Bees, wasps and dogs: treating stings

UMass Extension says conflicts between people and yellowjackets rise from August through September, because colonies grow from spring through fall and peak around Labor Day, and late in the season the workers forage mostly for sugar. Yellowjackets nest in the ground, in stone walls, in shrubs, stumps and piles of stone, and the vibration of equipment can be enough to set them off. A colony lasts until the first hard frost, which kills the workers.

That describes a Cape Ann trail in August. Dogtown Common's 3,600 acres of woods and boulders, and the stone walls that edge so many local paths, offer exactly the cover yellowjackets choose, and a dog sniffing along a wall or digging at a hole by a stump has its face at the door. Honeybees are the quieter neighbors: Essex County Greenbelt keeps two hives at Cox Reservation in Essex for education and honey.

Most stings on a walk happen when a dog's nose finds a nest before you do. In August and September, keep a curious dog on a leash on paths lined with stone walls and boulders, call it away from holes in the ground and rotting stumps, and watch for a steady stream of wasps flying in and out of one spot, which marks a nest entrance. If you find one, note where it is and take a different route home.

Late-season wasps want sugar, so picnics and dropped fruit draw them in. UMass advises against swatting at a yellowjacket that is tasting your food, and suggests covering, finishing or removing the food once it has gone. Keep dog treats sealed on a summer picnic and stop the dog snapping at insects around the table. A nest near a doorway, walkway or garage at home is a job for a pest management professional, UMass says, especially in a household with a sting allergy.

Our at-home walkers take one dog at a time, 20 minutes for $25, 30 for $35 or 60 for $55, with a photo and a short note after each walk. If your dog has reacted to a sting before, tell us at the evaluation and leave your vet's number and the nearest emergency hospital's with the leash. Ask us whether we cover your address, because walking depends on the address and the season.

A daycare day at 210 Eastern Ave, $42 full or $33 half, keeps a dog busy on the turf, in the splash pools and on the indoor play floors in a matched group of 7 to 10. Tell the front desk about any sting allergy when you book. New dogs complete the free evaluation first, on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file and a current city license.