Question on stings

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After yesterdays stingfest my thoughts turned to washing my suit. I first saw Mike Palmers video a few years ago and since then I wash my suit in a tall bucket with washing soda and hot water and it hangs to dry in one of our polytunnels, well away from my other half.
 
Tim.S said:
After yesterdays stingfest my thoughts turned to washing my suit. I first saw Mike Palmers video a few years ago and since then I wash my suit in a tall bucket with washing soda and hot water and it hangs to dry in one of our polytunnels, well away from my other half.
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My other half has always stayed well away from any of my laundry, has done since before we were married
 
I have often found useful information on the Internet, but I seem to have come up with a “blank” this time. I have been wanting to find information on the length of a honey bees stinger – how deep can it penetrate?

I would like to find out what thickness of clothing is actually required to safeguard a person from being stung through their clothes. Perhaps one way of determining a helpful answer would be for readers of this forum to advise of stings they have received, even though they thought that they should have been protected.

The dilemma for us as beekeepers is that when we have thick enough clothing, it may be on occasions when it is too cool for the bees. Conversely, when it is warm enough to inspect the bees we will probably want less clothing, which the bees can sting through with little difficulty.
 
I started 10 years ago determined to spend as little as possible and keep it simple. I was taught by a beekeeper with 50 years experience - a lovely man now dead- who was always gloveless.

I went gloveless and wore a beekeeping jacket ( £35 ebay - still going strong) with jeans (baggy not skin tight!).
At first stings resulted in pain and swelling of the affected area. Then after some 2 years, the swelling became less and after about 3 years, minimal.
Now stings still hurt but I rarely swell anywhere when stung : that includes ears, nose (septum - VERY painful) and face. The head ones either due to stray bees in an unguarded moment or holes in veil/unfastened zips. All now very rare.
Lots of stings on legs from crawling bees- now wear wellies.

The great advantages of minimal protection are : it's cooler in heat (beekeeping in full sun at 30C is like a Turkish bath) and you handle bees far more carefully.

(I mentor people and have experience sometimes of badly tempered bees Most local bees are horrible hence the stings. Mine are pussycats ).

For really nasty colonies, I wear marigolds (or marigolds plus vinyls for vicious ones ) and a full mechanics overall and a bee jacket - with two loose layers of clothing stings are minimal but it's VERY hot work.

I have seen the multi layer beeproof suits in action .
A pia to get into . I prefer a jacket easy on/off. Usually with a T shirt underneath but in colder weather a full length shirt.

And as my garden is overlooked and there are local hive thefts -getting worse , I use camo/brownish colour jackets#. . White is a no-go as it shouts "Bees" to potential scrotes. My hives are also brown /green to blend in with the garden.


I count my stings ( OCD I know). My worst year was 235 . My normal year is c 120. Worst day was 21 - 15 all at once. They still hurt but the only swelling I get is start of year . My immunity recovers after about 5 stings and I am usually OK for the rest of the season,

( I have been stung twice after my first Covid jab - Pfizer - no reaction.)

# camo - normal cloth, brown microfibre so lighter but easier to be stung through.

Most bee keepers think I am mad. My wife knows I am :cool:


( I am only a hobby beekeeper with some 12 hives.. If I was commercial I would be be very differently dressed due to time constrains- full suit etc)

To clean hands of propolis any alcohol based wipe is great. Hand sanitiser ideal if alcohol based.
 
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A quick google brought up 1.62 ± 0.18 mm.
I get few stings and they are always on the fingers if I trap a bee. I wear nitriles or marigolds depending on the bees. My reactions are transient. Husband wears a cap under his veil but I have never been stung on the face even when I got angry bees under the veil once
To be honest as a hobby keeper with just a few colonies if I'm needing to worry about being stung through my suit I requeen
 
Understanding bees
I have a similar attitude, reaction, experience and solution to stings as madasafish. The only time I wear a full suit ( normally a jacket or just veil) is either when dealing with the "hive from hell" we all occasionally get or if I have a full day in the sun when I wear my Ozarmour suit which protects from the stings and heat.
Regarding your question on sting length I'm sure others on here can tell you but on suit thickness I can say I've only ever been stung once while in the Ozarmour suit and that was on the a**e while bending over so I conclude that the suit is thick enough normally but when stretched it's thin enough for a sting!
 
understanding_bees said:
I have often found useful information on the Internet, but I seem to have come up with a “blank” this time. I have been wanting to find information on the length of a honey bees stinger – how deep can it penetrate?

