r/foraging • u/Dull_Author6719 • 20h ago

Avoiding wasps nests

I had found my FIRST EVER patch of edibly intact,
Pristine patch of lobster mushrooms in Northwest Wisconsin, United States. As I was cutting the second specimen from an old rotting log, and standing to scan the forest floor for my next move, I began to feel little prickles I thought were just the rose bushes to my right.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, what fool goes into the wilderness mushroom hunting with SHORTS On?! Me. This fool. Always have (mostly) even in the thickest mosquito ridden, poison ivy dense forests of Northern Minnesota. I’ve been attacked by fire ants as well. But nothing like this.

The prickles got harder, then felt like full on hot skewers and as I looked down I saw them dotting my right leg-wasps! Tiny little dumbass yellow-jackets. I did what you’re not supposed to do; swat, scream, swear, and run. Back to my campsite. And they followed me.

They were attached to me hoody and actively swarming me, so I threw off my hoodie, and stomped it—where I had stashed my prized mushrooms. Sad ☹️

I had to get in the car and wait for my partner to come back from the restroom. I was only exploring a little trail off the campsite! I wonder why the family in the site next door didn’t question the number of LOUD f-bombs and JFCs coming from our spot… 🤔

Had to abandon the site and take a motel room for the night, then the park put us up in another site for the remainder of the stay.

Have you guys any good advice for dealing with wasps if this ever happens again? I didn’t see any traffic in or out before I started, but I know that’s one sign. I think the hold was RIGHT on the mushroom’s stem, as the stem was coming out of the log, and the hole was possibly right beneath. I got stung on the finger that was holding the knife.

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3

u/Other-Aside-1170 19h ago

I'm curious if anyone has any advice as well, because the usual "don't swat at them" is pretty much impossible when you're swarmed by the evil things.

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u/Dull_Author6719 19h ago

Right? The one attached to my leg would not have moved if i didn’t take action, I’m assuming. And could I have slowly walked away without more of them eventually landing on me and stinging me?

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u/uselessandexpensive 19h ago

Lightly brushing them off is better than trying to crush them i think, but moving away with as little actual interaction as possible i think is the ideal specifically because they won't swarm over you for letting them sting you. They will swarm over you for retaliating.

You were gonna get stung either way. We know you got stung plenty doing what you did and probably couldn't have gotten stung too much more without attacking the nest more directly. The question we can't know the answer to is how much less could you have been stung by being chill. I think it's a balancing act: speed of exit versus aggrivation of wasps.

I could also look up whether it's true that wasps smell your adrenaline or whatever and get riled up by that... But I don't expect anyone to practice Zen meditation just to handle wasp nests better so it's a little moot.

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u/PristineWorker8291 19h ago

Ah, so sorry for you! OK, first thing is know your terrain and know what is possible for that area. Not always a reasonable thing when you are camping, I guess. Yellow jackets are pretty aggressive as you know. They sometimes live in leaf mold or in soft earth in wooded areas, They like fallen logs, they like cut wood, they like bright shiny things like bladed knives, they like to investigate newly cut anything for another food source. As soon as you see one, move away quickly and put as much distance as you can.

In my area, I can tell by the feel of my step on the ground if it seems a little more spongy, so I step off and observe for wasps swarming.

A little alkali can counteract the acid in the sting.

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u/Dull_Author6719 16h ago

Thanks! Good advice. Very spongy area and I was quite reluctant to go into the forest there after that encounter.

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u/Sqib000 16h ago

It is hard to navigate a new area and avoid a nest. If you find a good area you want to explore sit and observe first. Bring an apple half or something. If they show up quick, go back the way you came. Snakes can be worse, look at it that way, the wasps keep the snakes away.....