Holy Bee Stings Batman...
Almost 1 week post sting and today is the ITCHIEST ever! I put calendula gel on it last night..wonder if that made it act up? hahahahahaha...too funny, and too itchy!
Quote from: DayValleyDahlias on May 15, 2007, 05:31:09 PM
Holy Bee Stings Batman...
Almost 1 week post sting and today is the ITCHIEST ever! I put calendula gel on it last night..wonder if that made it act up? hahahahahaha...too funny, and too itchy!
Yeah, a few more days at least. Both of my wrists received minimum 6-7 stings each back on the 22nd of April while installing 6 packages. They did itch for about 2 weeks. Hydrogen peroxide kinda helped me out a little bit. Try not to scratch your skin raw.
I use Watkins Menthol Camphor salve.
doak
Oh wow, I used to have Watkin's stuff...I am going to try metholatum...hahaha...But I want to get a haribrush and scratch the holy living daylights out of it!
That's what happens when I get stings also. The first day it amounts to a sting and little else. Then the next day and for the next 10 days - two weeks depending on how well I got the stinger out - it itches like crazy!
Linda T scratching in Atlanta
May give Hydrocortisone 1% Cream a try.
doak
Just enjoy it... it is such a nice itch. Just try not to scratch it with your nails... rub it gently and I usually just rub in some fresh lime juice. But to be honest ... I now do not even bother about the itch any more since it reminds me to be a bit more careful or wear my gloves next time.
Are you willing to take benedryl? That really works for me and or the highest % Hydrocortisone Cream you can find.
I’ve been bitten by bees numerous times â€" on my big toe while walking in the grass, in the middle of my back while backpacking, and on my butt while just standing in the yard with a dress on, just to name a few of the memorable times and I’ve learned that I am very sensitive to bee stings. BIG RED HOT ITCHY WELTS that last for ever! The forever part is an exaggeration.
Anyway, in general I prefer not to take drugs, however I’m not crazy about suffering either and have learned to happily acquiesce in this case. The relief is sweet.
The benedry reduces the BIG RED HOT ITCHY symptoms trememdously... The corotisone cream is an itch only remedy.
Bee1
Get plaintain! LOLL. Have a wonderful day, great life, great health. Cindi
Thanks all...I just had to laugh at the whole thing. I had no idea the results would last so long...Very itchy welt. I am trying to ignore it, hhhmmm...had to still the mind with that intense itch going on hahahaha...I took benadryl, it did help, but I cannot take it on work days...I tried...are ya ready?? Canadian made Preparation H ( which I use as a face cream, yeah I am a butt face )...I think essence of time will have to suffice...
It is a relief to know that this it not unsual...
Have a great day~*~
Easy Solve:
For Swelling & Pain of Sting: Take some leaves of plantain, get a good saliva going, chew the plantain (Don't swallow, its a natural laxative :-D) and rub it in (Not just rub on, rub it in) every 15-20 minutes for the first hour. Usually you won't swell the next morning. But not excerising or moving around tends for it to swell a bit more. Just rub in some more plantain.
For Itching: Take a couple of leaves of mint (The plant), get a good saliva going, chew the mint, (You can swallow this if you want, mmmm good) and rub it on the itchy area. Itch will be gone in 3 minutes.
- Plus you smell good with the mint.
Jake
Running hot water over them feels so good when they are in the itch phase! Aaahh. I actually let the stinger pump away, instead of scraping it right out, because the old wives say that bee venom is a tonic. Swelling lasts 2-4 days for me, depending on the location, but listen to this.
I recently got stung on the wrist, and she must have hit a vein, because there was almost no local reaction, but my whole head turned bright red and was itching. My legs were itching. My eyeballs were bloodshot and watering. I couldn't swallow, and I was wheezing. That one sting was so powerful, I had to lie down for an hour. After about three hours, I was fine, and there was almost no swelling in the wrist at all.
