Living in deepest Hampshire I think I've been bitten and stung by everything out here, so I know I'm not allergic to anything. Wasps are bad on two levels - as well as being mean bastards they are not particular about where they nest. We've had three nests in the roof of our house, and many in rabbit holes in the surrounding fields. They can be dispatched of at night with a bottle of creosote, but in the house you need somebody to come out to puff it with a pesticide. When we removed one from the main roof filled several large plastic bags - bit of a shame as they are a work of art to look at.

That said, for several years my uncle kept several hives of bees at his house on the outskirts of Basingstoke and was stung many times, but one time he was stung he got a severe allergic reaction and was taken to hospital. What didn't help was they gave him ten times too much adrenalin and his heart stopped! He fully recovered but had to give the bees away. Shame really, as it was nice to have as much honey as you can eat available

Gareth