Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: rawfind on October 29, 2012, 09:27:36 pm

Title: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: rawfind on October 29, 2012, 09:27:36 pm
Hi All,
         I am finding that the leather gloves i use have a cloth part just past the wrist , the bees regularly sting me in this area , the other type i tried had vents in that area, the bees stung me there too, anyone else having this problem? and can anyone suggest a better glove or a way to avoid the stings? re Neil

gloves (http://www.bobsbeekeeping.com.au/product/showProduct/id/470)
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: hardwood on October 29, 2012, 09:30:55 pm
Tuck the gloves into your long sleeves.

Scott
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: asprince on October 29, 2012, 09:37:53 pm
I use soft leather gloves that I get Tractor Supply or Ace Hardware that I tuck under my sleeves.


Steve 
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: ShaneJ on October 29, 2012, 10:38:24 pm
If you stop using gloves you will find yourself being more gentle with the bees and they wont sting you. If I'm unlucky I may get 1 or 2 stings on my finger tips throughout inspecting my 20 hives.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Mek on October 29, 2012, 11:20:36 pm
Wash hands with a light dilution of white vinegar  (haven't tested) was told by another bee keeper.
Wash hands with water and avoid having honey on your hands? - Watched a beek with a water in a keg on his truck.

Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Maryland Beekeeper on October 30, 2012, 02:03:54 am
I second Shane. Gotta loose the gloves, eventually, if they are stinging you are doing something wrong,( hot smoke ? rough ? dark cloths ? perfume ? bad timing ? gloves/suit smell like dog/cat/deodorant ? ) gotta figure out what that is and correct it. When U can go through with no stings you will no longer need the gloves, or the veil for that matter. And pretty soon you'll only need just the lightest few puffs of smoke here and there, maybe none at all.
Enjoy the journey,
Drew
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 30, 2012, 12:53:28 pm
I'm with Shane. My first year with full suit on, after I was done and took the suit off bees would come out and sting me. First the gloves came off and then the bees calmed down. It didn't take long to remove the whole suit. Remember to move slow over the hive. If you want to stop the bees from stinging a certain area, use Vick's vapor run on that area. Bees don't like it. Just don't leave to much on your hands after applying it. You end up putting it in the hive. Some times when I know a removal might be rough, I will put it on my ears and forehead and face. It takes a bit of getting used to around the eyes but it will stop most except the ones that come straight out of the hive at you at full force.
Jim
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Maryland Beekeeper on October 30, 2012, 02:14:57 pm
couple of things occurred to me
-the statement you are doing something wrong doesn't sound like I intended, something is going wrong is better
-maybe the most important and obvious thing I missed is the sound, pay close attention to the sound.
-stop if they sting, smoke a little step away and let them calm, you can't go thru with them stinging you.
-Can't kill any. The odor released can set them off. No reason to squash any if you plan your moves in advance and proceed slow and steady, they will accommodate your action.
-Keep a  calm assertive state of mind. Increased heart rate, anxiety, fear, will have you releasing scents that could result in defensive reactions.
Cheers,
Drew
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: JPBEEGETTER on October 31, 2012, 02:37:34 pm
With bees that are, as jp says ,"a little pissy"  I use a misquito pull over and blue nitrle gloves have little to no stings..JPP.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Michael Bush on October 31, 2012, 03:02:03 pm
I also buy regular soft leather gloves and tuck them in my sleeves.  Cheaper and easier to get on and off.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Maryland Beekeeper on October 31, 2012, 03:18:34 pm
Perhaps golf gloves would work nicely ? And the prop. would help u grip the clubs better  !  :) Might have found a new market for the Beekeepers ! Propolis for Pro golfers, baseball players, quarterbacks & receivers, might work good for rock climbing now that I think about it, gotta try that.
Drew
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: gailmo on October 31, 2012, 05:52:36 pm
This is a photo of my former "bee gloves".
(http://s6.postimage.org/x3f0zji99/gloves2.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/x3f0zji99/)

And this is my hand after wearing them!

(http://s6.postimage.org/xhgcz52ct/gloves.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/xhgcz52ct/)

The hive I was working I call my "freaking hot" hive!  I managed to pull tons of honey from it this year, but as soon as spring comes, they are going to be requeened. I would have done it earlier, but I didn't have a queen available and didn't get a chance to order one.  And if they don't make it this winter, I won't be totally upset.

