Dicing With Death

When pest controller Barrie Montgomery discovered he was allergic to wasps, there was no question he would be giving up the job he loves.

38-year-old Barrie Montgomery, who lives in Dundee and works all over Angus for Blairgowrie firm Graham Pest Control, made just one concession to his life-threatening condition – he made sure the date of his wedding was outwith the stingers' active season.

The father of five is due to marry fiancee Dorothy Dalton in November.

"I chose November for our wedding because I didn't want to be standing about outside having photographs taken with wasps buzzing about," said Barrie.

He had already been working for his employer for around two years, and had been stung on several occasions during that time, when he became allergic to wasps. The discovery was dramatic.

"I got stung on a job," said Barrie. "I was driving on to the next job when I started to feel a bit funny. My hands and feet were burning up. My face started to feel a bit funny and hot and flushed. I happened to be driving past Arbroath Infirmary so thought I'd just pop in. By the time I did I had already gone into full anaphylactic shock."

At the time Barrie was unaware of the life-threatening condition that causes the throat to constrict and causes breathing difficulties. If not treated within minutes, a sufferer will die.

Injections

Now – along with his specialist equipment that covers every area of his body and is worn by all pest controllers to protect them from stings – Barrie carries several pen-style injecting devices that give him vital minutes until an ambulance arrives and speeds him to specialist help.

"When I walked in to Arbroath Infirmary, I was within five minutes of shutting down and crashing," said Barrie.

On the first occasion he went into anaphylactic shock, staff at Arbroath stabilised Barrie before he was taken to Ninewells Hospital. "It's quite amazing how quickly you recover once you are treated," he said. "After a few hours you feel perfect again. One minute you are choking for breath and on fire and a few hours later, you're back to work, chasing wasps."

Despite all his precautions the pest controller still gets stung on occasions and has a well rehearsed routine of injecting himself and calling an ambulance. "They usually arrive within minutes," said Barrie. "They know they've not got long before I go into full anaphylactic shock."

Despite the life-threatening risk his job presents, Barrie says there's no chance he will give up the job he loves. He says he could leave the wasp jobs to colleagues and chase other pests but he won't even consider that and just wants to get on with tackling the stingers.

"I love everything about this job," said Barrie. "My mother thought I would give up straight away when I became allergic to wasps, but that never even came into my mind. It just adds a wee bit of excitement!"

Article provided by Graham Pest Control