First Aid for Bee and Wasp Stings on Your Pet

March 14, 2025

Cats and dogs are naturally curious, and in warmer months, they love exploring gardens and chasing insects. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to painful bee or wasp stings! Our Vet Rachel has advice for Somerset pet owners on what to do if your pet gets stung. Your first stop should be downloading our handy insect guide.

Call us on 01749 673239 if you are concerned about your pet following an insect sting. 

Download our Insect Guide

 

Why do cats and dogs get stung?

Bees and wasps in Somerset are most active in spring and summer, buzzing around flowers where pets love to sniff and play. Many stings happen when a pet tries to catch an insect or accidentally disturbs one.

Signs of a bee or wasp sting 

If you didn’t see your pet get stung, look out for:

  • Sudden shaking, licking, or pawing at a specific area
  • Swelling, often around the face or paws
  • Redness or irritation at the sting site
  • Unusual vocalising

Severe reactions (rare but serious) include:

  • Breathing difficulties (especially in short-nosed breeds)
  • Vomiting or diarrhoea
  • Signs of an allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)

First aid for bee and wasp stings

Rachel explains that if you can see the sting, it can be gently scraped away with a flat object like a credit card – don’t use tweezers as they may squeeze more venom into the skin.

  • Bee stings: Apply a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water
  • Wasp stings: Dab the area with vinegar or lemon juice
  • Unknown sting? Apply a cold pack to reduce swelling

When to call a vet

If swelling worsens, breathing is affected, or your pet seems distressed, call our Wells veterinary team on 01749 673239. Some pets may need pain relief or antihistamines – only give medication prescribed by a vet. For peace of mind, print our insect guide and keep it handy! 

Download our Insect Guide

 

Strictly Necessary

These cookies are required for our website to operate and include items such as whether or not to display this pop-up box or your session when logging in to the website. These cookies cannot be disabled.

Performance

We use 3rd party services such as Google Analytics to measure the performance of our website. This helps us tailor the site content to our visitors needs.

Functional

From time to time, we may use cookies to store key pieces of information to make our site easier for you to use. Examples of this are remembering selected form options to speed up future uses of them. These cookies are not necessary for the site to work, but may enhance the browsing experience.

Targeting

We may use advertising services that include tracking beacons to allow us to target our visitors with specific adverts on other platforms such as search or social media. These cookies are not required but may improve the services we offer and promote.

Change Settings

Welcome. You can control how we use cookies and 3rd party services below

Change Settings Accept
Learn how we use cookies