Avoidance of stinging insects is the best approach to preventing

envenomization. People at risk should avoid areas with high

concentrations of ants, bees, or yellowjackets and be very observant
and alert when working in areas where colonies are likely to occur

Then…..How to prevent it???

PREVENTION AND CONTROL 
• Certain colors of clothing should be avoided. Foraging yellow jackets and bees are
attracted to yellows, light blues, and many bright or fluorescent colors. Dark-colored
objects are more attractive to attacking wasps.
• It is advisable to wear long pants, preferably with the legs tucked into boots, and to
wear a long-sleeved shirt to protect the arms.
• Protective clothing such as a bee suit and veil should be worn when destroying colonies
• Avoid using perfumes, hair sprays, sweet-smelling lotions, aftershave lotions, hand and
body lotions, and even certain suntan lotions. Some of the odors emanating from these
materials are highly attractive to flying hymenopterans.
• Paints containing isoamyl acetate, a component of the honey bee alarm pheromone,
should be used with care around honey bees. These materials should not be applied
out-doors where stinging bees and wasps are likely to be attracted to them.
PREVENTION AND
CONTROL (cont’d)
• Wasps and bees defending their nests tend to attack any nearby
moving object. However, once a person is stung, it is best to leave the
area as quickly as possible before the alarmed wasp or bee can alert
other nest mates to join the attack.
• The nose and eyes should be covered without blocking vision to avoid
stings directed to one's head. Running, perhaps a quarter to half
a mile, will gradually leave the attacking wasps or bees behind. One
should not crawl or climb into an enclosed area, such as rock crevices;
most serious injuries from multiple stings have occurred when victims
were trapped, caged, or otherwise incapacitated.
PREVENTION AND
CONTROL (cont’d)
• Insecticides, especially aerosol sprays containing a quick knockdown and a
long-lasting toxicant, can be used to kill colonies of both yellowjackets and
paper wasps.
• Nest destruction should be conducted at night, when wasps are least active
and all the individuals are in the nest.
• Control measures for fire ants include the direct application of insecticides to
the nest, the use of various formulations of toxic baits and Insect Growth
Regulators, and the use of biological control agents such as pathogens and
parasitoids.
• The control of scavenging yellowjackets perhaps is best accomplished by a
trapping system with attractant baits containing a slow-acting insecticide.
PREVENTION AND
CONTROL (cont’d)
• A simple meat trap with fish or ham suspended over a pan of
detergent water can be used to drown thousands of attracted wasps.
Workers cut off pieces of meat that are too heavy for them to carry
and drop down into the water as they try to fly away. Each day, the
drowned wasps should be removed and the detergent water and the
meat should be replaced. Because meat baits spoil and lose their
attraction quickly, potential synthetic attractants have been
investigated.