That's what you could call a good dose.
Smallswarm, I use hot water on many bug bites too and it does feel good! Aaah. However, the recent sting on the wrist sounds like a more serious reaction. Have you run the details past your prefered medical professional? I know you know this. Instead of a super tonic bee venom can become life threatening.
Quote from: smallswarm on May 16, 2007, 05:20:00 PM
.... but my whole head turned bright red and was itching. My legs were itching. My eyeballs were bloodshot and watering. I couldn't swallow, and I was wheezing. ...
Bee1
That's what I call a systemic reaction and anaphalactic shock. Mere inches away from a dirt nap.
Quote from: smallswarm on May 16, 2007, 05:20:00 PM
Running hot water over them feels so good when they are in the itch phase! Aaahh. I actually let the stinger pump away, instead of scraping it right out, because the old wives say that bee venom is a tonic. Swelling lasts 2-4 days for me, depending on the location, but listen to this.
I recently got stung on the wrist, and she must have hit a vein, because there was almost no local reaction, but my whole head turned bright red and was itching. My legs were itching. My eyeballs were bloodshot and watering. I couldn't swallow, and I was wheezing. That one sting was so powerful, I had to lie down for an hour. After about three hours, I was fine, and there was almost no swelling in the wrist at all.
That's what you could call a good dose.
Yes this sounds like a very serious reaction. Next time you may have only minutes to get help. Subsequent stings may be worse and faster. Worse in this case sounds like possibly dead.Talk to your doctor before you get stung again.
Dave
I see 'plantain' mentioned in various posts regarding an ease to bee stings. What is this 'plantain' ? .... Here it is a huge banana type veggie.
It's a plant that most consider a weed, grows in compacted lawn type soil. Here's a link from another thread. (http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/placom43.html)
Bee sting stories are GREAT!I too didnt get much of a reaction till a week later..Clorox, plier sqeezes, cigarrette burns...it didnt matter..nothing stopped the itch...I was really itchy!! Ive told other people that they compare to chigger bites.."cep 10 times itchier! Its funny though...I would rather get stung by bees over wasps any day! The wasp stings REALLY burn for about 15 minutes but they dont come back to haunt me after that.
your friend,
john
Hey John...
I was so baffled, it was like...why now after 1 week is this thing welting up and itching like mad? When I got to work, I noticed it was beginning to swell towards my elbow...Since I am an RN and work in surgery...I kept showing everyone and they would say..eewww...I got a bit concerned, ya know...could it be??? necrotizing fasciaitis??? Or some god awful thang...well after an MD looked at it she reassured me, and said that maybe the stinger was still in there..so I just squeezed and squeezed...At any rate, the swelling subsided..and now it is just localized redness and a bit itchy...hahahaha, who a think? My first sting, most likely not my last...hhhmmmm
I think im gonna go get one of my bees to sting me to see what you guys are complaining about.
Suggestions? lol
Why try an get one bee to sting you if you can get 30-40 to sting you? Believe you me, it is a totally different experience :p
Peace
Chris
I wasn't even working with my bee girls..I was pulling weeds in my garden wearing a tank top...and I think I she must have handed on my arm, and I schmushed her...
30-40 sting??????? No thank YOU!
My favorite sting story took place last August. I teach grad students at Emory one semester each year, finishing in August. Part of what I do with them involves making a video of a role play that they each do with me. There are 40 something students in the class. In August last year I went home one day at 5 PM after an all-day workshop and did what I like to do - stand between the hives and just breathe - the smell is so great.
So I'm standing there, wearing all black and having had a Coke about an hour before. Bad time of day, bad fashion decision, bad caffeine in the system.....so a bee greets me with a sting right under my eyebrow. It was fine that day, but on the next day I had to video tape with these Emory grad students. I woke up with my right eye completely swollen shut and the whole right side of my face puffy and very itchy.
