scream at them when they annoy me as I mow the lawn. I hate the way they fly towards you and back off suddenly, inspecting things going away, then coming back.

It seems almost purposely to terrorize you. Is it wrong that I love killing them though and find them interesting? I hate how when you cut the grass in some area and they just come and fly over it so aggressively. Sometimes they prevent me from doing anything outside. One time I walked outside feeling super productive. One minute later I was walking and saw a wasp and stopped in my tracks and turned around so slowly.

I walked away with my head turned behind me, staring at the ground for it to come follow me as I fell back into my house to have my parents come help me. I never do anything outside. The most terrifying thing though is when you hear the buzzing noise around your head and my heart goes through my chest down to my feet and through the earth. My phobia of wasps has entirely taken over my life. Not nice. I tried CBT as a method of eliminating my fear years ago but that did not work.

This is literally me. I am blown away at everything you said because it feels like I wrote it. I feel for you. Me too! I live this nightmare every single day, all day during the spring, summer, and fall. I am a prisoner in my own home. Three weeks ago, I discovered 3 of them in my house over a 24 hour period. They were all crawling slowly on the floor in my kitchen and were near death already.

Not sure why. After my husband killed and flushed them, I broke down in tears each time. The fact that they had now figured out how to invade my safe place my home devastated me. This is me too! Exactly the same. I suffer from this too. My fear stems from when I was eleven or twelve, and climbed up a tree, and then realized that the branch I had used to climb up and therefore also down was covered in a swarm of wasps.

I was stuck near the swarm for about half an hour, screaming myself hoarse before my neighbor heard me and rescued me. I shake, and want to vomit, and get all dizzy. This also is exactly me. Yes, this is me too! I love how we are all here in the spring months. I wish I could just have the power to make every single insect except honeybees that has a stinger just drop dead in front of me so I would never have to think about them again.

I know it sounds bad but they caused me so much mental fog. Same here! My husband thinks I am crazy. I constantly think I hear them in the walls etc. It has made me paranoid. I have a huge stock of hornet and wasp spray. I get yelled at for spraying it in the house all the time. This is so me! When we are outside at school, I have nowhere to go. Yep I hear you! My summers are also totally ruined.

My phobia is so bad that right now when I have to go on the bus to work, the sole fact that I have to wait outside every day for the bus and could encounter a wasp gives me so much anxiety. Not only that, but then worrying one will fly on the bus. Oh man I wish I could overcome this. I feel SO validated! I love being outdoors otherwise, so I may start listening to recordings of insects buzzing while lying down, relaxing my shoulders, and deep breathing.

It seems like a sensible and affordable place to start :. One time, I was taking off the Christmas lights on my deck, and apparently no one saw the giant wasp nest that was on the corner of the deck. You can probably guess what happened next. I got stung 4 times. I received 4 stings this summer over the past couple of months. The last one had me in emergency. Today a paper wasp flew near me and my ear canals swelled up or at least felt like they did and I had a panic attack.

Now I carry an epipen and nearly backflip when anything buzzes past me. My fear is getting worse each time I have an encounter as my last reaction to them was so bad. I tried burning a nest before I became allergic and got stung on the head, then went to bed not long after. I awoke with an elephant man type face. Horrid creatures.

I only feel safe when my husband is home and he can kill them. I make him check the house before he leaves. I make everyone run out of my house shutting the door so quickly it almost hits them. When a wasp comes in when my husband is gone, I panic. I tried so hard to kill one early in spring. I was watching it as it turned to face me and it was looking at me. It crawled into a crack and I took my kids outside.

I thought I got it and I could see it cleaning itself from the window outside. I had to call my mother in law to kill it. As I was trying I was shaking and my teeth were chattering and I was bawling. I bought hairspray because I read it makes them unable to fly. I ran out with my kids and again my MIL had to kill them. I am the same way and it ruins everything, it just takes over.

It makes me feel better that so many people can relate, and that this is common. When I was 3 or 4, I was often warned about wasps and bees when outside. One day a wasp landed on my shirt without me knowing. I went to say something to my mom. She looked at me, gave a blood chilling scream, and ran from me. She kept screaming and running away.

At some point I looked down, saw the wasp, and was in a state of absolute terror. Bees are okay, if you leave them alone they just do their thing. Wasps are an entirely different story. I had to quit trimming our hedges after last year because I hit a nest. I get anxious just by seeing wasps in videos or books, and my hands start hurting for some reason. I am terrified of wasps and often grab my kids and run outside when one is in the house. I am so sorry your mom did that.

Same as me Erin. I just had a panic attack cause a wasp landed on the front of my shirt black. At first I thought it was a honey bee but then I saw the backside was bright yellow and black. No thank you! Just over 2 weeks ago I was stung 12 times by the same jerks ones that look like bees cause I accidentally disturbed their nest. I ended up with secondary infections from it — antibiotics, Benadryl tabs and ibuprofen for a week. My hubby destroyed the nest as it was behind a shed right next to our house.

If one gets in the house I shut myself in the kitchen until my son has got it out. Whenever I see a nest or if I see a wasp coming near me I just try not to look at them and run in the other direction. Thank you all for sharing your fears and feelings about wasps. I have my own very frightening memories about wasps and yellow jackets that lived in and around my childhood home.

