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Author Topic: how many?  (Read 9090 times)

Offline 10framer

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how many?
« on: March 13, 2013, 10:59:50 am »
this is just for fun.  i don't wear gloves or a suit/jacket when i work my bees.  i used to do a lot of cut outs and i can think of one time when i took around 30 stings just on my hands. 
i'm pretty sure that back when re-queened 1000s of hives in august every year there were days where i took more than that.  but that is one time i remember counting because i had a guy with me that had never done a cut out and he was counting his.  also i remember because these bees were in a building that was being demolished and the wall was laying on top of a pile of rubble.
any way......

what's the highest number of stings anyone has taken in one day?

Offline iddee

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Re: how many?
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2013, 11:02:33 am »
In one day?? 200 plus

In one week??  200 plus 5 days in a row.
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Offline fshrgy99

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Re: how many?
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2013, 11:20:45 am »
 200-300! :shock: Was stung twice last year, once at the beginning of the season and once at the end  :shock:

I'm thinking you maybe don't mind so much? (if you're taking 200-300 in day!)

In the utubes where beeks are retrieving swarms barehanded are they being stung that much? Seems like JP will comment that he got stung once or twice when doing a cutout in some of his vids.

I'm thinking I'm not much interested in doing a cut out if it means hundreds of stings ... until I build up my immunity that is :)

Offline T Beek

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Re: how many?
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2013, 11:37:08 am »
iddee;   WOW!  Even when I worked w/ a Big migratory outfit (1-1500 hives) in the 70's I never got more than a few at any one time.  I usually don't wear gloves and rarely get stung by my bees.  Maybe one or two times last summer.

I was stung by ground hornets around 100 times, all in the face and hands while cutting firewood one summer.  I just dropped my saw on the ground and let it run out of gas before retrieving it, and they were still p.o.d.  Since then I only cut firewood during winter months  :-D

I never been stung retrieving a swarm.  Cut outs are another story, but I dress for it  ;) and don't do them too often.
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Offline TwT

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Re: how many?
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2013, 12:22:47 pm »
My count is 120 at one time, that's what happen when you accidentally knock over a hive, I dont know how bears do it, they covered me lol.
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Offline Kathyp

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Re: how many?
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2013, 12:26:52 pm »
maybe 10 or so doing a cutout in an attic. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline rwurster

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Re: how many?
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2013, 12:52:55 pm »
100+ when a swarm fell on my head and down my right side.  I quit counting after 100 and just scraped the stingers out of my arm.
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Offline 10framer

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Re: how many?
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2013, 01:41:09 pm »
iddee;   WOW!  Even when I worked w/ a Big migratory outfit (1-1500 hives) in the 70's I never got more than a few at any one time.  I usually don't wear gloves and rarely get stung by my bees.  Maybe one or two times last summer.

I was stung by ground hornets around 100 times, all in the face and hands while cutting firewood one summer.  I just dropped my saw on the ground and let it run out of gas before retrieving it, and they were still p.o.d.  Since then I only cut firewood during winter months  :-D

I never been stung retrieving a swarm.  Cut outs are another story, but I dress for it  ;) and don't do them too often.

we re-queened in august with a full field force and no flow.  probably went through 100 crowded brood chambers on the average day.  we weren't taking our time and being gentle.  i'm sure i took at least a sting per hive doing that.  
i remember one time i was going to put a deep full of honey back on another deep and ended up in an awkward position and rested it against my leg and it was covered in bees i took a local hit of 15 or 20 in the thigh.  
another guy used to call me in on cut outs if the bees were really hot because i would just take the hits and keep going.  i think maybe he didn't like heights either.  
i started doing this in my early teens at a large operation so i just don't think much about being stung.  i use very little smoke unless i have a really bad colony to deal with.  i still have the "commercial" mentality when it comes to going through a hive.  get in, access, adjust, and get out in the shortest time possible.  
i can got through all my hives with no stings some days and take 4 or 5 on others.  i work them in a tee shirt and some are just because bees get up my sleeves and end up mashed.  i used to wear shorts but having to stop to get a crawler out in a hurry can be time consuming.

