My husband nearly died after wasps attacked him. He had to be hospitalized, leaving me to juggle work, doctors, and our daughter. Then my little girl told me, “Another mommy kisses daddy while you’re at work.” I rushed to the hospital expecting a mistress, but what I found was far worse.
Like most problems, the wasp nest started small but grew rapidly.
It hummed when I opened the back door to let the dogs out. Our five-year-old daughter, Evie, had gotten so scared of that side of the house that she wouldn’t go anywhere near it.
“That nest has to go,” I told my husband, Daniel. “Those wasps are huge.”
Daniel nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
He returned to scrolling on his phone. I thought he’d call in a professional, but I was wrong.
That Sunday, he woke me early and told me, “I saw a life hack for removing a nest fast. Help me, and we’ll be safe.”
I stared at him. “Daniel, just call someone.”
He rolled his eyes. “For a nest? Claire, come on.”
He waved a hand. “It will be fine. See, you spray the nest at dawn when the wasps are all inside but inactive. That neutralizes them, and then you can safely knock the nest down. It’s simple.”
I should NEVER have agreed to his plan, but hindsight is 20-20, right?
I stood by, holding the spray, as Daniel placed the ladder against the side of the house.
“Are you sure this will work?” I asked as I passed him the spray can.
He grinned. “Relax. I’ve got this.”
Those were his last calm words to me that day.
Panic blurs and sharpens at the same time. I remember Daniel halfway up the ladder, arm raised, and the hiss of the spray showering the nest.
The buzzing exploded so suddenly it felt like the air burst open. A black cloud poured out of the nest in a fast, violent wave.
“Oh, my God! Daniel, get down!”
He flinched. The ladder shifted against the siding with a horrible scrape. One foot slipped. The whole thing lurched.
The sound of his body hitting the ground is one of those things I think will stay inside me forever.
Then the wasps converged on him. He was slapping wildly at his chest and face, trying to breathe, trying to stand, failing at both.
I grabbed the hose and turned it on with shaking hands. “Get in the garage!”
He stumbled once, then collapsed onto one knee.
His face was swelling. His eyes looked panicked in a way I had never seen before.
What happened next changed everything… continues on the next page.
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