Never mind the early-blooming Azaleas, Oak trees leafing out and the Redbuds blooming in the woods, an absolutely sure sign of spring I saw this week- and one I would happily do without – is the appearance of Polistes carolina.
These are large red wasps with a vicious sting and a bad attitude. They are extremely territorial and aggressive and they love to nest in attics and under the eaves of houses.
They are also damn near impossible to kill. A direct hit with any name-brand wasp and hornet spray may knock them to the ground, but more often than not, a few seconds later they are back in the air and looking for a fight.
We have nests inside the eaves on both our house and garage, and all attempts to eradicate them have been fruitless. Short of burning the house down, I don’t think anything will get rid of them, and I’m not even sure that would do the job.
You do not have to be physically attacking them to stir their ire. Often your first indication a red wasp is around is a searing pain on the back of your neck or shoulder. Unlike honey bees, this isn’t a suicide mission for the wasp – she (only the females have stingers) can and will sting you more than once if you let her. The venom is so powerful that the tissue at the center of the sting will often necrose in a day or two.
First aid for stings is ice and/or a poultice made with baking soda and water. Benedryl – oral, topical, or both – is also a good idea.
Nothing helps very much; it’s still going to hurt like Hell.
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