Beekeeping Suits

[drex]

Yes they can. Leather gloves may give added confidence but will impair your feeling and handling of things. They are not easily cleaned, so folks suggest nitriles over the top of them. I use marigolds and gauntlets.

 

[enrico]

Oh yes, they can sting through just a suit so I wear thin long sleeve shirt and trousers underneath. Gloves are a personal choice. I use plastic ones with gauntlets and have no problems but I have a few years experience. One word of warning, always prepare for the worst. A couple of years ago I piled the supers up during an inspection and they fell over, this caused a Domino thing with the hives and I had three hives in their sides. A million bees hell bent on getting you is really no fun. I had multiple stings but things would have been so much worse if I had not been fairly bomb proof from the start.
E

 

[linoleum bonypart]

If you must wear leather put a pair of nitrile over the top
I see bj sheriff have 15% off may bring down to bb prices

 

[madasafish]

Marigolds with vinyl on top are sting proof.. and far more tactile than leather.

Leather gloves are for cutting thorn bushes. and himalayan brambles.

My £35 Cornwall Bee Supplies camo jacket (ebay 2010) is still alive.. No stings through that. Veil needs replacing though...Overlapping velcro straps over zip joints.

 

[Angularity]

I bought two from simonthebeekeeper. The zips broke both times.

Me too. Not recommended. Especially when you find out the zip has broken because of the buzzing sound inside your left ear.

 

[birdsandbees]

You must have been unlucky enough to get a substandard suit that slipped through quality control. My overlapping zips. WHEN DONE UP CORRECTLY are impenetrable to bees and when the velcro flap is closed as well there isn't a bee on this earth that could enter via that route.
A friend of mine received a suit with some poor sewing. When he complained after unwrapping a replacement arrived next day. No quibbles!
As to ripping the mesh, wouldn't it have been simpler to walk calmly away to a safe distance and let your guest out normally? Panic is never a suitable response in beekeeping. Even if the bee stung you it would only do it once

In fairness, my Daughter and Brother have suits from Simon and have had no issue, the mesh on mine was very fragile and ripped not in panic as such merely by attempting to pinch said bee between fingers to avoid getting stung.
with me being unlucky with the quality twice I decided to go to another supplier, as was said, the price I paid for the new budget suit was very similar but I'm 100% happy with it.
just need to be careful when buying budget I guess.

great tip on the mirror by the way, I must admit I did this myself using the car mirrors when parked at my Apiaries.

Regarding gloves, again varied, my first being leather gauntlets with fabric sleeves, got a few stings on the wrists with these where the leather runs out, I've got two pairs I use currently, Marigolds for general use and thicker rubberised gloves for the days when a colony is a bit more inclined to sting, having confidence that you have a proper hold on frames etc is very beneficial and thick gloves can be a bit like trying to sew with boxing gloves on!

 

[Angularity]

I tend to use latex-type gloves (like the ones I wear when I'm working on the car). they don't stop a sting, but they seem to constrict the sting and reduce the amount of venom that passes through, so stings on my hands hurt a lot less than stings elsewhere (this is from a small data set of four stings last year, so I could be wrong).

I'm clumsy, and big leather gloves don't help. I may as well be wearing boxing gloves.

 

[Swarm]

Marigolds with vinyl on top are sting proof..

No they ain't and neither are those blue gloves with gauntlets that Enrico wears and yes, they will get through leather as well.

Nothing wrong with leather gloves if you get the right ones and the right size, ie one size smaller.

 

[Millet]

Regarding gloves i can not believe folk have not tried these before knocking them, i have angry little critters and out of the two years of having my hands balled up with bees, only one has managed to get the tip though on my finger end, the pain went in seconds as the venom could not get through.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161002343...49&var=460173365237&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[Noddy]

I have a Swienty full suit, which I have found to be very good. It has the more 'traditional' hat/veil as I tend to prefer this to a fencing veil type. Very good quality and hard wearing.

My problem is that I am a fat knacker so find suit hard to wear due to heat, so will be looking for a ventilated suit/smock this year. I have looked at these but as there are no reviews for them, am unsure.

 

[enrico]

No they ain't and neither are those blue gloves with gauntlets that Enrico wears and yes, they will get through leather as well.

