Best gloves to buy ???

[spunky]

If a person is going to use gloves, can the heavy canvas ones stop a sting , or do you need to go with some form of leather ???


I was thinking of getting these from mann lake


http://www.mannlakeltd.com/catalog/page77.html

the cotton lined ones

[mlewis48]

I tried all of the above before one of my mentors told me to try the latex examination gloves that the doctors use. Tried them and the bees have a real hard time getting a grip to sting you. Sounds crazy but they work. With the thick gloves, you cant feel bees under your gloves and my mashing them, they sting in defence. If I were going to use leather, it would be a thin goatskin glove. I use them on removals from houses, barns, ect. I can say that I have never been stung with the thin latex. Works well, give it a try and they are cheap. Dont have to worry about transmitting any disease from hive to hive and you dont have to worry about cleaning them.

[BigDaddyDS]

I prefer the heavy duty vented leather, myself. A lot of people complain about dexterity being compromised with the use of a leather glove, but I've personally never had a problem, provided they're thin enough for me to, say, pick up a quarter or a hive tool off of a table with a minimum of difficulty.

I got my pair from Dadant, but originally I thought I'd go with the economy model instead of the heavy duty. Luckily, I was able to try on both pairs, and the quality is MUCH higher on the heavy duty gloves. If you decide on leather gloves, I would highly recommend the heavy duty ones, hands down.

DS

[randydrivesabus]

i use nitrile gloves....the down side is how sweaty your hands get but you don't realize it until you take them off. the upside is that you have a gloveless feel and they don't sting.

[Ravenseye]

First, I went gloveless. Then, when the hives got more populated and more defensive, I went with gloves. Goatskin at first, which they can sting right through. Then, leather. They can sting through that as well. Any glove offers more protection than no gloves simply because some of the bees try and fail when they sting. Same as a bee jacket. Certainly, the heavier the glove the better the protection. Gloves also need to be washed. If I don't wash them from time to time, I get bees that head straight for the gloves with the intention to sting. That's when I take the gloves off and take my chances. I've never tried the latex or nitrile but I always have a box of those around the house so I'll be sure to try them next year!

[jdpro5010]

O.K. this may be a stupid question! But, for us less washing machine experienced, how do you wash your leather gloves? Mine state not to be machine washed. Do you wash them in the machine anyhow and let them drip dry, or do you hand wash? They are fairly expensive and I have always been afraid to try and wash them! :confused:

[Ravenseye]

I toss them in the sink with some of that scent free laundry detergent that is used for hunting, let them soak for a while, wring them out and drip them dry. They get stiff and wrinkled but they break in fine again. Not all the propolis comes out but I'm really more interested in whatever scent the bees leave on if they sting the gloves.

[jdpro5010]

Thank you! That was basically what I thought but have not tried it yet. I to am mainly concerned with the scent being left by the bees.

[Jeffzhear]

I have a few pairs of the better leather gloves Dadant sells and they work fine. I keep a pair as back up for myself and I have size small pair for my GF entomologist, so she can pal along with me on occassion.

I just throw them in the washing machine after I use them and hang them up/air dry. Often they get stiff and I just wet them with water just before I use them and they soften up.

Personally, I got without gloves 99 percent of the time. I can feel things much better that way <including the stings!>

[xC0000005]

I use kitchen gloves like you find at a grocery store. IF a bee decides to it can certainly sting through but it's not common and most importantly I feel safer. Illusion or not it makes it easier for me to handle the bees gently, so I'll take it.

[BigDaddyDS]

To clean my gloves, I happened upon a technique last year by accident.

I came home from an afternoon of playing in the bees and left my gear out in the open, stored in an oversized milk crate. My cats went NUTS for the taste of honey, wax and propolis, and I had a hard time shooing them away from them. After a while, I realized that the cats had done a pretty good job cleaning up my gloves for me.

But, on the downside... I realized some time later that in addition to the honey, wax and propolis, there is probably also a good amount of bee venom that could have triggered an allergic reaction in my cats. (Luckily, it didn't.)

So, did it work? Sure. Do I recommend it? No way. Vet bills are expensive.

From now on, I'll wash my hands with my gloves on, in the kitchen sink.

DS

[shawnwri]

I like the powder-free nitrile gloves for most times. Disposable, but if the bees are really hot they are too short and leave your wrists exposed.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Chemical resistant rubber gloves from Lowes paint department. They are lined, come in three sizes, and only $5.95.

[Beemaninsa]

I use gloves when needed. Dadant or Mann lake heavy leather. Machine wash and oil with Neetsfoot oil.

[Michael Bush]

I buy leather driving gloves and tuck them into the elastic sleeves of my bee jacket.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

heavy leather. Machine wash and oil with Neetsfoot oil.

That is why I use the rubber now. The last leather gloves I washed got real stiff, so I used Neetsfoot oil on them to TRY to soften them up. I tried to use them but they were real stiff and the sweat leached an orange stain on my hands.

[Beemaninsa]

Bullseye, the yellow stain might be from a dye the manufacturer used. Happened to me. I rubbed my eyes with stained hands and it blistered my eyes so bad I could not drive home. I like rubber gloves except they make my hands sweat too much, fill with sweat and stink. After a few hours hands are like prunes. Need lots of neetsfoot to soften leather gloves well the first time.

[Ross]

You can get goatskin at Home Depot. Like Michael, my jacket has elastic cuffs long enough to pull down over the top of the glove. I also use some of the heavier multi-layer padded gloves with gauntlets for cutouts and hot hives. I you use the elastic exam type gloves, double them. Mine invariably get splits here and there that the bees find before I do.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Bullseye, the yellow stain might be from a dye the manufacturer used. Happened to me. I rubbed my eyes with stained hands and it blistered my eyes so bad I could not drive home. I like rubber gloves except they make my hands sweat too much, fill with sweat and stink. After a few hours hands are like prunes.

That's why I don't like the exam gloves, that and they are not durable enough for me, but mostly the sopping wet hands and prune skin. The thicker lined gloves with five inch gauntlets are the best for me especially for doing cutouts.

[clintonbemrose]

I have not used gloves for more than 20 years but I do have some in my bee box that goes to the hives with me.
Clint