I told all the grad students that day that I would only make the video tape with them if I could be filmed from the left side! :-D :-D :-D
Linda T in the N Ga Mountains
According to my resident Herbologist (my younger brother) Comfrey not only helps kill the pain of the bee sting but also helps in reducing swelling and itching. I would try it if I had the problem but after so many years the sting only hurts for a minute or 2 and I almost never swell. Although Murphy's law says if I were to get stung on the lips or around the eye swelling is garanteed.
Smallswarm, right, I think our friends have some good points. You experienced a really bad reaction.
I remember once I had a reaction that still to this day makes me wonder. It was gross and I almost feel embarrassed talking about it. But I am gonna tell the tale anyways!!!!
It was my first year of beekeeping (summer before last), a really hot summer day (probably about 28 celsius), that is hot in my eyes. I picked up box because I was going to reverse the brood chambers. I picked it straight up and the frame from the lower box got pulled out because it was stuck to the frame on the box in my arms with burr comb. Some angry bees. I was able to get the stuck frame back in alignment into the bottom box. What a lesson learned, I always twist the box just slightly when I lift one off the other. Lessons learned. Anyways, I did sustain a few stings, one on my face. Right, I didn't have a veil on, lessons learned. Hmmm...How soon we forget, I got a couple of stings on the face two weekends in a row cause I didn't have a veil on. I think that I have learned now.
Anyways back to the story. After sustaining the sting on the uppper lip, suddenly, I became so itchy in the groin area that I thought I was going to go off the deep end. I thought to myself, now that doesn't make sense, I showered this morning, I am not sweating that badly, right!!!! It must be a reaction to the bee sting. I left the apiary without doing anymore work, showered again, got even more itchier. Thought I had best see about getting some Benedryl, like someone told me would work to reduce symptoms. Drove into our town, itching like crazy the whole way, went in and told the pharmacist, itching like crazy standing there, just kind of doing like the "poddy" dance, like little kids do. The pharmacist had empathy and told me that itchiness can be a bummer. Right, bummer!!!! Ha, now that is a play on words.
I got the Benedryl, took 2 caps, I knew that I had only about a 10 minute drive home so I should be OK with any reaction from the pills. Got home, the itching had almost totally subsided within that 10 minute drive. Laid down and slept for a good two hours. Man, that stuff is some powerful drug eh? I now have the non-drowsy, liquid form. So, wear face protection at least when working the bees, don't get stung on the lip, it can have some pretty powerful reaction, and you look really ugly for a day or two. Have a wonderful day, great life, great health. Cindi
Cindi, I was itching down there too, but I didn't want to mention it. I think a lip sting is similar to a vein sting, because of the concentration of blood vessels in the lips. When the venom is quickly distributed in the blood stream, it tends to affect the whole surface of the body, but also has a shortened life. I have noticed stings on my fingers are the most painful and take the longest to heal, because of the reduced circulation in the extremeties. It's like the venom gets lodged in the cell tissue, and so takes longer to metabolize.
Really though, I do believe bee stings are good for me. In fact, if I haven't had a sting in a few weeks, I'll sometimes make a ground crawler sting me. Maybe I'm just a freak, but I am also fighting a life-threatening auto-immune illness, and I'll try almost any natural remedy that makes sense. Honey bees and medicine go way, way back in time.
Smallswarm. Now that is the nice thing about this forum, we don't know each other personally. I feel that I can say anything that I want, I mean, about stuff like getting that terrible itching in the groin area. It is embarrassing in what I will call "regular" life, but with our friends on this forum, I know that many of them have experienced stuff in their lives tooo that have been embarrassing, but I bet they can spill their guts here :-P. It is a great place to have a nice place to come and enjoy some quality, safe time, away from the hustle and bustle of this crazy place we call life. Good luck with the bee sting therapy, you never know, it help with your affliction. Good luck, good health, have a wonderful day. Our sun is still shinin', supposed to get rain for the past few days, but is has been sunshine instead, yeah!!!! Cindi
Well, I don't really have anything to add to that - how about you TWT - Brian - MB or Finsky... :-D
Dr. Burt's Bees comfrey ointment was helpful with my itchiness but I had to put it on almost constantly.
