Wasp activity rising

Social wasps, like this paper wasp, are more likely to sting a person than a solitary wasp, like a mud dauber. Wasps are most active when temperatures are between 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit. (Photo by Claudette Olivier)

By Claudette Olivier
Claudette.Olivier@eunicetoday.com
Wasps love warm weather, and if there’s anything on the agenda for the next few months in Louisiana, it’s definitely balmy temperatures.
“Wasps are most active between 80 and 100 degrees,” said Dennis Ring, Extension entomologist at Louisiana State University. “Temperatures above or below that slow them down. They are active below 80 degrees but once it gets cold, below 60 degrees, they are not active.”
“The number one thing that drives insect activity is temperature.”
Ring’s expertise explains why it seemed like wasps are everywhere on those muggy and warm days right before a cool front passes, and with many 80 degree days already come and gone this spring, wasp sightings will continue to increase as the insects build their nests.
Louisiana is home to several different families of wasps, and there are a number of species within these families that don’t sting.
“There are a tremendous number of wasps in Louisiana,” Ring said. “Most are no problem as far as stinging humans.”
“There are several species that are quite aggressive. Social wasps, like yellow jackets and paper wasps, are more aggressive. If you get near them or nests, you might get stung. Solitary wasps, like mud daubers, are less aggressive. If you grab a spider wasp with your hand, you might get stung. Also, true hornets attack bees, not people.”
According to Ring, new paper wasps, which are extremely common in Louisiana, will hatch every few weeks until the temperature cools off in the fall. Wasps typically build their nests in trees, but are drawn to build nests on structures with lights, which attract other insects and spiders that are a main component of a wasp’s diet.
“Wasps feed on these organisms year round, and structures provide good places for nests,” Ring said. “Wasps also like gardens. Caterpillars hang out in gardens, and wasps eat caterpillars too.”
“In the fall, late August and in September, wasps will also be on the lookout for sugary things to drink, like glasses of ice tea and hummingbird feeders, since pollen and nectar are reduced in the fall because there are less flowering plants.’
For those allergic to insect stings, anaphylactic shock is often the result of a sting, and incidents like these often and need to result in visits to the emergency room. Anaphylaxis is often treated with an epinephrine auto-injector, and the device is available by prescription only. Insect stings can also lead to death.
To help prevent stings, Ring recommended knocking down nests around the home every two weeks and putting yellow light bulbs in outdoor lighting fixtures. These colored bulbs attract fewer bugs and therefore, less wasps.
“If you are allergic, wasp spray trumps everything else,” Ring said. “Wasp sprays are extremely fast acting.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Center for Health Statistics, there were 16 deaths in Louisiana from contact with hornets, wasps and bees from 1999-2013.
“The latest data shows there were 425,790 visits to the hospital emergency department in the United States with the primary diagnosis of insect bite (in 2014),” said Brian Tsai, public affairs specialist for the CDC and NCHS. “According to the NCHS’s mortality database, WONDER, there were 65 deaths in 2013 (the latest information available) using the ICD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems) 10 code X23, contact with hornets, wasps and bees.”   
When pitted against statistics, a person is more likely to die from an insect sting than a shark attack — the CDC only had three deaths from ICD 10 code W56, Contact with marine animal, for 2013.
Dr. Brent Prather with Prather Pediatric Asthmatic and Allergy Center in Opelousas sees about one patient per week with anaphylactic shock due to a bug bite, and that number has steadily increased in the 34 years he has practiced medicine. The doctor gives an epinephrine autoinjector, often referred to as an EpiPen, to all his patients who suffer from anaphylactic shock.
“They don’t leave my office without one,” Prather said. “Benadryl and antihistamines do not cut it with anaphylactic shock. Those take hours to work. They need adrenaline or epinephrine.”
“EpiPens have been around since the mid 1980s. Prior to that, we had to draw up adrenaline in a syringe. I did quite a bit of that in my early days. The new version of EpiPen is Auvi-Q. It talks to you and looks like a small channel changer for a television. The voice reassures and coaxes you through administration.”
According to Prather, many patients he sees with insect related anaphylactic shock have been bitten by red ants.
“Red ants are becoming more and more common across the country,” he said. “They have also evolved. There are now more queens per pile.”
The doctor recommended that those with insect allergies try to always avoid the particular insect and carry at least one if not two EpiPens.
“The EpiPen will give you the time to get to the emergency room or a doctor,” Prather said. “Some people may need another shot, but that is more common in adults than children.”
Those who do succumb to anaphylactic shock are often too far from medical attention or did not seek medical attention soon enough.
“It’s a combo of all kinds of things with deaths from anaphylactic shock,” Prather said. “They did not get shot of adrenaline/epinephrine quick enough. If they would have gotten the shot in the first few minutes, they would have survived.”