Wasp Attack!

My sister told me how recently she's been suffering from her snake fear.  She imagines snakes where there are none, she's nervous to put her hands in the garden soil, and she has snakey nightmares!  Our family has some real sympathy...

Yesterday our next-door neighbors were having a graduation party for their daughter.  They know how to party! - from 12:00-6:00!  Since there are no fences between us, that means that WE were having a party yesterday, too.  We welcomed folks to come use our basketball hoop, or ride tricycles and scooters on the court.  I even pulled out our favorite inflatable trampoline and let any young guests bounce along with my kiddos.

While Guy was waiting his turn to bounce, he climbed up into the short tree by the back of our house.  The trunk has a nice V about 2.5 feet off the ground, making it very inviting for even very little climbers to get a boost up and enjoy the leafy treetops.

I was pulling a weed or two from the vegetable bed, while keeping an eye on kids, when Guy started screaming!  He leapt down from the tree and ran over to me, frantic and screaming!  "It stung me! It stung me!"  

Trying to be as quick as possible, and still seem calming, I started searching his body for a culprit.  "Where??  Where!?"  Shaking, he whirled around so I could see his back.  He was smacking at his body with his hands, screaming and gasping.  I pulled back the collar of his t-shirt and saw that, sure enough, there was a wasp near the collar.  I quickly scooped it out with my right hand and flung it away, then had Guy swiftly remove his shirt so I could look and see if there were any more.

He was still screaming and shaking and rubbing...afraid that more stings were coming.  I took him inside and found that he had 3 stings total (chest, back and neck) from that one insect.  

After a cool shower, Guy came back outside and told me there was a nest in the tree.  I looked up but couldn't see one.    "The only thing I see is a tiny soccer ball."   

"There's a ball in the tree?" one of the little guests asked.  "Yes," I said, pointing my finger, "see it's right theeeaagh!!"  My outstretched finger was almost touching the papery ball-nest and I hadn't even noticed it!!  I quickly drew my hand back, decided not to disturb the wasps, and moved the trampoline a few feet further from the tree.  My husband promised to get rid of all the wasps later that evening (when they were all back in the nest).

After an hour or two of playing, eating, and chatting, our family rambled back inside.  Guy did some homeschooling work with me, and then went to use the computer.  He logged into Webkinz and started to play a game.  I went into the piano room.

Suddenly, Guy started screaming again!  He ran to me, shaking and terrified.  "They're still after me!  I got stung again!"   What?!  "Where?  Show me where!?"  Deja vu!  As he was shaking and screaming I pulled off all his clothes again.  My husband came running down the stairs.

"There's no wasp.  You're fine.  It wasn't a sting," he tried to convince Guy.  "But I SAW A WASP!" Guy retorted.  I looked at his foot...and sure enough, it looked  like a sting on the side of his foot!  I went over to the computer table...and there WAS a wasp crawling on the carpet under there!  I quickly got a glass and captured it.

What are the chances that a wasp got into the house, and then was in the same place as Guy AGAIN?  In my mind I was thinking...when I scooped the wasp off in the first place, did it fly right back and hold onto  his clothes (which he took off, put back on, and wore for 2 hours while playing in the yard) for all that time, without being noticed, only to climb out hours later?? Or was this a different wasp...the first one EVER to sting someone inside our home?  It's like poor Guy got struck by lightning twice in one day.  Or maybe...the wasps really ARE after HIM.

Well, as you can guess, after I held Guy (no clothes) on my lap for a long while, he was able to cautiously put on some pajamas, but we had to check several times to be sure there were no wasps IN the clothes.  I immediately took him to get ready for bed, but he was extremely jumpy.  In the middle of a bedtime story, he jerked and grabbed a handful of pajama fabric.  "I think there's a wasp in my pajamas!!"  and then later he jerked and smacked his neck "I think a wasp is crawling on my neck!"

After a rough time falling asleep (in my bed with me), he slept well enough all night, but in the morning he asked me to go check in the bathroom to see if there were any wasps in there.  (There were not.)  I certainly hope it is a long time before any of us experience another sting, and I sure hope it's not Guy!