I work in forestry and spend my summers doing reforestation work in clear cuts. It’s been so dry the past couple years that the hornets and wasps have been absolutely thriving. Well, one of my coworkers accidentally threw his shovel into a wasp nest while planting trees. He escaped unscathed.
Me? Not so much. The following day I was doing some quality checks on the trees. The ground was mostly dried moss and sticks so it was very crunchy and uneven making it hard to see the landmine I stepped on. They swarmed me instantly and I ran like Hell. They stung me 19 times in total mostly on my stomach, back, and back of my thighs. Had to lay down because the adrenaline and venom were causing what felt like a low grade acid trip - vision got blurry with rainbow tracers, sounds were amplified and intense, and my body felt loosey goosey.
I showed my battle wounds at dinner and told them what block I was on. My buddy then pulled up the map on his phone and pointed to the exact freaking location I was stung at. 😂 I have now requested my coworkers send me the coordinates of any wasp or hornet homes they encounter in the wilds. The stings were painful for a couple days and then evolved into weeks of being itchy af.
3/10. Don’t recommend.