Gee, thanks guys! I appreciate all your replies. At this point, I realize that this has become a phobia for me & that as organica pointed out, chances are that I probably won't be stung again. But I can't remember a year when it was as bad as it is right now here. Of course, we live out in the country & this comes along with all the beautiful views & clean air. It's just something we have to put up with, or go back to the concrete jungle. Still, with global warming & the increase of CO2 in our atmosphere, this may just be another symptom of our sick planet. I know the poison ivy around here has gone NUTS this year due to this & probably the fireblight on my 2 pear trees, too. But I'm still looking for things that I can do to tip the balance in my favor. This is what I've found so far: probably nothing can be "done" to change anything until the first freeze, so going out at sunset, as fishymamas (love that name!) suggested is what I have been doing. Also, if you put out traps in the spring (which you can make yourself with plastic soda bottles), you may get the queen & avoid a major nest being built nearby & giving you problems later in the summer. I might try that one. Lilacs in may (& others): if you have a known sensitivity to bug bites, you may want to consult your doctor for a presciption for an Epi-Pen, an self-injectable dose of epinephrine to keep in your refrigerator just in case you have a major allegeric meltdown from a sting & can't get help in time. It just might save your life. Hottomato: I actually do have some Avon Skin So Soft -- the old kind -- but I didn't think to use it because I had read that it really didn't have any ingredients to repel pests. Also, you're not supposed to wear any sweet-smelling perfume because that's a turn-on to these creatures as well. But reading the labels on the DEET & Picardin products say that they repel mostly mosquitos, ticks, fleas, deer flies -- nothing about wasps, hornets, yellow jackets or bees. So there you are. I still think going out at sunset is my best bet. Finally, Ruthieg & gonefishin, I've seen those big banana-colored spiders in our family gardens for most of my life & I just tend to steer clear of them & peacefully co-exist (can't we all just get along??). Of course, spiders, wasps, hornets, etc. -- all these critters are doing us a favor by eating mosquitos & other tiny pests, so we owe them our gratitude rather than our fear. I know that rationally, but it's still going to be a while before I venture outdoors unafraid. Anyway, thanks for ALL of your comments & ideas & moral support. I appreciate it! Laurene

mexicanhat, thank you for the info about the correct medical terminology and the supportive words. petaloid, no it doesn't sound like he does, I will ask, and doubt that whatever he was supposed to wear around his neck was a medic alert but some drug, doesn't sound like EpiPen if that has to be injected. At the least, I could help pay for that for him, could have offered to do that already now that it has come up, when it is time to renew when it has expired, he can let me know (he's 22 now and has to take responsibility for what he can control). I also think community health might help him if he tried there. My grandmother never gave up her gardening but tried to be really careful about bees, and medical services and medications back in the 1950's were far different. I think I've been stung about 5 times in my life so people who have never been stung are fortunate indeed. Sometimes it doesn't hurt as bad for as long, depends on what part of the body and maybe the type of insect. I'd be deathly afraid of bee swarms or killer bees, try never to provoke them when I know they are there. They get in the house sometimes, and I developed a strategy to catch and release, we do need them for pollinating (one sting was from that not that bad). I would kill one if I had to, a bunch, no. If you miss, they might retaliate. They are super fast in flight when they feel trapped. And cute and furry as the yellow jackets are, there's no making buddies with them.

Thank you! I spent some time reading up on solitary bees which I never knew existed. It's a bit daunting to think they will emerge next year in greater numbers, probably in the same garden bed they have selected this year. I see many bees all around the property where we have fruit trees and lots of flowering plants. There's no sign of a colony or hive, so perhaps they are all solitary. Who knew? Cheryl

Last week, was my first encounter with the "beasts" - I think living in my compost pile. When I stirred up the pile, about 4 or so - attacked me with several stings about my face and forehead. My face looked like treatment with Botox - for several days (no wrinkles!). As I keep honey bees, at first I thought my own fairly docile creatures were the culprits. But as I read articles on the Internet, found that yellow jackets build nests in the ground. At first, I was tempted to rid myself of the bee hive, but hated to as I am getting a fair amount of honey from them on a regular basis, and they are doing a good job of pollination here. My big concern is that one of these nasty "jackets" will sting a neighbor, and of course my honey bees will surely be "suspect." I have a mountain of clippings to be run through my shredder and need new compost for my fall planter beds, so I am kind of at a cross road as to how to proceed. I have bee gear to deal with the "jackets" but need to resolve this soon. Some of the on-line literature suggests that colder weather will resolve the issue - as the jacket colony will die out and only the queen will be left to start another colony in the spring. However, we don't get freezing weather here, and not sure if this applies. Those stings really hurt, but I applied the same treatment as susanzone5, baking soda, and ice. As some old tales suggest, bee keepers become immune to stings --- soon I hope. Bejay