Don't Forget To Wear Your Beekeeping Suit

Understanding the defensive measures that bees will take when threatened is paramount as a first step when the thought of working with bees appeals to you. Despite having a broad knowledge of the behavior of bees, beekeepers should always wear their beekeeping suit.

Allergies and How the Body Responds to Stings

Although lots of people are allergic to bee stings, those people only know because they were stung first by a bee. If keeping bees is of interest to you, you do need to find out if you're allergic to them. One must accept the fact that they will be stung occasionally - something that all beekeepers (even the experienced ones) live with. As a matter of fact, there are those that believe that the greater number of stings one receives, the greater the resistance to the resulting inflammation the body will develop, and that there's no harm in getting a few stings each year. The venom in the sting triggers the body's natural defenses to produce the necessary antibodies to build a resistance, and over time, the more stings that one receives, the stronger the resistance will be.

The Face and Neck are Extremely Susceptible to Attack

That said, even the most hardened of beekeepers will want to reduce the number of times they are stung, and will use either a suit that has a hood, a hat with a veil and gloves most of the time. Some beekeepers are known to forgo the gloves as they can be cumbersome when performing intricate tasks when working with bees. Typically, if a sting is sustained on the naked hand, it can brushed off simply by using the fingernail. If this is done quickly enough, the body won't have too much venom injected into it. The face and the neck, if left exposed, are likely targets for attack as bees in defensive mode are attracted to the breath. Compared to the rest of the body, the face is ultra-sensitive and stings to this area are extremely painful and to be avoided at all costs. Unlike removing a sting from one's hand, it's far more difficult to remove a sting from one's face, as a mirror will be required. As you can see, it's vital to be adequately protected when working with bees when an attack can be mostly directed at the face.

The Design of the Beekeeping Suit

When working in close proximity to the colony, the beekeeping suit, which is full-length, must always be worn. The protective suit is lightly colored and is usually white. It's also made of smooth materials. Because darker colored animals like bears and racoons prey on bees, the light-colored suit acts to "camouflage" the beekeeper from the colony. The beekeeping suit also enables stings to be detached with little effort by simply tugging on the cloth. When stings are left in the fibers of the suit, they will continue to release the "alarm" pheromone that induces hostile behavior and repeated attacks from the colony. To reduce this likelihood when next entering the hive, wash the suit regularly. Using vinegar to rinse one's hands in will also reduce the attention of the bees being directed at you.