Stung till I threw up

[Propolis30]

We sold our house and I just moved my 6 hives to my father-in-laws place temporaily. I had no problems loading them up in the back of the truck. Not a single sting but when I arrived they were ticked off!!! I have the single one piece bee suit with the zip on veil. I've always bragged on it saying I haven't been stung in over 2 years...since I bought it. They stung me non-stop through unloading them and setting them up. Even right through the top and trough my basball cap into my head. And even all in my hands right through the leather gloves. I din't even know they could sting through leather. But the most I received was in my arms trough the canvas part of the glove and trough my shirt. they must have got my 20-30 times. Then when I got home I got so sick I threw up. I'm just curious....is there anything you can do to better seal the suit for nasty jobs like this? Like maybe starch it real heavy?

[George Fergusson]

Wow, d00d... I got nailed 3 times on my ankle yesterday and I thought *that* was bad. I was out topping off feeders, it was too cold to fly so they were crawling around on the ground. My foot swelled up so much I had a hard time getting my shoe off, and I was limping around all evening. I haven't had that problem since I stopped putting boxes on the ground- I have a stool I carry around to put boxes on. Put `em on the ground and they're going to crawl around and find your ankles. It's time I guess to get out my rubbubber boots.

I've been nicked through leather gloves, but just barely. If you're getting stung that much through your suit, it must be fitting too tightly, be wet and stuck to you, or just stretched tight when you're working. That's happened to me once in a while, but rarely. Get a bigger suit. Nice and loose. Let `em sting air.

Try wearing clothes under your suit smile.gif

As for getting stung *through* your baseball cap.. I dunno what to say. More clearance. I have a zip on veil with one of those big white safari hats with plenty of clearance. I've gotten stung on the neck where the mesh folded and touched my skin, but that happens rarely too.

Down there in Chandler TX with them AHB around, you might want one of those Golden Bee suits that Michael Bush raves about..

George-

[Propolis30]

My suit is way to big as it is. Maybe I'll double layer my clothes next time.

[heartbeat]

i ordered a golden suit and it was so big i could have fit 3 of me in it. it was the right length from shoulders to floor, but the crotch came down to my knees. the guy said i must be build funny because he hadn't had any other complaints... but i have talked with SEVERAL others that had the same problem and some had called and gotten the same responce from him.
overall, good concept; poorly tailored. i sent it back with my measurements and he sent a check back with a note that they were not a tailor!

[Aspera]

Geez. That is one of the worst stinging stories I've heard for a while. I hope it hasn't soured you on beekeeping. :eek:

[Jim Fischer]

Unload in the dark next time, leaving the
entrance screen and travel screen tops
in place. Let 'em be till dawn, and then
remove the entrance screen and put the
regular lid back on at dawn.

The trick is to give them time to settle
down a bit before you do anything else
to the colony.

You haven't lived until you've been stung
50 times in 30 seconds, but once you have,
you won't want to. smile.gif

I still don't own a bee suit. I promise
I'll buy one someday.

[Michael Bush]

>You haven't lived until you've been stung
50 times in 30 seconds

That's what made me buy my first beesuit.

I DOES make you feel alive. AND it makes you think about buying a beesuit.

[Ross]

I have a Brushy one piece jump suit with zipon veil and hat. I've been stung through the material on the side once or twice when I was bent over and it was pulled tight. I've been stung through gloves a number of times. I can't imaging how they got you through the canvas glove sleaves and the suit. I can guess that you'll now buy a pit helmet for that veil. I got stung over 40 times in the head and shoulders once while mowing on the tractor. I swelled up and looked like the elephant man for a few days, even with steriods. However, after that, I almost quit swelling at all.

[Propolis30]

Good advice Jim. I did move them in the dark but did not give them a chance to calm down like you sugested. I unloaded them as soon as I got there and set them up.

[dickm]

>>>They stung me non-stop through unloading them and setting them up. <<<

Somethings wrong here. Doesn't anyone want to know how they got out? I use steel strapping to hold a hive together. The machine was $50 bucks at Harbor Freight. I staple a piece of wire over the entrance and the hole in the inner cover. Telescoping covers travel loose. That way you can take your time with the set up and, with a quick flourish...remove the wire. At this point you'll regret using too many staples but it works.

