Well it finally happened today. I was out trying to figure out how to use the "macro" on the camera so I could post some better pictures like everyone else. I was sitting in the bee garden trying to get a good close up of bees. I felt a hit in the back of the head and thought the bee had just flown into me. Well then another from the side and before I could move,WHAM right in the corner of the uper left eyelid. My guess is the bee did not just fly into me but he was headbutting me. Where does she get off, that is my garden too. Maybe it was not one of my bees :roll: My eye is already starting to close up and its been 15 minutes. I was told to shread a potato and put the shreads on the sting. It helped a little but my gosh the pain. Im glad it was not one of the kids. I will get my revenge, the next inspection they will get more smoke :evil:, just kidding of course. This is the first reported sting since I have started the hives in the yard.
Sorry about the sting. Try a baking soda paste on it.
Another old wives sting reliever is a tobacco poultice. Crush a cigarette and wet it, if you have access to a cigarette, and then place that on the sting.
Another funny thing is while runing to the house I could swear I heard thousands of bees chasing me. Im sure it was the one that stung me and maybe one more but it sounded like thousands. One more tip, make sure to open the door all the way before trying to go in :shock:. This brings me to another question. How long can bees smell the alert sent from the sting?
meat tenderizer and a swig of benadryl.
I find myself heading for the hives, thinking - ok this time I'm gonna find a worker with worn out wings and make her sting me!
...I can't do it. I can't deliberately kill a honeybee - what a wimp I am.
I would like to know what you are doing right? I seem to get stung fairly often, but I do have one of my hives that is rather hot. I requeened about a month ago and hopefully will be less stings in the future.
David
Quote from: troutstalker2 on May 19, 2009, 09:41:17 PM
I would like to know what you are doing right?
David
Well I didnt do something right today. Usually I dont have ay problems watering, mowing, feeding dogs, or just sitting there watching them. I have watched the bees on the flowers many many times and not even had one run into me. When working them I always smoke them and use full protective clothing. I do have a hott hive but I like the traits in them so much I dont want to get rid of them. Michael Bush did tell me to off the old queen and let them raise a new one, meaning the new queen is quite often nicer. I havent done that yet because Im affraid they wont produce a new queen and Ill get stuck with a laying worker.
if there are eggs, they will make a new queen.
I did make a spit off of that very hive (swarm prevention) and that daughter seems to be fine. No more aggressive than normal. I'm glad I got rid of the evil stepmother though. That's one bee I didn't mind offing.
Nasty spot to get your first, but now that is one less thing you have to worry about.
Hey Shawn......... not wishing to sound unsympathetic but you need to get used to the stings :-D it will be the first of many
If it is troubling you get some ice on it until it becomes numb. An antihistamine also helps to reduce the sting and the swelling. The important thing is to get the sting out quickly
Mick
I got stung too above my left eye
Johnny
Quote from: troutstalker2 on May 19, 2009, 09:41:17 PM
I would like to know what you are doing right? [...]
David
I've only had them about 3 months. I'm sure I have some stings coming eventually. If I feel like I'm bothering them I ease away unless I have a frame in my hand. I have noticed that they are a little more defensive with the dogs who have been stung. (could be that a diminishing scent sticks with you for a good while?) I've been wearing gloves and veil until recently, did away with the gloves - a frame slipped - bad scene for the dog. The biggest thing has to be time - I can guarantee I'm not going to go without stings indefinitely.
I promise I'll tell everyone as soon as it happens.
Quote from: Bee Happy on May 19, 2009, 09:36:04 PM
I find myself heading for the hives, thinking - ok this time I'm gonna find a worker with worn out wings and make her sting me!
...I can't do it. I can't deliberately kill a honeybee - what a wimp I am.
Really.... I'm completely opposite. I have no issues with deliberately killing a honeybee, especially when I want to remove my bee suit and there are one or 2 that won't leave me alone. Wait till they come close and SMASH!!! Works every time.