Fresh Comfrey works best. One way of using it is to put it in the blender and apply it topically while holding it in place with wrapping.
An folks there are places I've been stung that I refuse to mention in mixed company.
Have you tried After-Bite? Don't know if it's available in the US but it comes in little handy felt pen size containers. Works wonders on Mosquito bites. Last year I discovered the active ingredient was AMONIA. Go figure. So now I make my own after-bite and save a fortune. Anyone else have experience with the amonia cure?
Brian, now that leaves alot to the imagination :shock: Have a wonderful day, great health to all. Cindi
I have tried many things and nothing I have tried is in the same ballpark with plantain. Applied immediately it stops hurting immediately and seldom swells at all.
Other things HELP a little. Plantain is better than you could hope for.
Does the plaintain require the saliva to activate it's properties? Or could one make a paste of the leaves without chewing it up, and have it ready to go should a sting occur?
i debated about writing this because i don't know if the plantain contributed....but.....when i got stung a couple of weeks ago, i applied plantain. the sting progressed as is normal for me. not bad the first day, swollen from knee to ankle for the next week. in addition, i developed blisters on the skin around the sting site. there was a fair amount of weeping along the upper calf (site of the sting).
it may or may not have been caused by the plantain. the swelling alone could account for the fluid build up. even so, perhaps a test application before actual need, is indicated? i intend to experiment before using it again.
>Does the plaintain require the saliva to activate it's properties?
No.
> Or could one make a paste of the leaves without chewing it up
I've used pliers to mash it and it worked fine. Teeth are usually a handy device for this, though.
>in addition, i developed blisters on the skin around the sting site.
I've never had any adverse reactions and yours is the first report I've heard of anything like this after using plantain.
as i said, i don't know what caused it. i will investigate farther, but thought i'd put it out there. might be a good idea to do a test spot just to be sure. especially for us fair skinned red head types :-)
So, I inflicted a sting today, I felt mean cause i had to kill a bee, but It was worth it, it doesnt hurt to bad and ive had no ill side effects. Though I didnt leave it pumping, so think that has a part to do with it!
You guys complain way to much, (i should watch my mouth huh wait for a couple days huh?)
Dear DVD,
Claritin is a non-sedating antihistamine that you could probably use on work days. You might try the combination of that and Pepcid. Both are over the counter.
B
Cody, ha, ha, ha. Never count your chickens before they hatch. Sometimes the itch and swelling from a bee sting comes worst a day or two after the sting.
If you are into stinging yourself to see your reaction. Put one on the area above your lip!!!! Then you will see how you react (just kidding). Have a wonderful day. Cindi
I had a delayed reaction...intense itch on day 6, and day 7 had redness and swelling which traveled down the arm to the elbow...took Allegra-D and benadryl...now almost 2 weeks out and the point where the stinger was it red but healing, there is an area around that point whereby the skin is dry and kinda sluffing...weird for sure!
My hand swelled up and is a little red! lol I'm not to worried about it, I'm still as Dashing as I ever was!
Ha, Cody, just wait :evil:
I worked with the bees for three hours yesterday, narry a sting, until the last moment when I was cleaning things up, got one on the ankle. Oh brother eh? The sting is slightly itchy now and hopefully I won't get more bugged by it. Have a wonderful day, great life, Cindi
ouch that hurt and I'm disappointed! 2, maybe 3 bees stung me on the tip of my index finger. I was hoping to go a long time without a sting. I've only had the bees 6 weeks. Guess I did something wrong plus maybe being slightly cocky by not wearing gloves.
I'm triple medicating... benedryl, plaintain & apple cider vinegar and my finger still is swelling.
