I'm newly retired and moved into a house where I can garden. I'm deathly allergic to the stings of wasps and bees, however. Are there plants I should avoid, such as lilac or honeysuckle? I was thinking of lining the flowerbeds along the drive with honeysuckle...
Bees like most sweet flowers, so best to avoid those. Wasps like to build in bushes, under decks, or anyplace where some protection is provided. Your best bet is to watch where you step and put your hands.
Have you talked to your MD about getting an EpiPen or three to have around? It is a wise precaution for anyone with debilitating allergic reactions.
Personally, I'm not what you'd call allergic to insect stings, beyond the normal aversion to the pain, but in ten years here in a large yard with many honey bees, bumblebees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and other stinging insects I've only been stung once. And that was by some ground-nesting beastie which I stirred up with the lawnmower and which stung me through my shirt and which raised an amazingly painful knot. This happened nowhere close to any flowering plants.
Yes, please, check out the EpiPen! Been there...
Go to a sporting goods store and buy the net garments that protect hunters and fishermen from bees and mosquitoes. Wear the head net over a hat to protect face and neck. The shirt net offers some protection but wearing a long sleeved shirt will help. I've gardened in Austin and know the heat and long-sleeved shirts are not comfortable in the heat. Wear leather gloves and there are net gloves that can be worn over them. Tape or tie the pants nets to the shoes. Good luck.
You don't say what part of the nation of Texas you are in. There's a big difference in gardening in Houston and Odessa. Lilacs won't survive the heat except possibly in northeastern Texas. Go to a book store and buy a Texas gardening book. They give good advice on what will survive in the different areas of Texas. Water rationing in some parts of Texas limits plant selection. Soil alkalinity also limits plants in some parts.
If I was braindead and allergic to bees, I might consider honeysuckle too. Dave
What type of allergic reaction? Does your throat swell up until you stop breathing or does the sting location get hot, swollen, red and continue to swell for days after the bite? I don't do the first reaction (the fatal one) but I sure do the second one and both are called allergic reactions. For me a sting means a week on steroids, at least -- the most recent one was for a simple little sting from a sweat bee. The epi pen is for the first type of reaction, not the second one.
And if you get the first type of reaction, I'd think a row of honeysuckle might be a very bad idea indeed. Also avoid loose clothing (so insects can't get tangled in it, under it or around it) and bare feet -- the most common ways to get stung without too much effort on your part.
"Dave" wrote in news:N_84i.11953$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net:
Okay, you owe me a new keyboard, Mister! There is sweet tea everywhere!
Honeysuckle is out. They're bee magnets.
Ask your doc to prescribe an Epi-Pen for you. If you get stung, you can poke yourself in the thigh with epi and still be alive when the ambulance gets there. (Or still be alive to be able to phone 911 and get the ambulance on the way.)
I always keep one handy, after enjoying an anaphylaxis episode a few years back.
Good luck,
Jan
That's "were" braindead, hon.
On May 21, 6:03 am, FragileWarrior
Here is a source of protective gear that I have used.
texas_gardener wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@x35g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
You might want to be tested for it, if that's possible. There's nothing like getting bit and thinking you're about to die when all you really have to do is take some Benedryl and mosey on over to the Dr's. office. I always thought an allergic reaction was an allergic reaction was an allergic reaction and if you had ANY kind of reaction then death was always a possibility. My doctor finally said no, that I had the type that was inconvinient but not deadly. The sweat bee bite I got on my elbow this spring made my arm swell from wrist to armpit and half way 'round but it wasn't fatal and that's just as well because I was a long, long, long way from help when it happened. It really is nice to know what type of allergic reaction you will have when you feel that sting.
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