Bee Suits and Jackets; Do they work?

[Shep1478]

I'm considering either a full suit or a at least a jacket.  What can I expect as far as protection from Stings, etc.?
Do they really work? I'd like to get my little daughter one too as she seems to get a kick out of coming to the hives with me on inspection days.

Thanks in advance!

Jim

[Old Blue]

Well....

I'm a rookie but I would recommend a full suit for each of you.  I keep hearing about all of the gentle bees everyone has but my girls  :evil:are bloodthirsty savages.  My son and I have found every opening and access point that can possibly be taken advantage of via our little savages.  We probably have more problems than most because we let our hive make their own queens and let them wild mate. 

I would recommend (from painful experience) that you
 
Sew the access slits shut that allow you to reach through the suit to get your car keys out of your pants or shorts that you wear under the suits.  Angry savages will find these in short order.

Sew your veils onto your hoods with dental floss or something else good and strong.  When your veil slides over the edge of the little safari hat your face will be in very scary close proximity to many now captive and very angry savages that want to sting you.

Get a suit with a zip on veil.  Angry savages will just laugh at the little playschool drawstring veils.

Make friends with someone who knows how to sew and beg them to make you some kind of pantleg / shoe closure to keep these savage beasts out of your pants!  :shock: Believe me they will look for any weakness in your defense.  And they will find it.

Last but not least never forget how to run like hell!!!  Sometimes screaming like a little girl can actually help.

In all seriousness though,  Make those suits bee tight cause getting lit up by angry bees can really take the fun out of it for the little ones.

Old Blue

[Bee Happy]

My wife bought me a jacket with an attached wide brimmed veil for an early father's day gift; good thing too, my normally gentle bees were in a nasty mood last week, and they sounded like little drumbeats hitting the top. (I took the honey and split the hives and they seem to have calmed down).

[bigbearomaha]

I admit to working hives in my beeyard with only bluejeans and a t-shirt and a hat/veil (the hat/veil is because they always have at least one get caught and I have long hair. no fun for the bee or me).
When  I am doing a cutout or questionable swarm removal, I have a jacket  I got from brushy mtn.

I accepted that there would be stings long ago.  aside from a bad weather day at the bee yard or not being smart enough to pay attention to the behavior and activity of the hives before opening them up, I relatively get very few stings.most days in the bee yard,  I get none at all.  My 9 yearold and my 11 year old come work the hives with me and they do and dress the same.

The idea is to observe before going in and see if they need a bit of smoke or maybe just wait for a better day.the weather can make a big difference in their behavior and how many, if any, stings one gets.

Big Bear

[BjornBee]

I wear the jacket from Dadant that costs about 50 dollars. (Some "inspector" type jackets are over 100 dollars....way too much!)

Full suits are hot and uncomfortable. Working bees should be a pleasure and most I know give up on the full suit within one season.

Blue jeans, a t-shirt, socks (perhaps double socks if the bees are mean as they sometimes go for the ankles) and a jacket with veil is about all you need. And make sure the jacket is the "zipper" type and NOT the pullover type.

[Michael Bush]

I can wear a jacket, rubber band my pant legs (which I never get done), wear gloves and be fairly sting proof.  But nothing is sting proof if enough bees are determined to get in...

[Two Bees]

I have a full suit that I have worn twice.  Now, I just wear jeans and a long sleeved, loose fitting shirt.   I just button the shirt up, put on my tie-down hat and veil, and go at it.    

I've been stung twice this year.........once on the hand after I dropped  a frame and the second time after removing the hat/veil and yacking to another beek in the yard at NIGHT.  We had worked the bees an hour or so before the "incident".  I ignored the bee as she walked up my sleeve and nailed me on the neck.  

[Thymaridas]

While I have a bee suit, I almost never wear it (mostly for cut outs.) It is just too hot and humid in the American south to want those extra layers. If I had to wear a suit to do all of my work, I think I might quit beekeeping.

The veil is most useful, and I don't wear one much. I move slowly and deliberately. Do what I have to do and let them alone. If you understand why bees sting, you can avoid doing what makes them mad.

I do smoke a pipe (with MacBarens Virginia #1 in it) when working the bees. I think that it keeps the bees out of my face, but I also like it.

[asprince]

I have a couple of full coveralls from Mann Lake. Yes, they are hot, very hot in the southern summers. I do not get stung. I can invite a guest to help me and not worry about them getting stung. The only time I get stung is when I forget to zip up the zippers or remove my suite too close to the bee yard. It also keeps my cloths from getting so nasty when I am pulling honey. There are times when I am just taking a quick peek or adding syrup that I will just wear a veil.

Steve

[Tucker1]

I use a jacket all of the time.  One of the down sides of a jacket is that if you do a lot of bending it can "ride up", which can result in "Plumber Exposure".  Bees seem to be attracted to pale flesh.  :-D

Regards,
Tucker1

[BeeHopper]

I'm considering either a full suit or a at least a jacket.  What can I expect as far as protection from Stings, etc.?
Do they really work? I'd like to get my little daughter one too as she seems to get a kick out of coming to the hives with me on inspection days.

Thanks in advance!

Jim

Yes, and buy a larger than normal size, you want the clothing to be loose so that the fabric does not cling tightly to the skin.

[JP]

As mentioned get a jacket and veil at the very least. I would not normally recommend a full suit to anyone but for a young daughter you may want to consider it so her bee keeping experiences are enjoyable ones.

I also use the Dadant one Mike (BjornBee) mentioned.

Do they work?

Yes.


...JP

[slacker361]

I guess I am a sissy ,because i wear my full bee suit every single time, as far as i know I am not allergic, but I just dont wanna take any chances

I got my bee suit from dandant as they have the best prices IMO  but it is hot in the summer, the breeze bee suit ( i think that is what it is called) looks promising but it is very expensive

[AllenF]

I wear a jacket most of the time (Dadant front zip with pockets) unless I am really hot and don't have to do much in the hives, then I just throw on the plain old veil.   Of course most of the stings I get are in the legs or feet.

[tandemrx]

You ask: "do they work" and the answer is yes.  If I really don't want to get stung and I know there are going to be bees in the air (doing an in depth inspection), I put on my full suit (I don't mind sweating a little nor do I mind the heat).  They cannot sting through the suit (standard dadant full suit).

ditto on Bjorn Bees "double socks" . . . I always wear double socks because they do seem to like an ankle, and then it is a "cankle" (very swollen ankle  ;)), and then at night it itches and it is far away, so hard to scratch, so it keeps me up . . . . . . :).

I also wear regular heavy duty (calf skin?) dadant gloves and have never been stung through them.  They are a pain to work with.  But I hate dealing with swollen fingers . . . I play the piano.

I have a pull-over type jacket that I like for short inspections, but it can ride up in the back and if I don't have my shirt tucked in . . . .

Then I have a veil that I will use with jeans and long-sleeve t-shirt when I am just doing something minor like looking in at the feeders or just taking off the top to look inside the inner cover, or something similarly minor.  Got stung between the eyes once and that was a real pain - one of my eyes about was swollen shut . . . and I am not particularly allergic, just bad place to get stung.


State Bee inspector was over couple days ago.  He work a jacket and veil, no gloves, got stung a couple times in the hands and seemed to barely notice.

Theere is still the issue of getting stung as you take off the suit . . . so do get far enough away and make sure you don't have a "personal bee" (one of those bees that seems to follow you from the hive).  I have gotten most of my stings while taking off my suit - that's the only bad thing about a full suit.  You are taking it off, its around by your ankles . . . and then its hard to walk slowly away  :-D