:-P Bee1
And you say, you installed your hives on Friday the 13th :-D
LT
Whatever you use on a sting, the sooner you use it the more effective it will be.
So how would you have handled this ? I wanted to drop everything and run inside and feel sorry for myself but my hive was in pieces when I got stung.... I was inspecting a frame in the bottom deep from the middle when those little darlings decided to sting. I couldn't even put the frame down quickly. I had to shift things & make room and figure out what was going on... and ... why are all these bees on the tip of my finger and why are they stinging me ?? all the time saying to myself i don't really like this... this really hurts... darn it..what do i do now... and how the he ll am i going to put this all back together calmly....and swiftly...
Anyway... I probably didn't get inside (to treatment) for a good 10-12 minutes, maybe a bit longer, because I felt I had to get the hive back together. I did put down the one frame and walk away to drag the stingers out before that.
Would you have left the hive open for 10 or 15+ minutes or to treat the stings?
btw: i'm pretty sure now i was stung by 4 bees...not the 2-3 i was hoping, and i know i am sensitive (not alergic)... my finger is swollen to the point of very tight skin is itchy & hot and the I know the symptoms are reduced because of the benedryl.
Any doctors in the house -- how much benedryl can you really take? otc Ibuprophen says 200mg, however, drs will prescription 800-1200 mg doses for serious pain.
Oh - one more thing. Why did they sting?
Bee1 with 4 stings of the universe.
>>Oh - one more thing. Why did they sting?
Because they can!
Slow down and watch where you're putting your fingers. Finger stings usually means you're pinching bees when you're grasping the frame. Bees caught between and finger and a frame will sting the finger every time. This usually happens when the beekeeper is in too much of a hurry.
The Zen of beekeeping is to Think and Move in slow motion.
Quote from: DayValleyDahlias on May 17, 2007, 12:15:15 AM
I was pulling weeds in my garden wearing a tank top...
In the interests of research and to better understand your condition... got a picture? :)
I have not been stung whilst working the hives yet...As far as Benadryl dosage, it depends on what you want to do for the rest of the day...if you take 50 mg, you might get pretty sleepy...It might behove you to ask an MD for a prescription for some Allergra...this is a 24 hour antihistamine, you may also take Benadryl whilst on the Allegra...Youmay also try take and over the counter Pepcid AC...another type of histamine blocker in addition to the other meds...I know it sounds like a lot of chemicals, and it is, but it sure helps the symptoms.
I found creams and salves useless, I tried homeopathic and ayurvedic treatments to no avail...I helped it feel better...
My sting was at its worse on day 7!
Why do bees sting? It is in their nature I suppose...Sorry you were stung :(
benadryl is a histamine blocker. 50 mg is a good starting dose. if you were to have a major reaction and go to the hospital, they would give you a bigger dose. the histamine blocker is used up as it blocks the histamine receptor sites. in theory, the more stings, the more blocker you need over a longer period of time. in fact, no two stings are the same, so you are safe with 50 mg and if you do not have a good response in a couple of hours or the symptoms worsen, you could take another 25.....but you'll be asleep by then :-)
ice the swelling and keep it elevated. motrin up to 800 mg about 6 to 8 hours apart. it also tends to put some people to sleep.
pick up some liquid benadryl. it works faster. you can take smaller doses more often which again, in theory, would do a better job of keeping the histamine blockers doing their job.
learn to cuss.
First of all I wear full gear when going into the hives. I am no fortune teller and I never know when some weird thing will happen and set the bees off. You guys want to feel all special and brave for not wearing full armour, more power to you. But see how foolish you feel when something goes wrong. Then your wondering what to do. Do I leave the hive open and run, or do I close it up and run.
Now when I do get stung, so far no more than three times in one day, I do nothing. Pull the stinger out and go on. Sometimes it swells a little. Some times it itches for several days.