Offline RHBee

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Re: how many?
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2013, 02:29:17 pm »
Five on one day is my max. Hats off to you guys. Based on what you all are saying I'd better toughen up. I want to reach a point that I go thru 100 hives a day. I don't mind stings to most places other than my fingers and my head (ears, nose, around eyes). The ones on my fingers makes it harder to continue due to swelling. I've considered purposely getting two or three stings each day to help reduce my reactions.
Later,
Ray

Offline hardwood

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Re: how many?
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2013, 02:57:46 pm »
Too many to bother counting :-D

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Online Michael Bush

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Re: how many?
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2013, 03:07:05 pm »
It's hard to count when they are all happening at once...
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Offline edward

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Re: how many?
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2013, 03:48:24 pm »
 :oops: With a leaky bee suit and  :evil: angry bees  :evil: and a beekeeper beekeeping when he shouldn't have  :thunder: in rainy weather :thunder:

 :oops: I got about 50  :oops:

Learned my lesson, now I get about 10 a season.

mvh edward  :-P

Offline iddee

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Re: how many?
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2013, 06:10:58 pm »
Back when this redneck had no money, all I had was a home made veil and no gloves. We were going to remove a colony from an old, empty house. When we opened them and smoked them, it was like they didn't know there was smoke being used. 200 plus stings that day, we got them in a hive and left it in the yard for the stragglers to come to.

Next day, they were working the hive just fine. That's when we saw that there was another hive in the wall next to them. That is where the stings were coming from. We hadn't smoked them. Same thing again. 200 plus stings getting the second hive. Repeat. Finally tore the whole side of the house off, even toppling the chimney. Five hives total, with too many stings to count, but managed to count 1000 plus in the five days.
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Offline Georgia Boy

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Re: how many?
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2013, 07:45:54 pm »
Holy crapola Iddee. I think I would have just gave up and went home. :)

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Offline iddee

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Re: how many?
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2013, 09:15:06 pm »
Georgia Boy, I have taken full grown raccoons and a bobcat home alive. I've had my arms looking like hamburger clear up to my elbow from claws. I never learned the meaning of "give up".
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline RHBee

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Re: how many?
« Reply #15 on: March 13, 2013, 10:07:57 pm »
Georgia Boy, I have taken full grown raccoons and a bobcat home alive. I've had my arms looking like hamburger clear up to my elbow from claws. I never learned the meaning of "give up".

I don't want to stray off topic but I've had the pleasure of crossing horns with a full grown boar coon. All I can say is WOW. Nothing nice about one. They don't quit either.
All that comes to mind is "You gotta really want it". The five cutouts with home made equipment goes right along with it. Hats off to ya man.
Later,
Ray

Offline Georgia Boy

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Re: how many?
« Reply #16 on: March 13, 2013, 10:10:38 pm »
All I can say is darn!!!!!!!  :) :) :) :) :)
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Offline 10framer

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Re: how many?
« Reply #17 on: March 13, 2013, 11:42:52 pm »
Georgia Boy, I have taken full grown raccoons and a bobcat home alive. I've had my arms looking like hamburger clear up to my elbow from claws. I never learned the meaning of "give up".

I don't want to stray off topic but I've had the pleasure of crossing horns with a full grown boar coon. All I can say is WOW. Nothing nice about one. They don't quit either.
All that comes to mind is "You gotta really want it". The five cutouts with home made equipment goes right along with it. Hats off to ya man.

yeah, that's pretty hard core coons and cornered squirrels can surprise you with how much damage one fairly small animal can do. 

Offline schawee

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Re: how many?
« Reply #18 on: March 14, 2013, 03:19:08 am »
67 times the  cutout .I called it th hive from hell.two weeks in the beeyard and were very gentle bees
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: how many?
« Reply #19 on: March 14, 2013, 06:44:38 am »
10 stings from honey bees, first week of beekeeping.  Dropped a broken frame, trash frame from the nuc, and they crawled up my leg and got me. Did not swell up too bad.
About 20 yellow jacket stings from spraying climbing ivy to get rid of it. This was right after going through 4 strong hives without getting a single sting.
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