Would really appreciate some advice here from anyone who's been in this situation, and/or who is an entomologist. I was just sitting doing some work after putting the DC to bed, and unexpectedly got stung on the toe by a rogue wasp, which hurt more than I expected (like someone pushing a large thumbtack quite far into the toe, and taking their time about it).
The problem is that the wasp seems now to be stuck to the top of my toe by its stinger. The internet is full of advice on what to do when you've been stung by a wasp and the wasp is long gone, but is curiously silent on what to do if the wasp is stuck. I have managed by angling my foot to get its little waspy body on to the carpet, but when I gently pull my foot back in the attempt to withdraw myself from its stinger, the wasp comes with. Every time it makes another attempt to leave there's another little frisson of pain, which I guess is its stinger, or the venom in it, moving in the skin. I'm not worried about pain, but everything on the web says to get the stinger out ASAP. I'm fairly sure I'm not severely allergic, but if I end up having a reaction it's not an ideal situation: as sod's law would have it, DH is currently away and I can't contact him for the next few hours, and the DC in the house who is old enough to be able to help has a wasp phobia (because we have so many of the bloody things flying around in summer). So if I enlisted help I'd then have a hysterical child on my hands as well as a wasp stuck to my toe. Younger DC also not a fan of flying stinging things. Cat would only care if it got to the point where I was unable to deliver its breakfast.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to reach down and brush it away because I don't want to get stung again. I know smoke calms bees but a) this is definitely a wasp not a bee, b) the only thing I could do to produce smoke would be to burn toast or cook something for far too long, and I need to go to bed, and would also proably put the wasp into another bad mood by stumping around the house to get to the kitchen.
All the advice on the internet assumes that the wasp has left the skin and the stinger can be gently removed with a credit card. I do not want to use said credit card while the blighter is still on my toe, because I imagine having a credit card put anywhere near your stinger will simply make you use the stinger again. It's quite peculiar to find yourself in a predicament for which there is literally no advice on the internet. Hence a late night distress call to Mumsnet for ideas.