Bee1. OK, this stingy thing needs a little clarification. The reason why you got so many bees stinging your fingers is that when the stinger of a bee is everted, there is a pheromone released at the same time called the "alarm pheromone", aka, releaser pheromone. This phermone is picked up instantaeously by other bees and they will attack the place where it has been initiated, i.e., on your finger. So, tentatively, you could have many bees after that single little finger. Sounds incredible? Well it is definitely, we are dealing with incredible little creatures.
When I get stung by a bee, (if I am in the apiary) I immediately smoke the area with my smoker. If my smoker is not handy, then I know that always I have my bottle of baby powder that is within reach and I douse the area with baby powder. This apparently masks the smell of the alarm pheromone and tentatively no more bees with attack that very spot, because they can't "smell" the alarm pheromone.
I am of the belief that this works. I know that my Asian bee course instructor taught us that and I have seen him smoke himself lightly when he received a sting.
Just some little bit of trivia that may help in a stingy situation.
I think that you were correct to put the hive back together before leaving the apiary. Sometimes, you know this well, and so do I, that we can get sidetracked. For one reason or another, usually inadvertently, and it could be some time before we could return. s If you had left the hive open until you returned, you may have had a little trouble with other bees going in and trying to steal honey. That is my opinion and I'm stickin' to it.
But....if you needed that medical attention immediately, then of course, you and number one, and number one must take care of number one, or number one is no good to anyone. Have a wonderful day, greatest of life and health. Cindi
I don't have much of a reaction to stings anymore. But if I did, I'd probably carry something in my pocket so I can do it immediately.
Okay folks, I was fully dressed for the occasion accept for gloves and I had my smoker going and was using it.
I'm learning -- and I probably will be wearing my gloves in the future. And bringing benedryl (or similar meds) with me regularly too, including baby powder. Why not, it won't hurt and will most likely come in very handy sooner or later. I already know how to cuss and did use that tool too.
RE: photo's -- they are not very dramatic/fun -- fingers can only swell so much, and its hard to photo one hand with the other. But here you go and have fun. You can see my knucle is quite swollen and all the stings were on the very tip of my finger -- you can see 2 of the sting marks have turned into bruises.
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/722/img0028uu7.th.jpg) (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0028uu7.jpg)
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/9808/img0039hg4.th.jpg) (http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0039hg4.jpg)
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to follow up with my Dr re: some of the alternatives mentioned and get some fast acting liquid benedryl. Hopefully I will develop a better tolerance over time.
Bee1 - finger tingling away
ciao.
Oh p.s. I rub my hands with lemon balm as well..so far, so good!
Sharon, I keep thinking about the lemon balm. Me thinks that I am going to think harder about it. Me thinks that I am going to really focus on making my hands smell like lemon balm before I go work with the bees. The baby powder smells nice too, but I think I am moving towards lemon balm. It will calm me too I am sure :roll:, especially when the lemon balm "ingredients" are absorbed into my body by squishing the leaves in my hands. Lemon balm, hmmmm, what a beautiful fragrance, takes me into a world of beautiful fragrance. Have the great and wonderful day, live life and love life. Cindi
>Me thinks that I am going to really focus on making my hands smell like lemon balm before I go work with the bees.
It won't make them sting you or not, but it will make them very interested in your hands. If you like bees all over your hands, it works great. Personally, I'd prefer almond or some other smell they DON'T care for.
i was stung recently, a month ago, and still have a poc from the sting.( my hand and arm up to the elbow swelled, was fine while it was numb, laughing) I just planted some lemon balm. Guess who will trying that!
Carol ann
Michael, hmmm......now you have a very, very good point. Point taken, listening and learning. It honestly would be a pointless and silly endeavour to actually do something to attract bees to one's body, now wouldn't it? Maybe I'll just forget the lemonbalm scented hands and stick with baby powder. They are not attracted to the baby powder, they just don't mind it, and it makes my hands so they are not sweaty.
