Working naked!!!???

[Joseph Clemens]

I'm sorry, I get stung in the nostrils and on the neck and head quite regularly - it is a pain. Other than smarting something awful for less than a minute, it really does nothing else.

I have much greater fear of heat stroke and other heat related afflictions than I do of bee stings. I keep a veil handy if too many are trying to sting me in the face, not so much because of the stings, but so I can see without stinging bees obscuring my view. I am much more amazed at the machismo it takes to work in gear during our sweltering Spring/Summer/Autumn than at learning to safely work bees without such "protection". Our local news is always carrying stories about how some young, fit, athletic, college student succumbed to our heat. I don't plan to ever be a subject to one of those articles.

[Keefis]

I wear sunglasses and a light colored shirt.. My mentor did it that way, and so will I. You will get stung somewhere... Probably in the hand anyway. Going "naked" forces you to be cautious and careful around your bees, and there is nothing wrong with that.. Chances are you will be alerted to the bees intention to sting you prior to it happening. I have Italian bees and you really have to screw up to make them mad.
There are two (at least) schools of thought...One is wear protection to help prevent stings, or second to be cautious in your actions not your garments.
Bee suits remind me of the bad guys in the E.T. movie!!

[olevet]

This my 1st time to ever have bees, bought the suit the whole 9 yards.
got my bees and was gonna install em, suited up. Couldnt see jack thru that crap plus was sweating like a dog.
Took it all off been werkin Really neked ever since, course I live in the woods by myself.

been stung 3 times so far no big deal.

[Seymore]

So I told my son - You may THINK this woman is what you wan't, but (several months later) Don't marry that girl! Can't you SEE the stuff (aka baggage) that she is bringing to the table??! (visible to me almost immediately!) Nope. He didn't see (or refused to acknowledge) that there was a single red flag. Fast forward and in less than a year from their first date he was married and divorced. I couldn't tell him. He wouldn't rely on the advice of someone more experienced. He had to do it his way and found out the hard way.

Had a hive - nice sweet Italians. Came a few swarms and a drought and queenlessness. Where'd my sweet Italians go???! Shwew! They got ornery. But FAST!

Here's to learning from those more experienced. (I've got more experience in dealings with the psycho/social aspect of people than I do with bees.... but I sure can see the writing on the bee wall! )

And with that note, I will again say thanks to all those who have helped me - whether I was able to see the message or not.

[Wickedlees]

I am a new beekeeper and from day one have worn only shorts and sometimes a hoodie. I haven't ever smoked my bees. I always wear gloves, the feel of the bee legs creeps me out. I don't always wear a veil for feeding. HOWEVER, I was recently stung in the eye. I've been taking a sting each time I work the hive. I have ordered a smoker and the last time I inspected I was in jeans tucked into my socks, boots (my hikers), gloves, long sleeved hoodie and veil. I had a MUCH more enjoyable experience with my bees that day since they were spritzed with sugar water and I felt a lot safer. I got a beekeeping suit for my Bday, so I have jokingly said I'll be working in my Bday suit

[Middy]

have worked in suits and veils and none, just shorts, spent alot of time around bees, it's what you feel comfortable with - just carry some STINGOES, and don't shower / spray deodorant prior to working...
Don't act silly, no swift moves/ swatting etc, and don't show your fear, get in there, but just be sensible Worked for me for years..
Once you've been stung a million times it no longer hurts and you no longer feel it, Ive been stung on the genitals, yes ears and mouth - my brother once got stung in the eye and his eye swelled up closed LOL - we didn't pull the sting out to see how far it'd close up//

I agree having Italians helps, but my Grandfather died in 08 at 103, and he used to work his hives in normal clothes, it's about being sensible...

[strider]

OK, but you are not working with animals, bees are a INSECT. But if you do it, please do NOT post pictures!!!!

[Seymore]

please do NOT post pictures!!!!

Party pooper...

[Solomon Parker]

Insects are in fact animals.

[Seymore]

Insects are in fact animals.

