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Citizen complaint of the day: Jamaica Plain playground is buzzing
By adamg on Sat, 08/03/2019 - 7:09pm
A concerned citizen peers into the abyss that is the xylophone at the playground next to the Hennigan School off Minden Street and files a 311 complaint about what peers back:
Yellow jacket nest inside xylophone on play structure.
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Comments
Careful with the
B#
Instead of complaining...
How about buying some wasp spray and deal with it immediately, before some kid gets bitten? Yellowjackets are nasty when aroused, but the spray knocks them down. Keep spraying them as they come out, and soon they'll all be dead. Any who weren't home will die when they come back. They have a place in our world, but it isn't around kids.
wasp spray is nasty
I really hate wasps, but I'm not sure wasp spray is the best solution for playground equipment.
Then wait an hour...
and wash it off. I'm pretty sure anaphylactic shock isn't a good playground experience.
It's ok to be wrong.
Good plan, except the main ingredient in wasp spray is pyrtherin which is a water-insoluble insecticide. Water isn't going to do a whole lot to remove it. It's poisonous to humans and can cause convulsions and peripheral nerve damage. And it kills the shit out of fish.
Anaphylaxis is a completely different process, caused by an overwhelming immune response to allergens.
You don't need to double down on being wrong. It's OK to just admit your mistake and move on.
If I were, I would
You, Mr. Pee, have offered no solution at all to the hazard reported, only complaints about the one I suggested. If water won't remove the objectionable residue, use Windex, or Isopropyl alcohol, or whatever works.
I know what anaphylaxis is, or I would not have brought it up. For people who are susceptible*, it's life-threatening, and most of them have no idea they are until they have an unpleasant experience with something like a yellowjacket.
* From Pub Med: "The prevalence of anaphylaxis in the general population is at least 1.6% and probably higher."
Why not 311 it?
This way you create public awareness, leverage existing DPW / Parks resources for removing the threat and ensuring proper clean up afterwards, and - if the same type of equipment is used in other parks - enhances the city’s knowledge base to check that equipment for safety as well.
I agree about taking immediate action, but wouldn’t characterize this person’s 311 as a complaint and inaction.
Wasp spray
Yeah, that’s what we want: people just deciding to spray poison all over the xylophone at a kids playground when they see a wasp.
What 311 is for
I suppose we should all just go buy asphalt and patch potholes, too? Steel and concrete to fix signs, heck go buy a woodchipper to take down that tree that fell on the road! No need to involve the city in this.
Seriously? Is this sort of thing not what 311 is for? So that citizens can alert the city about issues, which the city can then use its resources to resolve?
Seems awfully presumptuous to hate on this person for not taking the time to go find a nearby store for poison (and also protective clothing, because generally people don't walk around on hot summer days in jeans and long sleeves), come back, and spray for wasps in the middle of the playground. There are a multitude of perfectly valid reasons for a person to not have the time, ability, or money to spare to do such a thing, especially when the city services exist specifically to provide such services.
Now if this was a trivial 311 about "oh there's a dead fly on the sidewalk, come sweep it away" then I'd understand the flippant attitude. Otherwise...are you just trolling?
Just wow
I was going to post this exact same thing, except as a joke.
Why have any city services at all, if residents can just volunteer to pick up garbage, kill pests, chop down diseased tree limbs, repave the roads, tow illegally-parked cars, etc.?
Part of the design
The 'Roslindale wants to play*' folks are expanding their drive to make playgrounds where kids have to conquer their fears vs. having simple fun in this case by adding stinging insects to parks. Why settle for just running around playing and having fun when you can watch kids get to test their mettle?
* citations needed on this claim
what
what
Are they still around?
After succeeding with adding exactly zero new playgrounds to the neighborhood with a net loss of swings, I assumed they were done.
Those are the rare breed
Waspus Playgroundius, I think they are federally protected.
Maybe they can relocate wasps to hot playground turtle
Maybe they can relocate the yellow jackets to the hot turtle statue that was burning kids in another park. That would prevent burns to kids while keeping the wasps alive.
City doesn’t care
The city won’t spray without a visible nest...guess they don’t look hard enough
Feed me Seymore! Feed me NOW!
That looks like the plant-creature from "The Little Shop of Horrors!"
Feed me Seymore! Feed me NOW!
UPDATE: 8/5
I work at the school during the summer months. Our custodian would not be allowed to spray insecticides because of the likely harmful effects to students. However, we just had the exterminator visit a few weeks ago. He stops by regularly and inspects the playground. We will contact him immediately. Thank you for helping us watch out for any potential dangers.