Record pets.

Take care to avoid worst kind of sting in the tale

I HAVE a terrible confession to make. I like strimming grass.

I actually find it therapeutic.

Welly boots on. Thick gloves on. Ear defenders on. Face visor on. Start the burbling two stroke engine and away I go into a wonderful, peaceful world where the mind can wander blissfully, as the hands and arms move repetitively back and forth, turning an overgrown wilderness into a neat and tidy verge.

With each new cut, a layer of stress is removed.

Of course there can be problems. Dog poo is one. I will leave the result to your imagination.

Horse dung is another. So is discarded barbed wire. And then there are wasps.

I hadn’t given them much thought before but just the other day, as I strimmed away contentedly in my usual trance-like state, I spied suspicious movement in the corner of my eye.

I hesitated. Happily. I stared for a while through the

BY NEIL McINTOSH splattered Perspex visor and saw, merely six feet in front of me, wasps heading in and out of a small hole in the ground.

The activity was relentless, so goodness knows the size of the nest hidden below.

I shuddered when I thought of the consequences of strimming over it. Or standing on it.

I have seen plenty of dogs over the years that have not been as lucky as me.

Most showed the classic signs of a single sting or two.

Maybe they yelped and held up a paw.

Perhaps their foot was swollen and they gnawed at it agitatedly.

They might whine or drool or both. Or their face may have become swollen and puffy.

On rare occasions, things have been much worse. When dogs disturb hives or nests, rather than standing on a solitary wasp or snapping at an annoying, lazy bee, the outcome can be serious, if not fatal.

I recall a lovely Collie who succumbed to an attack by honey bees.

There were literally hundreds of stings hidden by his thick coat.

I can remember a golden retriever who stuck his inquisitive snout into a hole in the ground.

He recoiled as the first wasp sting penetrated his nose.

His entire human family, who were walking with him, ended up in hospital, though he remained remarkably cheery.

When exercising at this time of year, beware of untrodden routes.

Watch your dog very carefully.

An attempt should be made to scrape out single stings with a fingernail or credit card. Don’t squeeze them. Multiple stings may require urgent medical attention.