The things I learn!

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/yth...nit1/intro.htm
All living things can be divided into two main groups: the Animal Kingdom and the Plant Kingdom.

Well, I know they aren't plants!

[jim lyon]

To each his own. I have been stung countless times everywhere on my body through the years and its just something you deal with as part of the business. Does it bother me? HECK YES I hate it. Anyone who says they are never bothered has simply never seen the gamut of beekeeping conditions that make it virtually impossible at times to work bees without protection. I often work without gloves but only occasionally work without a veil simply because as a commercial I have to work lots of hives in a day in all kinds of weather and honey flow conditions. Working bees without protection requires a slower pace coupled with plenty of smoke and that usually dosent result in being very productive.

[Oneupsuperdog]

The refrence is to being all animals including insects i assume can smell fear, anger, and other emotions though the chems we give off. So the question was to be if u r caml and relaxed is the bees ok with u taken there home a part to check them out and take thier honey or will they always meet u with a fight.

[willyC]

I'm getting lost in the technical jargon, "u" "r" "cami" "thier" and "there" (in this context).

That said, I hate the 3 day itch after each sting. Anyone have a remedy?

I admit to being inconsistent in regards to gloves, veils and duct-tape, but mostly use them, especially the duct-tape

[AramF]

I do not know if anyone here has given you a satisfactory answer. I am pretty sure that bees target eyes and CO2 gas, so they will not be targeting your fear smell, but rather a direction from which you breathe. So if your bees are well fed and are gentle as kittens, do as you wish, there is probably very little that will set them off. There is a shirtless guy on youtube doing exam, strange French guy on The Queen of the SUn (TQOFS) and a naked dancer on TQOFS all covered in bees. I think she admitted to being stung 3 times during filming, but she did not harbor any larvae, so her situation is a bit unrelated to your's. Anyway, it can be done. I however drop frames every once in a while, and that sets them off in a hurry. So it is not really that I do not think that you can do it, it is just that if unexpected bad things happen, you have very little time to save your b... self.

[Middy]

WillyC - Try STINGOES

[willyC]

Middy, thank you!

[Oneupsuperdog]

I'm getting lost in the technical jargon, "u" "r" "cami" "thier" and "there" (in this context).

That said, I hate the 3 day itch after each sting. Anyone have a remedy?

I admit to being inconsistent in regards to gloves, veils and duct-tape, but mostly use them, especially the duct-tape

Ah yes, My dear man, I do reconize my writing errors. I do apologize as I am texting these responses and i am all fingers.
Futhermore, I dropped out of school in the eighth grade and began supporting myself at sixteen years old thus leaving me with limited writing skills.
That bein said, I am self employed and earn just over $80,000. Per year at somthing I love. Futhermore i have been fortunate enough to reduce my work schedule to six months a year allowing me much time to spend with my family and engage in a hbby that has been of interest since childhood.
The purpose of my "workin naked" post was to illicit feedback with regard to the pro's and con's not wearing protective clothing.
My post was not intended for, nor soliciting random mockery of my writing abilities. Moreover, i do not appreciate your attempt to hijack my post for your random self interest.
Please get your own thred and inquire about your "bo bo's"
Thanks, oneup

[Oneupsuperdog]

Thanks AramF. Very helpfull.

[Middy]

Also Onion works, stops the sting, and stops the smell of the bees intestines (once they sting it rips their guts out), which attracts more bees and makes em angry.

[sqkcrk]

The purpose of my "workin naked" post was to illicit feedback with regard to the pro's and con's not wearing protective clothing.
My post was not intended for, nor soliciting random mockery of my writing abilities. Moreover, i do not appreciate your attempt to hijack my post for your random self interest.

Thanks, oneup

Throttle back there oneup. He simply did not understand what you meant by what you wrote. Me neither. Best I could figure out you meant "if you are calm", when you wrote "if u r caml". Right? Maybe you should read your posts before clicking Post Quick Reply just to see if they say what you meant and said it so others can tell what you meant.