The same could be done with a screw-gun. The right size screws, at an angle, will hold the bottom board on and the cover is a snap. Double deeps woud need a couple of corner braces, to hold them together, from Home Depot. I'd use a screened top in Tx.

My 2 cents,

Dickm

[The anonymous buzzing bee]

I sometimes work with a retired beekeeper who never wears a beesuit or gloves. Last time we were working some grumpy bees I asked him if he had been stung that day, and he replied "only about 40 times or so, so far" and continued on working.

[Propolis30]

The bees got out becasue each hive was 2 deep hivebodies tall and I couldn't move them that way so when I got there I had to break them down and then stack them back up. And as soon as I took the top hivebody off they came pouring out like water.

[Jim Fischer]

each hive was 2 deep hivebodies tall and I
couldn't move them that way so when I got
there I had to break them down and then stack
them back upLacking equipment or manpower to lift hives as
complete units, one would be well-advised to
park the truck, and let the hives sit for a
few hours before the unloading.

Another approach would be to break the hives
down into single boxes before moving, and equip
each with a (solid or screened) bottom cover
and a screened top cover. The sealed units can
then be moved, and left to "settle down" for
some period of time before reassembly into
full hive configurations.

[iddee]

RULE # 1...NEVER, NEVER open a hive after dark. There lies the whole problem. If you have to break the hive down, move them in the daylight.
NO EXCEPTIONS

[HarryVanderpool]

We have a philosophy that we hold in regards to bee stings:
"If you are getting stung alot, the bees are trying to tell you something; YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!
If I understand, you are taking the hive apart and loading and unloading, one super at a time?
If so, listen to the message that the bees are delivering. Wrong method.
Not too many years ago Austin & I loaded and unloaded all of our hives by hand on and off of the truck.
We had a couple of miserable nights at first, and then went for years with no major problems.
Many, many trips in the night without a single sting.
First of all, it's fun to brag about not wearing gear. I wear a jacket with a zippered veil, no gloves normally when working bees.
When moving bees however, its an entirely different story.
I wear the full nine yards. All you have to do is drop a booming hive once in the middle of the night out in a field, and you'll see why.
Try this next time.
Strap the hives so that they cannot come apart.
Suit up. Fire off your smoker and smoke the hives that you AND A FRIEND are about to load.
If it's in the middle of the summer and bees are hanging out, repeatadly puff the globs of bees until they run back into the hive.
Try not to smash bees with your gloves if they are hanging out.
Sweep them aside, then get a hand hold.
When you get to the new yard, smoke the entrances again. Heavy but don't run them out of the hive.
Don't seperate or even open the hives during the move!
Wear gear. You will be moving them after dark; no one will see you.

:cool:

[Propolis30]

A friend would defiantly be helpful. Especially after I've had back surgery and really shouldn't be lifting these things things in the first place. Yeah I know I'm crazy......

Iddee....why not move them at night? Everytime I've moved bees in the daytime I come back and there are 100's of worker bees that came home to find their home gone are are MAD!! Last time I only moved them 500' to our back pastuer and they hung out in the tress for probably 2 weeks. I couldn't even mow the yard becasue they would chase me off. Eventually the either found their hive or died. My guess is they died if they were there that long. I always thought it was better to move them at night so you wouldn't loose that many bees.

Thanks for the good advice. I'll defiantly put it to use when I have to move them to our new home in 3 months.

[dickm]

>>>A friend would defiantly be helpful<<<<

It's really not fair of me to pick on a typo but this one accurately describes the likely mental state of MY friends.

Dickm

[Propolis30]

Jes. I am psoiled by pell scheker

[iddee]

You misread my post. I said never OPEN a hive at night. I,too, move them at night if I can completely encase them to the point none can escape.

Only when you cannot contain them do I suggest moving them in daylight. "As in breaking them down"
When you move them in daylight, just leave one hive, or a nuc, in the original area and all the stragglers will take up in it. Move it a few nights later.

[Propolis30]

Ok. I got it now. Thanks!

[George Fergusson]

My wife and I moved 20 hives this summer, they were a deep and shallow, 4 to a pallet:

http://www.sweettimeapiary.com/images/new_hives.jpg

We had to pick them up off the pallet and put them on a bottom board. When we did that, they boiled out.. it was raining lightly. They weren't happy. Then we tied the whole thing together with cord, cinched up tight. By this time, the bees were really humming.. We let them sit for a bit till the bees settled down. Then we'd pick them up together, carry them to the truck, and arrange them in place:

http://www.sweettimeapiary.com/images/lotta_bees.jpg

As you can see, the migratory covers didn't really fit well..

