Beware... Flying Stingers in the Ground

Well, another lesson learned... again.

This past weekend, I was mowing the lawn in the late afternoon/early evening. I was nearing the end of the whole thing and was mowing near a tree in the middle of the front yard. As I was descending the hill (the house is set up quite high off of the city sidewalk) I felt a little prick, then another and then burning. I looked down to see several bees/wasps/hornets clinging to my lower half. In a panic, I swatted at a couple. Then realized that that was a bone-headed endeavor and made a mad dash for the hose. It seemed like an eternity working the faucet and sprinkler controls to get the water going, but I eventually got it up and going... A spraying fury ensued while I also knocked off the little buggers with my heels.

The worst of it was had by my right ankle... it is currently very swelled and tender. I'm sure I got quite a few stings there but I really don't know how many... just that the area is quite larger than any others on my person.

I returned to the area a bit later armed with Wasp and Hornet spray. I found their hive at the base of the tree in the front yard and disappearing under a large root from the tree. I doused entrance with an entire can.

I then ran to Lowe's and picked up another can (along with some brass closet flanges for the small bathroom project). When I returned, I checked on the hive and there were quite a lot of black and yellow bodies strewn around the entrance. I doused it again with the new can of spray.

The next morning, I checked again and there were a couple of them hovering around the entrance, so I doused it again before finishing the lawn up. You see, after I get stung, I bagged the idea of finishing the lawn to tend to other jobs not involving the yard.

I checked the web for any info on ridding the lawn of the problem and there were several suggestions. The most often used was gasoline. However, I did come to find out that doing some of those approaches was a federal offense. For me, I will continue to monitor the area and periodically douse the entrance with sprays. I may also break out the old stash of Diazanon. However, that substance has been off the market now for a couple of years.