Yellow Jackets!

Yesterday, our Lola was stung *twice* by yellow jacket wasps in our yard.  Tom and I knew the wasps were there, but we both had a 'live and let live' attitude about it; well, they blew that!  Poor Lola did nothing more than walk past their nest in the wall of our garden at the end of the path out our back door, and they attacked her. I felt just awful for her - the first sting was to her paw, just above the pads. I actually saw the wasp, but Lola was shaking her paw, so I couldn't grab it.  She ran for the door and I called out to Tom to let her in.  Poor baby licked and licked that paw, and limped when she walked and generally looked miserable.  I got an ice pack to put under her paw, and she allowed it for a little while.

I was researching methods to treat dogs stung by wasps when Tom rushed in with her again, and said she had been stung.  Poor girl was turning in circles, trying to reach her tail.  Her spine condition makes it impossible, so she was frantic.  I looked and ran my hands over her, looking for the sting, when a wasp dropped from under her tail - and I STOMPED it, stupid thing.

So I gave her a dose of Benadryl and made a baking soda poultice and applied it under her tail (the things we do for our pets) and she fell asleep for awhile.  She seemed fine when she woke up, except that she really wanted to be close to Tom or me.

Today, Tom went after the nest.  He had tried spraying the opening in the wall.  That killed lots of wasps, but we continued to see plenty fly in and out.  So Tom removed a stone from the wall, which gave him some insight into the issue.  He asked about the astilbe planted there, and I told him the wasps must go and do what he had to.  He uprooted the plant and could see the nest.  He removed something a little larger than a softball; later he told me there was some of the nest left in the ground and he broke it up with a shovel.  We still see a few yellow jackets out there, but I hope they decide to move on....