Wasp epidemic? - I am sick of the ****ards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MammyShirl]

Have I just developed a phobia for wasps or are there really tons of them annoying us this summer? I have never seen so many in all my life. They are driving me mad. I feel like I am constantly running away from them, killing them or hiding from them. Every day they are my home somtimes up to four or five throughout the day. Every time I take me dd out or to the park they happen to buzz right up to my year just when Im balancing my dd on the top of a slide so I cant let go and end up making strange sound like yelping sounds. I have been getting looks off a few people and I sick to death of people shaking their heads at my "over the top" terrified reaction by acting like a mr know it all saying, "you should not move, stay still it will only sting you if provoked!" all i can say to that is boll! I have been stung twice in my life, both times I was still as a statue, stung once on my arm reading a book and on my neck sitting in my car. I just got back from Tuscany, I had a week of being chased around our villas pool by wasps as there was nest by the sun loungers!!!! Its got to the point where I am actually looking forward to winter and I am a summer girl. Has anyone else noticed there are more waps this summer? My fear is my dd being stung, she is only 16 mths - it would be awful. Has anyone got any useful tips to not get stung? And dont say stay still!

There is an epidemic in Oxfordshire. I'm afraid the 'stay still' advice is all I have. I stalk them with a rolled up newspaper and whack them as soon as they land on a flat surface. It's relatively easy, as they move more slowly than flies do.

I'm in Scotland and we've had hardly any wasps this year where I live, which is very unusual as there are usualy loads of them. But my granny was telling me that in the local paper they had reported that we will probably be inundated with them soon, something to do with the weather and they will be around later this year. I really hope that they were wrong as I hate them.

The only good news I know is that fly spray knocks wasps out much quicker than flies and bluebottles. So arm yourselves with some of that (they don't all smell disgusting) and as long as the thing is nowhere near someone's face give it a squirt.

Linnet, all the Scottish wasps must be here in Aberdeenshire!! We've had quite a few this year, esp earlier in the summer. We also have zillions of moths atm, which don't bother me, but poor dd1 freaked out when one actually flew into her face the other night.

Linnet - there are plenty here in Glasgow as well. Ds is developing quite a thing about them and gets very agitated when they come close - not helped by being stung on the foot last weekend and by dh also getting irritated by them.

I'm going to try the jama and water in a jar trick next time we eat outside - altthough the current forecast suggest that that's not likley in the near future (says I looking out of the office window at the teeming rain).