Aussie mum's brutal injuries as property owners warned of painful threat hidden underground

Yahoo

03-04-2025

An Aussie mum has shared painful details about the moment she was suddenly attacked by a swarm of aggressive wasps, leaving her with roughly 20 excruciating welts all over her body.
The 33-year-old farmer, who lives on a 20-acre property in Victoria's Yarra Valley, told Yahoo News the entire ordeal began last Thursday when she headed out to drag a harrow — a tool used to break up the soil and animal droppings across a paddock.
'[I] was harrowing the horse poo before Saturday's predicted rain. It's a nice empty, flat paddock with zero long grass as it had just been grazed,' the anonymous woman said. 'I was pottering along about 8km/h and hadn't noticed any wasps hanging around when all of a sudden I was swarmed. The pain was immediate and intense.'
Unknowingly, the mum of three had accidentally driven just a bit 'too close' to a European wasp nest hidden in the ground.
The non-native species — otherwise known as vespula germanica — is considered to be a significant pest in Australia. Unlike honeybees, the European wasp, which has also been recorded in South Australia, NSW and Western Australia, can sting multiple times.
As the insects surrounded her, the farmer told Yahoo her adrenaline kicked in and she leapt off her bike and 'ran like f**k'. 'They'd gotten down my shirt so I ripped my shirt off as I was running, and my hat and hair tie have come off in the process,' she said.
'I just kept running until the only ones left were the ones tangled in my hair, which were repeatedly stinging my head.'
The 33-year-old was stung about 20 times overall — mostly on her back. Four stings on her arm 'blew up', and she suffered others to her head, face and stomach.
'I've never had an encounter with a wasp before, and kinda figured that if I left them alone, they'd leave me alone. I've since been told they're naturally very aggressive and people are often attacked just from walking by them,' the woman added.
'It's definitely made me more wary of them. I often have my three young kids out in the paddocks with me too.'
🐜 Aussie mum sounds alarm over deadly garden threat hiding in yards
🏡 Aussies stunned by 'nightmare inducing' growth in backyard shed
🐝 Dangerous 'trend' for getting rid of wasps sparks warning: 'Needless killing'
About an hour later, the farmer started to have a 'strange heavy feeling' in her chest despite her heart rate being normal. 'I barely slept that night from the pain. I also had 48 hours of diarrhoea which is the body's way of flushing out the toxins from the venom. My arm is still a bit swollen a week later.'
The woman said she decided not to seek medical attention as she wasn't experiencing any respiratory systems.
'I managed at home with ice, calamine lotion and homeopathics. I didn't see the point in clogging up the emergency department. I have since heard that once you are stung, you're more likely to have a worse or even anaphylactic reaction next time.'
According to Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia, people who have had a local reaction like a rash or swelling after being stung have less than a 10 per cent chance of having a severe allergic reaction to future insect stings or bites.
Given that she lives 'down a dirt road that no one can ever find', the mum did visit her GP on Monday to pick up a couple of EpiPens just in case. 'He agreed the chest symptom wasn't a good sign, and diarrhoea is a 'severe' symptom.'
When she was feeling up for it, the 33-year-old searched for the nest that had made her so ill, and found another two in other paddocks.
'We've been here six years and this is the driest year we've had. The ground has opened up and there's cracks everywhere. It's the worst we've ever seen the European wasps too,' she said. About 80 per cent of European wasp nests will occur in the ground, according to Victoria's Department of Health.
'All three have been powdered but there are still so many wasps around and a pest controller told us on a property this size, we're likely to have a dozen or more,' the farmer said.
'I've put traps out all over the place and I'm catching heaps, but it just seems like a drop in the ocean. There are so many."
According to Victoria's Department of Health, the best method of wasp control is to locate the nest and eradicate them using the appropriate insecticide, especially early in the morning or at night when they're less active. If you don't feel up for it, call a professional in your area for help.
Do you have a story tip? Email: [e-mail].
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.