What I would have a problem doing is deliberately getting a bee to sting me.... no thanks to that one!
There's supposed to be an acquired tolerance to beestings, and I'd much rather do it under controlled conditions - one or two at a time - rather than mistakenly having a whole angry hive after me - and I don't know my tolerance to bee venom - handled wasp and hornet stings fine with no issue killing THEM.
If you react like I do, it's basically remove stinger fast, take benedryl, apply ice. I think ice is the single most effective thing hands down. Lowers swelling, pain every time.
I'm a big Ole, thick skinned fellow and bee stings do hurt but no swelling and some itching afterwards.
The thing I do find interesting is how bee stings seem to get me wired, kinda like a large cup of coffee.
Any one else get that kinda reaction?
Are you taking Benadryl after a bee sting because that can have that affect on some people.
Well here are some pictures of teh bee sting. First one didnt look too bad. When I got up today my eye was completly swelled shut. Sorry for any spelling eros but I cant see that good :-D
Sorry for loking like a mess. I usually keep my hair nice and cut and I have not shaved because its my day off. So yes I dod look alot better than the pictures.
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1130/dscf6737.th.jpg) (http://img41.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf6737.jpg)
(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/5571/dscf6743.th.jpg) (http://img41.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf6743.jpg)
I keep a list of sting remedies and add to it all the time I come accross another one. There a plenty of ideas and things to try, so you just learn what works best by trial & error. Last year we had good sucess using Borax paste (made using the laundry additive powder mixed with a bit of water) It worked quite well (caution borax can be toxic ( in amounts over 1/4 tsp internally so use with care and avoid eating any of it - it is safe for external use) This seemed to work about 100 times better than the baking soda remedy, Another remedy I have not tried yet but is reported to work well is the Laundry bluing solution (back to the laundry department for this one also) Just put a drop on the sting.. It will stain your skin blue but is supposed to work wonders on the pain & swelling!!, anyone ever tried it?? Another old time remedy is to use a leaf from the lambs ear plant like a poultice (I have not tried that one yet) I also wonder if oak bark might help a sting, using a tea made of oak bark??
What is working for YOU???
I think the best thing to do is buy some Denver's Sting Stopper, it works amazingly well.
The pain is gone within a minute of using it and even though it comes in a tiny jar you only need a miniscule amount.
There is another one on the market that is similar but I have not tried it.
They also have one use packets available.
Having a jar ready to go in your tool bag is so much better than having to take time to mix something up while you are in pain.
Everyone should have something they can carry with them, especially if you have someone else with you and they get stung by one of your bees.
I keep one in my car since I got stung by a bee at a park last year.
I made HUGE points at our local beekeeper's association meeting last weekend when my son got hit. We walked away from the hive, I pulled out a credit card and scraped out the stinger, then plucked a leaf of Plantain, chewed on it a bit and slapped it on the sting. No swelling, no pain. Two other guys that got hit that afternoon came over to see what plant that was and they couldn't believe how well it worked.
We grow bee balm in our garden and it works great as a poultice as well. (Tastes a lot better, too!)
Ice for swelling is a must.
J-
Quote from: HomeBru on May 20, 2009, 03:19:54 PM
I made HUGE points at our local beekeeper's association meeting last weekend when my son got hit. We walked away from the hive, I pulled out a credit card and scraped out the stinger, then plucked a leaf of Plantain, chewed on it a bit and slapped it on the sting. No swelling, no pain. Two other guys that got hit that afternoon came over to see what plant that was and they couldn't believe how well it worked.
We grow bee balm in our garden and it works great as a poultice as well. (Tastes a lot better, too!)
Ice for swelling is a must.
J-
I'm familiar with plantain bananas (yuck) but you're in Indiana soo I'm guessing you didn't find a banana plant handy...
Quote from: Bee Happy on May 20, 2009, 03:36:02 PM
I'm familiar with plantain bananas (yuck) but you're in Indiana soo I'm guessing you didn't find a banana plant handy...