Nothing wrong with leather gloves if you get the right ones and the right size, ie one size smaller.

It is rare though. Picked over 100 stings out of them with a stroppy swarm once and not one got through. Tends to be when they get warn after a couple of years so I always have a new pair to hand. One sting and the old pair go out.
E

 

[Nige.Coll]

I have a Swienty full suit, which I have found to be very good. It has the more 'traditional' hat/veil as I tend to prefer this to a fencing veil type. Very good quality and hard wearing.

My problem is that I am a fat knacker so find suit hard to wear due to heat, so will be looking for a ventilated suit/smock this year. I have looked at these but as there are no reviews for them, am unsure.

I love my ventilated suit it's great. Maisemores I think mine came from. Some cheap ones have crap zips.

 

[Robbo8916]

Me too. Not recommended. Especially when you find out the zip has broken because of the buzzing sound inside your left ear.

Thats essentially exactly what happened. Working from behind my hives I tend to make sure I am primed. Flip the veil on, take the roof off and begin.

The first time I did it the other way round. The bees certainly weren't straight out after me but I soon ended up with a hood full. Walked away and had to put my cheap occasional smock on OVER the rest of my suit. Made for a very hot albeit brief inspection.

They replaced it the first time, sexond time they refused to. Chalked it up to bad experience and bought my beeproofsuits one. I love it.

Won't personally be buying anything from them again

 

[Magwat]

One thing I have noticed is that the mesh used for BB Wear veils (probably Sheriff too) is soft and pliable with a nylon feel which is why it can take washing, crushing etc. The mesh on cheaper ones is plastic and brittle and splits very easily (sometimes invisibly) especially if it has been folded for a while

 

[coffindodger]

suits and gloves

I found that zips always failed just when you needed them most. Eventually I bought a painters (?) overall with wide velco down the front and ankles/sleeves. The suit veils were a problem (to me) due to the zips so I use a Sheriff's hood over a lightweight hatted veil (OK I have gotten sick of ears full of bees) and feel safe and confident. Vision isn't too bad and if one critter gets through the first line of defence you can walk away slowly and remove it (or just squash) without panic.
My experience with leather gloves was that I could watch the bee adjust itself and sting through the leather (or stitching) using the rough leather to hold on and give leverage. Eventually I settled for thick cotton gloves with marigolds / nitrile on top. The slippery outers make holding on for a sting difficult and the inners keep the outers a couple of mm from the skin. I use elastic-ended cotton gauntlets which cover the gloves and sleeves. For washing the hood/veils I put them in a bag designed to wash trainers (from Aldi) though some use a pillow case.
Hope this helps; I'm not an expert, but have wasted time and money and been stung due to following the generally accepted 'buy the best you can afford' advice.

 

[MJB]

The slippery outers make holding on for a sting difficult and the inners keep the outers a couple of mm from the skin.

is that a Top tip?

I'm still to select and buy gloves so this is interesting

 

[Karsal]

Regarding gloves i can not believe folk have not tried these before knocking them, i have angry little critters and out of the two years of having my hands balled up with bees, only one has managed to get the tip though on my finger end, the pain went in seconds as the venom could not get through.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161002343...49&var=460173365237&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Millet is quite right.
I purchased a pair of these gloves after recommendation off this forum. Absolutely brilliant gloves, stings don't get through and they are washed and wiped down after each inspection with washing soda solution.

 

[MJB]

Millet is quite right.
I purchased a pair of these gloves after recommendation off this forum. Absolutely brilliant gloves, stings don't get through and they are washed and wiped down after each inspection with washing soda solution.

Ive got them in my basket,,,,, does colour make a difference as i recall reading something that black is troublesome, green is better but i can't find that post.

 

[coffindodger]

Gloves

is that a Top tip?

I'm still to select and buy gloves so this is interesting

from personal experience - yes. I'd never go back to leather for inspections. A further advantage of the nitrile/marigold glove over cotton is that you can easily wash both quickly and don't return to a hive 'smelling' of stings. The disadvantage of marigold type gloves is that the finger tips are easily torn so for heavy work the nitrile type are better. HTH