Every day, just to get into the house across the lawn filled with fallen smooshed crabapples was a feat of bravery. They often came into the house and would sting without provocation. In later childhood I was ridiculed and laughed at by my own family.

All insisting they will not hurt you. They belittled the instant automatic uncontrollable response that fear demanded. Running, screaming, crying, behaving dangerously. This summer I stabbed myself in the hand with a sharp scissor because I thought I heard a wasp. Now, there are treatments. These include exposure therapy. That is mixed results.

It probably activates them! I on my own have begun a process of trying to understand wasp behavior by learning about them and what motivates them. Ultimately we can unintentionally activate their aggression. There is no way to slow them to live in close proximity to your home. This season I will call an exterminator and in preparation for next years batch I will be planting eucalyptus and peppermint and tea berry which they hate the scent of and will relocate to avoid. The even better news is that these natural essences also deter other vermin such as stink bug and others.

I am pro nature and really hate harming other creatures even if they terrify me but I cannot accept a world where I allow my fears to stop me and will find a way to live in harmony. I wish you all the best in your journeys. Man I am so afraid of wasps. But in August it is at its worst. It is a challenge everyday at my lake to go outside or inside.

Every time I get afraid of a wasp, my family either gets really mad at me or says I will have to go to therapy for it, which for some reason scares me. But my dad said that he has some wasp traps, so maybe they might go away. I hope they do. This is the thread I can relate to so much.

The thing is, I love nature and live in a National park — as do the giant hornets! Still, many have it worse. Blessings to you and all here. I have been terrified of wasps since I was very little.

Obviously I screamed and my mum ended up having to remove the sting from my heel with tweezers. I was clearing out a cupboard and tipped a bunch of small random bits into my hand and was looking at them to figure out whether to throw them away and noticed the front half of a dead wasp sitting on my palm.

The result was immediately flinging it away from me and backing up with my heart racing and panting in panic. The sting end was on the floor with it and I spent 20 minutes trying to flick both parts into a tub with the end of a pen and each time I nudged it, I would flinch because a small part of me was convinced it would suddenly start moving despite it being in half and probably dead for a year or so.

Or I could have repressed the memory. Oh well. To avoid it, I jumped away from the stairs every time I used it. People made fun of me of course. I feel the need to run when I see one, even though people constantly tell me that it makes it worse.

I know how you feel. I am absolutely terrified. My first encounter was the beginning of high school. I was so angry and so scared, he even made me stay at break with the wasp still in the class and i felt like fainting. He was showing us around and suddenly we got swarmed. They were everywhere, and me and my grandpa were the last out.

They got in my boots, under my shirt, and afterwards I counted 14 stings in overall. Grandpa got 15, aunt 4, uncle 3, and cousins none. So now, when I see one, I think back to that day and start panicking. But wasps are pure evil, they sting when they want. What did it feel like, may you tell me? I moved to Indonesia 22 years ago, which from a phobic point of view was not a good idea, they have some real monsters here. I took up bug photography, including wasps.

I had lots of terrifying, screaming like a girl, demented windmill moments. I swear I could win the Olympic m dash gold with a couple of wasps behind me. It took a couple of years, but with daily exposure and lots of research, I eventually got over my problem. I have more than 40 species in my image collection. Well they are at my home too. If I grab a bundle and a nest is there I feel they will come after the person who raised the bundles and attack me, stinging me multiple times.

Wish me luck until the weather drops below 50, then we can say goodbye to wasps until next year. Similar thing here. I work at a yard for a construction company and I am on the pressure washing station most of the time. Every once in a while a vehicle will come in and there is a wasp nest in some sort of crevice.

Those ones are easy because I just stand at a safe distance and spray the wasp killer. Today there was a wasp nest in the roof of the building which was too far of a long-shot to get with the spray.

Next thing you know they are taking drop shots on me, probably pissed from the water hitting them. Little do they know or care that I was in panic mode. I can relate to you running around in sheer panic. I understand that panic very well. Anyone know a good bug spray to keep them away? Those freaking things love food. They like to sting me. My parents absolutely loved me shaking them awake in terror babbling about a wasp.

The funniest part is that literally no other bugs scare me. Wasps, on the other hand, have a smooth stinger they can use more than once. If a stinger is left behind, the best way to remove it is by scraping a credit card carefully over the skin. Plucking it with tweezers may be tempting, but the pressure could squeeze leftover venom out of the stinger. If you are stung once and have normal symptoms, you can treat symptoms with the following remedies:.

Instead, you will have a moderately severe reaction that could include hives, itchiness, a rash, swelling in the lips, eyes and tongue, etc. Subsequent stings could result in escalating symptoms but rest assured, the first sting will almost always act as a warning. They are more aggressive and are more likely to gather in swarms. Warm weather comes with its fair share of perils. But with a few extra precautions , you can be prepared for anything the season may throw at you.

You can learn more about outdoor safety in these helpful articles written with help from Banner Health experts. By Bobby Boland , Contributing Writer. Jun 12,