:-D :-D :-D
Nope, no bananas... It's "Common Plaintain" a very common weed around these here parts...
(http://www.shammelle.com/Portals/0/PlantainOutside.jpg)
From This Blog/Site (http://www.shammelle.com/HelpfulStuff/Plantain/tabid/71/Default.aspx) (quick Google)
J-
Quote from: HomeBru on May 20, 2009, 04:16:12 PM
Quote from: Bee Happy on May 20, 2009, 03:36:02 PM
I'm familiar with plantain bananas (yuck) but you're in Indiana soo I'm guessing you didn't find a banana plant handy...
:-D :-D :-D
Nope, no bananas... It's "Common Plaintain" a very common weed around these here parts...
(http://www.shammelle.com/Portals/0/PlantainOutside.jpg)
From This Blog/Site (http://www.shammelle.com/HelpfulStuff/Plantain/tabid/71/Default.aspx) (quick Google)
J-
There are two varities, as seen in the picture, the narrow leaf and the broader leaf plantain. But since I see both growing together most of the time I'm more inclined to think it is more a male/female thing.
Ok I posted the pictures of swarm cells in the photo section but here is the question. Since I know the hive is hott and they are now getting ready to swarm do I let them go? If I kill the queen will the new queen and bees stay? They are great buiders and dont want them all to leave. I would like to get them to show the other hive that refuses to build on the frames a lesson.
Well Shawn, not to dispute MB, but a hot queen makes a hot or hotter queen, depending on the drones she mates with. A major queen breeder told me that with a hot queen and artificial insemination (semen from the hot hive) in four generations you would think they were AHB.
Regarding offing the queen, if they are in the mood to swarm and you don't take swarm prevention measures (maybe a split with the old queen and move them), They will take a new queen and swarm anyway. It's the workers that want to swarm, they just take the queen with them.
Also, as I have learned, nothing is ever 100% successful with bees.
ouch! haha, I'm scared, I've never been stung in my life. I'm bracing myself...I just hope its not on the eye lol!
Quote from: olive on May 27, 2009, 09:52:22 PM
ouch! haha, I'm scared, I've never been stung in my life. I'm bracing myself...I just hope its not on the eye lol!
My 4 year old got stung on the eye lid this year. Her eye swelled a bit but I was quick to get the stinger out and it had no real impact on what she did or how she felt. She just went on playing like normal having a good time with her three other sisters (after the initial shock of being stung had passed of course!).
Jeremy
I have always used benydril and rubbed alcohol over large numbers of stings, seems to work fine for me.
Quote from: olive on May 27, 2009, 09:52:22 PM
ouch! haha, I'm scared, I've never been stung in my life. I'm bracing myself...I just hope its not on the eye lol!
the important thing Olive is to always wear a veil when you are working the bees. They always go for the face first is what I have heard here on the forum, so a veil is a must.
The sting really doesn't hurt as it feels sort of like a little burning sensation, but right after that the pain starts. But as others have said, it depends on where they sting and if you get the stinger out first. I make a paste with meat tenderizer and it works right away. No more pain. Oh and the benedryl is important to take if you are not sure what sort of reaction you will have.
I do like the stuff that Natalie mentioned and I am going to look into that.
I got it over with early on and sting myself on purpose. My reasoning was the most itching and swelling I would ever have would be on the first sting and didn't want it to be on my eye or face. I never use gloves and usually get stung one or two times when going through the frames. When a bee gets aggressive with me I smack them with a clap if my hands are free. I figure they are going to die anyway if they sting me.
My strategy worked. A few weeks later got popped on the tip of the nose. It hurt like hell but it didn't swell or itch and made going to work the next day far less embarrassing.
Those pictures are hilarious. Thanks for being a good sport and sharing.
The initial sting burned but after that there was no pain and no itching. The swelling has long gone down but Im not in a rush to go back in the garden to get more pictures.