Wear Those Gardening Gloves Every Time!

I have a great pair of gardening gloves that I've only been wearing when I'm picking tomatoes.  I can't stand to pick a mushy tomato and have it goosh all over my hand, nor did I was to encounter any of those disgusting tomato worms.  I did wear them the other day when I picked beets and they kept my hands clean while brushing off the soil from the roots.

Decided to pick the rest of the strawberry popcorn today and since the stalks were no longer needed I would pull them up, then remove the ears and toss the stalks into a pile for my husband to run over with the lawnmower later.  I'd picked at least 30 stalks then had my kids come help me a little, and my daughter noticed a weird looking caterpillar and was ready to call it quits.  I picked that one and tossed it aside, and then she noticed another one on another stalk.  She did call it quits then and would only shuck the ears, not pull the stalks.  So I went to get that one and my hand just barely brushed that caterpillar and it instantly felt like I'd been zapped by fire.

 Needless to say, we were done picking corn for the day.  I came inside and washed my hands well and inspected it to see if there was anything leftover from the encounter.  No spines that I could see, and it wasn't even red, but it still stung quite a bit.

Not knowing what it was, I turned to the internet to help me.  I asked on my Facebook page and on a group's page that often answer people's garden bug questions.  I was able to find out that this is a Saddleback caterpillar and the spines on it are venomous.  Luckily, I did not have a bad reaction to it.  If you are allergic to it, you could go into anaphylactic shock.

I followed some suggestions on the site that was recommended and pressed some clear tape over the area several times to make sure any spines were removed, and applied a paste of baking soda and water.  I also wrapped it in a little plastic to keep it in place.  I then wrapped an ice pack around my hand.  I also took an allergy pill as soon as I came in the house as an extra precaution.

My hand stung and burned for about an hour and then eased completely.  The spot where I made contact is tender if I touch it but otherwise I feel just fine.  Luckily, I barely brushed it, I can only imagine the pain if I'd grabbed onto it with my whole hand.