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Attleboro attack underscores threat posed by wasps
By David Abel and L. Finch
Boston Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent / September 8, 2010
It got so bad the lingering wasps, which had already stung the nearly unconscious woman more than 500 times, began attacking her rescuers.
The 53-year-old Attleboro woman had either fallen or stepped on a nest, local fire officials said, and when rescuers found her lying on the grass Saturday evening next to her Division Street home, she was covered in a type of wasp called yellow jacket. The firefighters used a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, which sprayed cold, compressed gas, to stun the insects so they could help the woman, Fire Chief Scott Lachance said.
Afterward, several yellow jackets remained in her clothing and stung three firefighters in the ambulance, he said. A few stragglers made it to the hospital, but did not sting anyone there, Lachance added.
Though summer is winding down, this is the most likely time of year to be stung by wasps and similar predatory insects, entomologists say.
In the past few months, millions of larvae throughout the region have matured, most reaching adulthood during the past few weeks. There are now more adult wasps than at anytime of the year, and they are all competing for sustenance, making them more likely to prowl garbage bins, picnic tables, or anywhere people leave food, entomologists say.
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Eric C. Mussen, a specialist on bees and other insects at the University Of California at Davis, said part of the problem is that many of the traditional prey of wasps — spiders, caterpillars, and other insects — are dying at this time of year, so the yellow jackets are scavenging for food left by people.
He said they have even been known to bite people, which is more bloody than stinging.
In the event that someone disturbs a nest, he said, the only thing they can do is run as fast as they can — as far away as they can — and try to get into a sealed space. He said wasps often won’t fly much more than a quarter of a mile from their nest.
“The best advice is to stay away from nests,’’ he said.
Unfortunately for the woman from Attleboro, whose name fire officials did not release, the yellow jackets came too fast.
Firefighters later searched for the nest, but Lachance said they couldn’t find it. He could not recall any similar incidents.
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Mary Wilson, co-owner of Bee Busters in Acton, said the nests grow from the size of a thumbnail in April to the size of a baseball in July to the size of a basketball this time of year, often with as many 10,000 inside. The nests grow until the frost kills most of them.
Wilson, who has been stung hundreds of times, said yellow jackets don’t need to be provoked to sting. They can be attracted to someone just by their smell, or if the person happens to enter their flight path.
More than anything, she said, the wasps are attracted by food, trash, lights, pet excrement, dried leaves, overgrown shrubbery, or grease built up on a grill.
“My advice is for people to minimize fragrant odors, eat inside, or if you eat outside, cover your food,’’ she said. “They should keep their grills clean, avoid leaving residual trash outside, and manage their shrubbery. Most important, people need to be aware of their surroundings.’’
>>ALL THE DETAILS<<
YELLOW JACKET
Attleboro attack underscores threat posed by wasps
By David Abel and L. Finch
Boston Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent / September 8, 2010
It got so bad the lingering wasps, which had already stung the nearly unconscious woman more than 500 times, began attacking her rescuers.
The 53-year-old Attleboro woman had either fallen or stepped on a nest, local fire officials said, and when rescuers found her lying on the grass Saturday evening next to her Division Street home, she was covered in a type of wasp called yellow jacket. The firefighters used a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher, which sprayed cold, compressed gas, to stun the insects so they could help the woman, Fire Chief Scott Lachance said.
Afterward, several yellow jackets remained in her clothing and stung three firefighters in the ambulance, he said. A few stragglers made it to the hospital, but did not sting anyone there, Lachance added.
Though summer is winding down, this is the most likely time of year to be stung by wasps and similar predatory insects, entomologists say.
In the past few months, millions of larvae throughout the region have matured, most reaching adulthood during the past few weeks. There are now more adult wasps than at anytime of the year, and they are all competing for sustenance, making them more likely to prowl garbage bins, picnic tables, or anywhere people leave food, entomologists say.
...
Eric C. Mussen, a specialist on bees and other insects at the University Of California at Davis, said part of the problem is that many of the traditional prey of wasps — spiders, caterpillars, and other insects — are dying at this time of year, so the yellow jackets are scavenging for food left by people.
He said they have even been known to bite people, which is more bloody than stinging.
In the event that someone disturbs a nest, he said, the only thing they can do is run as fast as they can — as far away as they can — and try to get into a sealed space. He said wasps often won’t fly much more than a quarter of a mile from their nest.
“The best advice is to stay away from nests,’’ he said.
Unfortunately for the woman from Attleboro, whose name fire officials did not release, the yellow jackets came too fast.
Firefighters later searched for the nest, but Lachance said they couldn’t find it. He could not recall any similar incidents.
...
Mary Wilson, co-owner of Bee Busters in Acton, said the nests grow from the size of a thumbnail in April to the size of a baseball in July to the size of a basketball this time of year, often with as many 10,000 inside. The nests grow until the frost kills most of them.
Wilson, who has been stung hundreds of times, said yellow jackets don’t need to be provoked to sting. They can be attracted to someone just by their smell, or if the person happens to enter their flight path.
More than anything, she said, the wasps are attracted by food, trash, lights, pet excrement, dried leaves, overgrown shrubbery, or grease built up on a grill.
“My advice is for people to minimize fragrant odors, eat inside, or if you eat outside, cover your food,’’ she said. “They should keep their grills clean, avoid leaving residual trash outside, and manage their shrubbery. Most important, people need to be aware of their surroundings.’’
>>ALL THE DETAILS<<
YELLOW JACKET
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