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A hidden hazard found outside a home in Utah County has the parents of a one-year-old boy advising others to be on alert for a common potential danger. It's something the family didn't know was there until it was too late.
Unfortunately, it was a little boy, almost 2 years old, who made the discovery of a wasp nest hidden below the railing of his grandmother's back deck. Lincoln was playing on that deck when he must have made them mad because, before he knew it, nearly a dozen yellow-jackets were swarming him.
His grandmother, Judy Powell, who was only about 10 feet away, heard him cry and then saw him trying to swat the wasps away. "I'm surprised they didn't sting me. It seemed like a lot. I'm saying 10. That doesn't sound like a lot, but when they're around your grandchild, it kind of scares you," she said.
Powell grabbed her grandson but not before he was stung 12 times by the wasps. He has marks all over his arms, ears and one near his eye.
The family called 911 because they didn't know if he was going to have an allergic reaction which, if not treated immediately, can be fatal. Fortunately, he's OK. Paramedics treated him at the house.
Lincoln seems to have forgotten all about it now, but his family is urging people to check their yards carefully for any nests. If they survive more than one season, the nests can grow to the size of a basketball.
As for this nest, the family waited until after dusk to spray it, because that's when the wasps return to the nest for the night.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