I would like to find out what thickness of clothing is actually required to safeguard a person from being stung through their clothes. Perhaps one way of determining a helpful answer would be for readers of this forum to advise of stings they have received, even though they thought that they should have been protected.

The dilemma for us as beekeepers is that when we have thick enough clothing, it may be on occasions when it is too cool for the bees. Conversely, when it is warm enough to inspect the bees we will probably want less clothing, which the bees can sting through with little difficulty.
Click to expand...
JBM's answer is right, you might find this interesting. Its actually to do with the Biomechanical Evaluation of Wasp and Honeybee Stingers in order to design a painless and mechanically durable micro syringe-needle system for biomedical applications. Has some interesting diagrams and information.
 
The problem with the multi-layered ventilated material is that it catches on vegetation, so the location and approach to the hive might make a difference in your choice of suit. I usually wear an overall with velcro front fastening and shirt plus thin fleece underneath. Generally good. gloves are anything comfortable with nitrile gloves on top. Arm band/gauntlet covers are essential. This gives 3 layers over the most likely spot for bees to investigate and they cannot hold onto the nitrile for a better stinging leverage. Often I wear two veils; one is a vest under the overall and the other a loose ready veil. To many this is overkill, but I feel confident and can inspect or manipulate slowly and calmly. I know there are those who go gloveless for bee handling reasons (eg rearing queens), but for ordinary hobby keepers there is no need to actually pick up bees so why get stung?
 
coffindodger said:
s), but for ordinary hobby keepers there is no need to actually pick up bees so why get stung?
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Even ordinary Bee keepers (me) like to raise queens and inspect bees properly for varroa.
 
My bee-suit has loops of thick elastic suspended from the cuffs. I'm sure this is a common feature, but I've never seen it referred to. I assumed these loops are intended for you to put your thumbs through. I then overlap the cuffs of the suit with my nitrile gloves and this prevents the sleeves from "riding up" my arms. With the legs of the suit tucked into wellie boots I feel safe from any inquisitive or defensive bees.
 
>>>It's also the case that partners to beekeepers are more likely to develop serious reactions to bee stings than the beekeepers themselves because as partners they are exposed to low levels of honeybee proteins sufficient to prime their immune systems which may then over react when the partners are then at some point stung.

I also read somewhere that you should not bring your bee suit indoors and leave them unwashed as the aerosolized invisible protein particles circulating inside the house will expose, however inadvertently, one's family members, making them susceptible, through such prolonged exposure, to bee sting later, which seems to explain why some members of a beekeeping family can be super sensitive to sting. When working bees, I leave mine in my pickup unless I want to wash it immediately inside.

It appears I was a tad too quick on my trigger finger; my apologies if this had already been posted.
 
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Earthboy said:
>>>It's also the case that partners to beekeepers are more likely to develop serious reactions to bee stings than the beekeepers themselves because as partners they are exposed to low levels of honeybee proteins sufficient to prime their immune systems which may then over react when the partners are then at some point stung.

I also read somewhere that you should not bring your bee suit indoors and leave them unwashed as the aerosolized invisible protein particles circulating inside the house will expose, however inadvertently, one's family members, making them susceptible, through such prolonged exposure, to bee sting later, which seems to explain why some members of a beekeeping family can be super sensitive to sting. When working bees, I leave mine in my pickup unless I want to wash it immediately inside.

It appears I was a tad too quick on my trigger finger; my apologies if this had already been posted.
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In a given year, depending on the number of cutouts I do, in the arduous process of rescuing ferals, I do get stung close to 100 times, spread around, say two here and three there, etc. As other old timers said here, I do not get swelled up although I do still feel the electric jolt to blurt out, at times, foul language, unawares. (Forgive me!) It usually happens when I accidentally squeeze the bees, say, lifting the boxes or frames and I did not have a visual contact on them although I try to be careful, like sliding the boxes on, etc.

The venom or the protein seems to change seasonally in its strength in that right now, as they are coming out of winter, their stings do not carry as bigger punch as they would, say, in the peak of summer. "Beekeepers don't get arthritis" wife's tale aside, I do feel that a regular jolt of shots seems to keep my immune system on its toe, on DEFCON 1, which I believe, is good. Time will tell. No, I would not gossip about Covid-19 and its impact on a beekeeper stuff.
 
deemann1 said:
Since I got my ausarmor jacket and gloves I haven't been stung this season and the second half of last season which is why I bought this Jack in the first place, great product..
But now I'm wondering is this a good or bad thing
Should I be allowing myself to get the odd sting ??
Can you become allergic to bee stings if handling bees all the time and not getting stung?
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Yes. You can become allergic at any time.
 
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