Lighter + Pledge = Big Trouble

So the town of Jamestown, CA, which according to MapQuest is about two hours west of San Francisco, seems to have a few do-it-yourself type people. Now this can-do attitude has even driven some, well at least one man, to attempt to get rid of some pests who had made his property their home as well. You see this business man had thought that eliminating the wasp's nest next to his front door would be an easy task and would save quite a bit of money if he were able to do it himself. Being the savvy, creative fellow he is, came up with an ingenious way to accomplish his task. How does he decide to do it? Let's say that a can of Pledge (the furniture polish) and a lighter were the main weapons of choice. Yes, the man was going to burn down the wasp's nest (and don't forget it was located near his front door) with nothing more than a can of pledge and a lighter, apparently making his own blow torch.

It does not take an overly intelligent person to figure out what the conclusion of the story is. Yes, the man did successfully eliminate the wasps and their nest, but if you think about it, it would have been hard to have the wasp's nest survive when the house did not. That' right, the man managed to burn down over 80% of his house AND the carport that was attached AND the boat and trailer that were parked in the carport were also destroyed. Now, the kicker to the story, although a sad part as well, is the man did not have homeowners insurance, therefore the property damage that was caused by the man trying to save a few dollars was not covered.

Now I am all for do things yourself especially to save money. I do happen to have a certain area where I draw the line and decide it is better for someone else to do it. Just seeing the wasps would have probably been enough to have me call an exterminator. Even if at first I thought I could destroy the wasps myself, if the only plan I came up with involved a highly flammable can of furniture polish and a lighter, I would hope I would have the common sense to move on to plan B, which would then be the exterminator. I feel for the guy, losing his house and all, not a good way to end the afternoon, but I guess that is what happens when a guy was visiting the dumb-dumb factory the day common sense was being handed out.

For the final words of the day, a few facts about the fallen prey of our story: the wasp.

***Don't press this alarm... Never kill a wasp near the nest. A dying wasp releases an alarm pheromone, or smell, that alerts other wasps. In less than 15 seconds, wasps within a 15-foot radius will come to the wounded wasp's aid.

***Wasps are considered a farmer's friend in many countries as the wasp's diet consists of mainly other insects, many of which feed and destroy farmer's crops.

***The average wasp grows to a respectable 2 inches. (That's a little big for my comfort)

***Female wasps and worker wasps have stinger. Wasp venom contains histamine and a factor that dissolves red blood cells. A single wasp sting has been reported fatal in numerous cases.

In short, my suggestion is to stay away from our not-so-friendly friend, the wasp.