Yellowjackets often make headlines when they attack. For example, The San Francisco Chronicle and other NorCal newspapers reported a yellowjacket attack on more than 70 attendees of the Alameda County Fair. Apparently, the ground-dwelling yellowjackets were disturbed by a fireworks display in the fairgrounds arena. None of the victims, who ranged in age from a 6-month-old infant to a person over age 60, exhibited allergic reactions or required hospitalization, although some received multiple stings.
In the Seattle area, also over a July 4th weekend, at least five people were treated for anaphylactic shock from stings believed to be from yellowjackets in separate incidents, according to a Pierce County public health official.
A small paper in Northeastern Ohio recently published a follow-up story on a man who nearly died from stings last summer after he ran over a ground nest of yellowjackets with his lawn mower. He’s been receiving weekly doses of bee venom over a year in attempt to build up his immunity, theHudson Hub Times reports.
And in Atlanta, several police officers chasing a DUI suspect who had abandoned his vehicle following a high-speed car chase were stung and one seriously injured when they ran through a clump of kudzu, disrupting a swarm of yellowjackets.
For more information about yellowjackets, wasps and other stinging insects, feel free to call our experienced Sacramento pest control professionals at 916-457-7605.