Anyways, we didn't get ANY stings- something I attribute to pure luck. We did this during the day. I have never had any fun dealing with hives at night. When I have, I've invariably gotten stung- usually around my ankles.

George-

[HarryVanderpool]

>>I have never had any fun dealing with hives at night. When I have, I've invariably gotten stung-usually around my ankles.<<
Hey George! And I sense that you are a good beekeeper from your posts.
I still maintain my premise: "If you are getting stung alot, the bees are telling you something; YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!!"
You said that your sweet wife and you moved 20 hives and didn't receive a single sting, then you attributed that to luck.
I'm thinking that it had nothing to do with luck, and more to do with learned skill.
One of my favorite sayings is, " Knowledge is power".
For beekeepers, maybe I should reword that to, " Knowledge is the absence of pain".


:cool:

[Kurt Bower]

Jim mentioned once about letting them sit a couple of hours and once about waiting until morning to release the bees.
While this might be the ideal situation for eliminating stings and mad bees, it may not be the best for their survival. Depending on how much air they received during transit, they could be suffocating. If they boiled out of the bottom board it may be due to overheating.
I would think twice before waiting too long as I have personally lost bees this way.

Kurt

[George Fergusson]

>>I'm thinking that it had nothing to do with luck, and more to do with learned skill.

Hah! Harry, never were there 2 more inexperienced and unprepared neophytes manipulating hives! Prior to this experience, the most we'd ever done was hive a few 5 frame nucs. We were totally unprepared for what happens when you lift 2 boxes full of angry carniolan's off their pallet on a cold rainy day. We did however, learn quickly... work slowly but steadily, avoid quick movements, don't drop the boxes, and give the bees time to settle down!

I agree if you're getting stung, you're doing it wrong. This has always been the case for me with a few exceptions where I wasn't doing *anything* let alone doing it wrong- but I probably had it coming smile.gif

Sometimes it's just doing the right thing at the wrong time; working in haste when you should be taking your time; failing (or forgetting) to respect the bees- it's their home you're messing with; failing to "listen" to the hive- are they happy? contented? angry? upset? why? What are you doing (or doing wrong) that you could do differently? Perhaps it's just a matter of covering the frames you're not working on, or putting a lid on that box you just lifted off and set down- maybe they're getting robbed and you're not paying attention.

I *strive* to be a good beekeeper. I'm not a good beekeeper yet, but I'm gaining on it. I respect and love my bees, which makes up for a lot of inexperience and doubt. I've learned a LOT in a relatively short period of time.

I still attribute our not getting stung that day to luck... then again, you don't know my "sweet" wife- they probably didn't dare sting her, or her sidekick smile.gif On the other hand, she *exudes* love and caring when working the bees, and they sense it.

George-

[jean-marc]

I find the best way to lose staff and or friends. get stung is to move bees at night. First it is impossible to see anything so it slows everything down. The chances of mishaps or forgetting equipment increases dramatically. I like moving them early in the morning. I also move in the evening, I plan how long the move will take and start so that when I finish unloading it is getting dark. Moving in the rain is great providing all the roads are good and getting stuck is unlikely. I've also moved them in broad daylight to get the job done and also as a swarm control(equilizing) method.

Jean-Marc

[Gardenpro]

Did you use smoke?
My worst stinging experience was when I just wanted to take a quick look and didn't think smoke was needed. (never adjust your veil even if there's a bee in it)

[HarryVanderpool]

Jean-Marc is right about moving in the early morning or early evening.
Thats what I meant when I said night. tongue.gif
However, with my new truck, I move them all night long. The boom has an amber light that follows you around, right overhead, no problems.

>>I still attribute our not getting stung that day to luck<<

Pardon me George, but I dont beleive in luck, good bad or otherwise.
:cool:

[PaulR]

I've move two hives at night. But they were strapped together, and screened in the entrance. No problems. I got stung 20 times getting ferals out of a tree. I love beekeeping. We are a brotherhood, our rite of passage are the stings we get.