Wasp Sting – Treatment

Firstly, before applying any treatment, you should make sure that it was a wasp that stung you and not a bee. If you don’t know the difference between a wasp and a bee (a lot of people don’t), you should probably read up on them a little more, as a wasp sting is completely different to a bee sting.

The difference between bees and wasps (including pictures/diagrams):

• Wasp
• Bee

What’s the difference between a wasp sting and a bee sting?
The venom in a wasp sting is alkali. If you don’t know what “alkaline” or “alkali” means, you can get the basic gist of it all by taking a look at this diagram of the pH Scale. Basically, one end of the pH scale is alkaline and the other end is acidic. To treat a wasp sting, you need to neutralize the alkaline sting by applying something that is acidic. The most obvious acidic household product is vinegar. Therefore, should you get a wasp sting, pouring vinegar over the affected area is a good way to go about relieving the pain. Lemon juice and other acidic household products will also do the trick. Be careful when looking for something that is acidic, as you don’t want to use anything that is too acidic, as it might burn your skin.

On the other hand, a bee sting is acidic and therefore on the opposite end of the pH Scale. This means that in order to neutralize the sting, you will need something that is on the alkaline side of the pH Scale. Alkaline products include tooth paste and bicarbonate of soda. Should you get stung by a bee, applying tooth paste to the affected area will help neutralize the sting.

In short; how do I treat a wasp sting?
By applying vinegar to the affected area.

In short; how do I treat a bee sting?
By applying tooth paste to the affected area.

How to kill wasps and hornets:

If you feel as if wasps around your home are becoming a terrible pest, you can buy something called the “Fatal Funnel” from Amazon.com. Basically, it attracts wasps, tricks them into crawling down into the funnel and then kills them. No chemicals are involved so it’s completely safe to keep around small children and family pets. You get 6 wasp traps in one and they are completely reusable.

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