Advice on gloves, please.

[Steve Dyer]

Hardly any experienced beekeepers use leather gauntlets, every novice gets sold a pair by ruthless sales people. They are too thick for good manipulations, and even when a sting doesn't get through them they are a reservoir for venom in the leather and it can be as bad as a sting - the venom just soaks through the skin. It's best to use thin gloves and learn over time that gloves aren't always necessary, and that occasional stings become less and less painful and for them to stay that way you need to be stung sometimes. I am a rank coward over stings but I have got to that state, it also teaches you to be a careful and caring beekeeper. I'm also experimenting with not using smoke - I haven't lit my smoker this year yet, and so far I find the colonies have just got on with their work with very little reaction to my interference.

 

[tonybloke]

i) I have had occasional severe local reactions like this; they seem to be getting more frequent. I am not sure if the dose of venom is to blame (eg if I am delayed in removing the sting), but it is also possible that I had taken Ibuprofen for other reasons and it worsened the reaction. Once, the reaction started 2-3 days later, and responded rapidly to antibiotics, so secondary infection may need to be considered.
ii) Because of this, I have had to re-think my gloves. I haven't had a severe sting since starting to use doubled thin medical-type gloves. The stings rarely penetrate the second layer, and there is still better grip and sensation than with leather or thick rubber, etc. I usually throw away the outer layer (I'm too lazy to wash it, and I think it's good hygiene, anyway). Still experimenting to find the best type, but most seem to do the job.

take an anti-histamine tablet 20 mins before you start your inspections, any stings you get will not itch or swell so much.

 

[madasafish]

Hardly any experienced beekeepers use leather gauntlets, every novice gets sold a pair by ruthless sales people. They are too thick for good manipulations, and even when a sting doesn't get through them they are a reservoir for venom in the leather and it can be as bad as a sting - the venom just soaks through the skin. It's best to use thin gloves and learn over time that gloves aren't always necessary, and that occasional stings become less and less painful and for them to stay that way you need to be stung sometimes. I am a rank coward over stings but I have got to that state, it also teaches you to be a careful and caring beekeeper. I'm also experimenting with not using smoke - I haven't lit my smoker this year yet, and so far I find the colonies have just got on with their work with very little reaction to my interference.

I rarely use smoke at home: just a water sprayer and a manipulation cloth.

Sometimes bees are just grumpy early in morning whilst air is cold.. I've been stung on ankle and leg when coming back from a run and looking at bees at 7am.. (not inspecting)...Mind you it was 5-9C at the time.

 

[BBG]

I am using marigolds but have an issue with the length. I constantly find the cuff of the suit and the cuff of the glove part company.

Anyone know of a longer rubber glove?

PH

Can't remember who but someone on here uses 'dairy gloves' or similar and turns them inside out.

It's one of the very experienced people.

 

[Otleybee]

I've been stung on ankle and leg when coming back from a run and looking at bees at 7am.. (not inspecting)...Mind you it was 5-9C at the time.

I dont think that bees like the smell of sweat. My bees go straight for my son if he comes anywhere near the hives after his run. They dont like soap dodgers.

 

[Nik]

I use marigold gloves, but not the standard ones. Our local inspector found NT14BPF gloves by talking with various companies. I use these with a latex disposable glove over the top. When they get sticky you just take off the top pair.

To get the best deals on gloves it is worth looking for you local industrial supplies company as these will get through a lot of them and so get good deals.

 

[Winker]

Thank you PeterS and Winker for you advice on removing propolis. Not sure how the hot water & soda might affect the leather but I'll give it a try.

Just remember to rub in Olive Oil after you hand dry them with a towel. I do mine that way weekly.

 

[CB008]

Fairly new to BK I was wearing latex gloves and accepted occasional stings.
Due to a couple of stings turning red & swelling after 24 hours and lasting a couple of days I've resorted to leather beekeeping gloves with the cuffs that go up the arm. Intend to wear these for a bit until I resolve the sting reaction problem.
The leather part of the gloves get pretty sticky from propolis. The supplier advises machine washing the gloves. I'm not sure that this is good for leather & I only know of meths as a propolis remover which isn't particularly good on a porous (leather) surface.
Anyone any experience of removing propolis from gloves, please?
Thanks

I used to use Marigolds and never got on with leather as they were too clumsy. Recently I found what for me was a perfect answer. You can buy gauntlets from Paynes called "blue plastic" which use a cushioned and thicker rubber than Marigolds. They come in a variety of sizes and, so long as you get them right fit, give both enhanced sting protection yet excellent precision. For me they are wonderful and you simply wash your gloves in soda afterwards. They really are teh best of both worlds

 

[Swarm]

I did a search on large nitrile gloves and there are a lot of suppliers. First on list is Just Gloves and they do a box of 100 XL for around £4 but the charge nearly £6 for deliver and then add VAT so very costly.

Tried Amazon searching Extra large Nitrile and a number of cheaper options.

At the moment I use non-latex disposable gloves from Costco but last time I went they only have medium and large I can just get on my hand.

I do get an odd sting on my fingers but that tends to be when I accidentally crush a bee. If I don't crush any they don't sting.

If I get stung I do get some redness and swelling but I think that is a normal reaction and so just put up with it.

That's just the problem, XL will fit my hand but not if there's a glove over it. I've never seen them sized XXL.

 

[madasafish]

I dont think that bees like the smell of sweat. My bees go straight for my son if he comes anywhere near the hives after his run. They dont like soap dodgers.

Hmm Thanks for that... Think I'll omit the hive visit and go straight to the shower

 

[Milfoil]

Silverline/Toolstream supply a nitrile gauntlet which is pretty cheap.

http://www.google.co.uk/#q=silverline+nitrile+gauntlets&hl=en&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=VpYLTsqADoWzhAfg7ZX2Dw&ved=0CF8QrQQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=a308f52ff8f44b84&biw=1219&bih=881

Only comes in a one size fits all though.

 

[PaulL]

More about gloves - oops!

I'm embarrassed.
I had said earlier in the thread that I recommend double-gloving with surgical gloves, and that bees rarely seem to get through the second layer.
Today I had a rush job to do in the hive; in-and-out was the plan. I should also say that I have a habit of putting on one glove on each hand, then the suit, then another glove on each hand. This makes a nice bee-proof sandwich of suit sleeve between layers of rubber, usually.
Today was less successful. No stings on the right hand, but several on the left. I was sadly contemplating publishing a retraction of my earlier suggestion; the double layer doesn't work, after all.
It was only as I was leaving the hives and removing the protective kit, that I realised I had a single glove on the left hand, and three on the right!!