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Author Topic: What will bees sting thru ?  (Read 28517 times)

Offline Dr. B in Wisconsin

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What will bees sting thru ?
« on: June 23, 2010, 09:18:48 pm »
Can bees sting thru skin easily= yes
How about blue jeans easily = ?
shirts ?
socks ?
I am a newbee and I have not been stung yet, but there are getting to be ALOT of bees in my hive, I always wear blue jeans, with a bee jacket and gloves,  I was just wondering if they turn on me how vurnable I would bee??

Thanks,
Brian

Offline hardwood

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2010, 09:28:18 pm »
Yes, yes, and yes! They'll sting right through leather gloves (especially if the gloves are wet with sweat/honey). Jeans...no prob...got stung right on the...um...johnson last Sat while pulling honey. Had to sit for a bit after that one!

I believe that how you handle the bees is much more important than what you wear. That said, the more you cover yourself, the more confident you are and the more you learn about how to handle them. And always remember the smoke!

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline sarafina

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2010, 09:29:50 pm »
I wore a jacket and veil over my jeans the first 2 years and would occasionally get stung through them - usually when bending where it stretched the material tight against my skin.  One girl was on my back when I took my stuff to the garage and as soon as I bent over to set down my bucket of tools, she popped me on the butt !!   :lau:

When one of my hives got a little hot they would pop me through my canvas gloves.  I switched to a heavier glove and a full suit late last year and have not been stung since then.  I always wear my canvas hiking boots but they have never stung me through them.


Offline FRAMEshift

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2010, 11:12:08 pm »
Yes, yes, and yes! They'll sting right through leather gloves (especially if the gloves are wet with sweat/honey). Jeans...no prob...got stung right on the...um...johnson last Sat while pulling honey. Had to sit for a bit after that one!
Scott
So hardwood.... did it swell up?  :devilbanana:
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Offline hardwood

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2010, 11:28:10 pm »
Ask my wife :-D

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline hardwood

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2010, 11:29:43 pm »
Actually not as bad as I would have thought...was like it never happened in a couple of hours,

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline annette

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2010, 11:32:42 pm »
Today I got stung through my bee suit right on my behind :-D :-D :-D

I could not for the life of me figure out how they did that, but it was a really good sting.

Hard to sit down all day, but I am better now.

So even the suit will not always work.  Last year I got stung on my elbow through the suit.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2010, 04:22:06 am »
Anytime the cloth is tight against your skin they can easily get through one layer of cloth.  The more layers and the looser the less they get through.  But basicaly they can sting through leather gloves, blue jeans, shirts etc..  About the only time I get stung through jeans is when it's tight on my knee.

I do have more questions for hardwood (was that name recent?)... like was there any benefit to that?...
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Offline danno

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2010, 09:34:33 am »
I have had bee's sting my loose jeans and not get me.   Loose is the reason but then when I jumped into the trunk and the jeans pull tight the stings get me

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2010, 10:02:22 am »
Yes, they can sting through almost anything.  

But you'll have to get it some time!  One of the most liberating beekeeping thing for me was not being afraid of stings.  Sure they hurt like crazy, but not any more than a cut, and I get those all the time too.  The funny thing is that with just shorts and t-shirt (and veil) I don't get any more stings than when I was all geared up, although less in the fingers and more else where like legs and arms.

I started using canvas gloves to give me some protection but not too much.   Then all the fingers got holes in them, so I figured if I don't need finger protection, why hand protection? Now I don't need them so much.
It took 7 years or so to get here....
Rick

Offline JP

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2010, 10:17:56 am »
Anytime the cloth is tight against your skin they can easily get through one layer of cloth.  The more layers and the looser the less they get through.  But basicaly they can sting through leather gloves, blue jeans, shirts etc..  About the only time I get stung through jeans is when it's tight on my knee.

I do have more questions for hardwood (was that name recent?)... like was there any benefit to that?...

Just look where this thread went to!  :-D

I heard of someone who deliberately did this to himself after hearing of "the swell". Heard it at Bud 2, some guy Alan Bukley knows.


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Offline Titus

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2010, 10:44:39 am »
Hardwood, sounds like you should play it safe and use more protection!  I think every guy ponders the horror of getting stung there.  Glad to know that its a survivable event :-P
Whenever I get stung through the clothes, the stings are not quite as bad and the stinger isn't left in the skin.
My gloves are thin leather and have stopped all stings so far...

Offline danno

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2010, 04:25:49 pm »
Hardwood
maybe after that episode you should change your user name.   Maybe swellwood, redwood or maybe knottypine

Offline annette

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2010, 04:44:52 pm »
OK guys, it took me awhile to "get" what this conversation was all about. I admit I was pretty slow on this one. :-D :-D

Offline wd

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Re: What will bees sting thru ?
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2010, 08:24:41 pm »
Please try not to take this the wrong way...

I'm one those people that don't like getting stung. They've been in my hair, find the way in under the face screen, stung gloves, followed, been hot queenless, head butts etc. I haven't been stung once. (knock on Formica) smoke and being gentle as possible when cracking open hives have helped so far. I have an over sized full suit so it's not tight up against the skin. It's not to say it won't happen one day.