<html><body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><div>Robin, Laurie,</div><div> There aren't many effective repellents for Hymenoptera, as far as I know. DEET is offered as a component but may not be what you, Robin, see as non-toxic. Undertaking desensitization as soon as possible and carrying epinephrine (EpiPen) seems the most rational approach. No doubt, your allergist has suggested staying away from "dangerous" situations, insofar as that's possible.</div><div>Do take heart though; desensitization is relatively painless, rapid and effective. Good luck!</div><div>Barry<br><br>Barry H Thompson, MD, FACMG Medical Director<div>American College of Medical Genetics</div><div>Bethesda, Maryland</div><div><br></div><div> Sent from my iPhone</div></div><div><br>On Jul 29, 2011, at 12:57 AM, <a href="mailto:Ladadams@aol.com">Ladadams@aol.com</a> wrote:<br><br></div><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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<div>Anyone have ideas for Robin?</div>
<div>
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From: <a href="mailto:robin_eisman@yahoo.com"><a href="mailto:robin_eisman@yahoo.com">robin_eisman@yahoo.com</a></a><br>To: <a href="mailto:Ladadams@aol.com"><a href="mailto:Ladadams@aol.com">Ladadams@aol.com</a></a><br>CC:
<a href="mailto:steve@thebeeworks.com"><a href="mailto:steve@thebeeworks.com">steve@thebeeworks.com</a></a><br>Sent: 7/28/2011 9:23:02 P.M. Pacific Daylight
Time<br>Subj: Question to pass on_NAPPC<br></div>
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<div>Dear Laurie,</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Hope you're doing well - and that you remember my name. I
co-chaired the Consumer Outreach TF for a while, but "dropped out" of NAPPC a
few years ago because of overwhelming commitments. I'm hoping you can
direct me to the right person to answer a couple questions, which may also be
useful for others. I've discovered that I'm allergic to one or more
hymenoptera, after ending up in the ER a couple of weeks ago with severe
anaphylaxis after a sting. This is pretty devastating for me, given that
I occasionally do field work in remote areas (and garden at home and volunteer
in/manage a couple local parks/gardens, but those are at least close to major
hospitals). So here are the questions that I'm hoping to get
professional advice on - lots of items on the Web, but I don't trust much of
that. <br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>- for personal protection (until I can - hopefully - start
desensitization therapy and reach maintenance dosing in ~6 months) - is there
something I can use on myself as a repellent to bees/wasps? ie,
something non-toxic that's a true repellent.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>- are there any native bees with venomous stings? My allergist can
test for and provide desensitization therapy for the following: vespids
(yellowjackets / Vespula spp, white-faced and yellow hornets / Dolichovespula
spp); honeybees; fire ants; and paper wasps (Polistes spp). These
apparently account for most but not all insect stings - so I'm trying to
figure out how much risk I'm at in terms of other venomous insects, and
whether there's any chemical similarity among these species' venoms (if
so, desensitization to these other species could provide partial protection,
I'd guess). <br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I did check out the info on the NAPPC/PP website for gardeners, which had
useful info on avoiding attracting bees/wasps, but nothing on
repellents. I imagine lots of people have similar questions. I
don't plan to change my planting of natives for pollinators, either at my
house or the small public garden I manage, but I do need to be more
careful. And I'd be happy to be a "poster child" for someone w/a
serious allergy to stinging hymenoptera who's still pollinator-friendly
- though if one of them kills me, that approach could backfire...
; ) (I'm in black-humor mode, having
visited the allergist today and coming away pretty depressed.)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Thanks for passing this on, and I'll happily disseminate any info to my
allergist and local nature centers, env'l groups, etc.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Best,</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Robin Eisman<br></div></div></font></blockquote></div></font>
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