I can tell you first hand, the bees don't like a stinky, sweaty body. If this can be avoided, trust me, avoid it (especially all you stinky men!!!).
This is the story. I may have already told it, but I will tell it again.
I have a bee pal, he is sick and cannot help me with his colonies so far this year (his colonies (2) died over the fall, but I keep 2 of mine that I have put aside as "his"). I do not know if he will be able to come over and help at all this year. He may now be knockin' on death's door, but that is all OK. He has had a great life and is a good man.
Last summer, my old bee pal was working hard with his son all day, building a house. I told him that in a book I read it had said that bees don't like the smell of stinky sweat. (Probably reminds them of a stinky old bear). That day he had come over and he really smelled badly of stinky old sweat. I told him that he smelled and that the bees might not like it. Well, this was kind of funny, in retrospect. We were standing about 30 feet from the apiary and lo and behold, sure enough!!!! A couple of bees came around him, annoyed. I don't think they liked him one little bit (honestly, he was very sweaty and smelly). He got freaked out a little bit and started walking away, they followed closely, on his trail, he started walkiing faster, they were still following closely on his trail, he started a very fast pace, they were still on his trail (they didn't bother me, I was such a sweet smelling lady (LOL, :roll:). Anyways, off into his van he got as fast as he could.
I just laughed. I told him he was too sweaty and stinky for the bees. I was not insulting him whatsoever, and he knew that, I was just telling the truth. Now this is the funny part. Anytime that he came over to look at the bees, or do anything, I could always tell by the way his hair looked (this is a 74 old Italian guy, with hair as black as he was when he was 20 years old I am sure), that he had a shower. He probably always went home after working and had a great shower and never was stinky, stanky again. He learned a lesson that day, and was lucky that the bees didn't give him a good sting (laughing out loud, lots and lots).
My dear old friend. He loves our bees and had so much fun hanging out and watching them with me on those hot dog days of summer. He may still be back, yet!!! Have a wonderful day, best of this life, live it and love it, like there was no tomorrow. Cindi
Here's a thought...if the Lemonbalm calms me..all the better...Cindi I am remembering a note you posted about the ingredient "gerniol" ( sp ) that scent the hive aroma...a chemical scent found in many plants/flowers...lemonbalm being one...so perhaps if you smell "hivey" to the bees, they will be less annoyed...
As we say in Spanish..."Quien Sabe?"
I use BOTH baby powder, then lemonbalm...
Om
Bee1, and the rest of the new Bee Keepers.
Don't if this was said or not.
Early in the season, before the bees have much honey stored. A good gentle colony doesn't sting as much
as they do after they get some honey stored.
The hives that I know, I don't use gloves the first few times. But after a super or two is added I start useing them.
Like some said, smoke the area as soon as possible after the sting, and ,yes, for some reason the baby powder works.
Stay away from smelly perfumes, deodorant when working with Bees.
I use the "hunters", SENT-A-WAY deodorant.
If you don't have allergic reaction to the ventom, I wouldn't take anything.
The bit of pain and swelling comes with the fun and joys of Beek-ing
doak
You guys are nuts... in a good way. ;) Enjoy your pain and suffering; and I will enjoy trying to keep mine to a minimum. I like the idea of lemon balm, but not if it interests the bees and attracts them to my bare hands. I will watch and listen to those using it for awhile first.
I like my gloves more today than yesterday -
Bee1
It's weird Last year the stings burned and itched like crazy later for about five days. This year they don't burn, just pain and the itching is minimum. Last year was drought this year, so far, isn't.
Geraniol, (oil-of-rose scent) that is the "hive" chemical, found in lemonbalm and other stuff. I am going to do some experiments of rubbing lemonbalm leaves on the hive body just for fun and watch if the bees are interested or not.
I know from posts on this forum that lemongrass oil is used on the top of the top bars in a "swarm" box to lure swarms, they must enjoy. Have a wonderful day, great life, great health. Cindi