How to survive the Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Coats are coming! The Yellow coats are coming!

Ok, it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but the threat is still real. Apparently wasp numbers increase and decrease in 2 year cycles, and guess what, this year is a high wasp count year! That means, as you’re sitting, enjoying an ice-cold cider, you’re likely to be swatting the air around you, or running for cover (depending on your preference).

Well, we’re here with some tips on how to survive the onslaught, and have a more enjoyable Tokonatsu!

1. Drink from covered cups with straws:

It’s no secret that wasps are attracted to sweet smelling substances. The more sugar, typically the more you’ll be accosted. You can help minimize this though by using a re-usable cup with a lid.

Something like this from Amazon would work wonders, and you even get enough to share with your less fortunate friends!

2. Wasp/insect Repellent:

This is a bit of a double edged sword, and you have to be careful with it. Yes, the sprays work, and I was using one quite happily at Toko ’11, but it also massively pisses off the wasps if they are nearby when you use it. I applied some just after opening a can of cider, little did I know a wasp had sought refuge in the can as I was applying, and I was promptly stung twice on the hand as I retrieved my can.

So if you use this, do so with caution, and maybe in conjunction with the first tip.

3. Don’t leave sweet/sugary foods and drink in the open.

This may be harder to control, but if you have a cooler, or a picnic box, keep anything you’re not currently eaten covered, and sealed if possible. While you’re eating, there isn’t a lot you can do about it, and you may have to put up with a few pesky wasps, but you can reduce the overall number around you if you do this.

Keep any trash away from your eating and sleeping areas if you can, and don’t let bin bags over flow. Change them as soon as they get full, and this should reduce the number of wasps hovering around them.

4. They LOVE yellow!

So, apparently they love the colour yellow, and are also quite fond of white. This is fortunate for me, as I don’t own any yellow tops, and only one white! For all of you that have more variety in their wardrobes than me though, consider ditching these colours if you hate the wasps.

They also can’t see red, and so wearing red makes them a lot less likely to want to give you a hug.

5. Lemon/Clove Natural Repellent.

I came across this idea searching for an image to use for tip 2. Apparently, if you cut a lemon in half, and stuff it with cloves, it will naturally keep wasps away. Cutting the bottom of the lemon will help you stand it flat as well!

6. Mimic a Nest

So, wasps are like little gangsters. They do not like other wasps coming into their territory, and they are wary of going near another wasp nest, for fear of attack. As such, if you can mimic a nest, and hang it near-by, it may act as a deterrent to the army of yellow-coats threatening your summer fun.

This can apparently be accomplished by using a paper bag, but if you can’t find a shop with them anymore, then there is a company that sells kits that mimic the contours of a real nest:

7. The Nuclear Option – Wasp Traps

This is probably not a popular option with most, but it’s the option I’ll be taking this year. I’ll have a 6-week old on site, so I’ll be doing everything I can to keep him from being stung.

You can either make your own, which google has many tutorials for, or you can do what I did, and buy one from Amazon. I’m testing one in my garden at the moment, and I haven’t seen a single wasp in the house since deploying it, so I assume its working. I should probably go check that…

It essentially lures the wasps into a fluid that has been saturated with a very sweet mixture, and well, wasps can’t swim, so they die.

Not an option for everyone, and it’s the first time I’m using this option myself, but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. I’ll probably try some of the other options as well to be fair.

This is the one that I’ll be using this year:

The MOST important thing to remember this Toko though is that if you are stung, and you start reacting badly, seek medical Aid. Send someone to find a gopher with a radio, or a first aider, and try not to panic.

We have very well trained first aiders on site, including Zerocool, whom is a qualified instructor. If you know you have an allergy to wasp stings, or any other insect related bite/sting, PLEASE let the staff at Tokonatsu know, and tell them what medication you take to remedy it. If need be, leave some with them.

This may help save your life in an emergency, you wouldn’t believe the things people haven’t told us that have ended in pretty serious situations as a result!

Keeping some over the counter antihistamines, such as Piriton, to hand isn’t a bad idea either. For light/normal reactions, such as swelling around the sting site, they are very effective at reducing the swelling. If you don’t have some, ask around, I guarantee you someone will.

Seriousness aside though, however you choose to deal with the winged invasion this year, remember to have fun, and enjoy yourself!

~ Rezal