I now wear lined rubber gloves I buy on Amazon.  They are called ""True Blues Small Ultimate Household Gloves".  I like them because I have small hands and the small size fits perfectly.  They last about a season and the bees can't sting through them. 
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Maryland Beekeeper on October 31, 2012, 06:23:00 pm
Ouch ! Got ya good there. Been stung a couple times doing cutouts this year. I take a vitamin C and a Benadril right away. And no coffee for @ least an hour.
Cheers,
Drew
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: bernsad on October 31, 2012, 07:38:49 pm
The Benadryl I understand. How do the vitamin C and the lack of coffee help?
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Maryland Beekeeper on October 31, 2012, 08:25:36 pm
Vitamin C helps the system break down the toxin, for me anyway the coffee and the toxin lead to some strange and a bit scary reactions. Light headedness, irregular heart rhythm (had this reaction twice this year, the second time not as pronounced, after multiple stings). The other interesting thing I've noticed is that a sting here or there, ( the B's like something on my mossy brick patio, I go barefoot most of the time ) is no bother but I feel it as a sort of itching in the nearest joint and even a little in the joint above that. ( ankle/knee;elbow/shoulder)
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: bernsad on October 31, 2012, 09:32:54 pm
Vitamin C helps the system break down the toxin, for me anyway the coffee and the toxin lead to some strange and a bit scary reactions. Light headedness, irregular heart rhythm (had this reaction twice this year, the second time not as pronounced, after multiple stings). The other interesting thing I've noticed is that a sting here or there, ( the B's like something on my mossy brick patio, I go barefoot most of the time ) is no bother but I feel it as a sort of itching in the nearest joint and even a little in the joint above that. ( ankle/knee;elbow/shoulder)
That's interesting, thanks.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: rawfind on November 01, 2012, 04:04:05 am
This is a photo of my former "bee gloves".
(http://s6.postimage.org/x3f0zji99/gloves2.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/x3f0zji99/)

And this is my hand after wearing them!

(http://s6.postimage.org/xhgcz52ct/gloves.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/xhgcz52ct/)

The hive I was working I call my "freaking hot" hive!  I managed to pull tons of honey from it this year, but as soon as spring comes, they are going to be requeened. I would have done it earlier, but I didn't have a queen available and didn't get a chance to order one.  And if they don't make it this winter, I won't be totally upset.

I now wear lined rubber gloves I buy on Amazon.  They are called ""True Blues Small Ultimate Household Gloves".  I like them because I have small hands and the small size fits perfectly.  They last about a season and the bees can't sting through them. 

that hand looks nasty!!   i found the rubber gloves are real good when doing a cut out dosnt matter if they get honey all over them, hands tend to sweat heaps though
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: rawfind on November 01, 2012, 07:34:21 am
I second Shane. Gotta loose the gloves, eventually, if they are stinging you are doing something wrong,( hot smoke ? rough ? dark cloths ? perfume ? bad timing ? gloves/suit smell like dog/cat/deodorant ? ) gotta figure out what that is and correct it. When U can go through with no stings you will no longer need the gloves, or the veil for that matter. And pretty soon you'll only need just the lightest few puffs of smoke here and there, maybe none at all.
Enjoy the journey,
Drew


Well it is windy often where i live and i cant always get the perfect day so sometimes i have to do it when time allows, mostly they are ok it seems the larger hives get cranky by the time i get to the 3rd super, that's usually when they hit me, have caught a couple of aggressive swarms this year, don't know if they were dry swarms or just plain nasty, but i will re-queen them when i get things under control again.
At the moment im building frames and boxes like crazy just trying to catch up i have hives that are building up fast and need xtra supers on them.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: ShaneJ on November 01, 2012, 08:04:28 am
How bad are the SHB where you are? Around here the days of just adding an extra super are gone. Anymore than 2 honey boxes are you're at high risk of loosing the hive to SHB. I only keep one honey super on my hives. When its full I extract it.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: rawfind on November 01, 2012, 02:50:21 pm
How bad are the SHB where you are? Around here the days of just adding an extra super are gone. Anymore than 2 honey boxes are you're at high risk of loosing the hive to SHB. I only keep one honey super on my hives. When its full I extract it.

i guess ive been lucky here, no beetle only pest was a few wax moths on the small colonies , how do they spread? moving hives around?
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Wonga on November 01, 2012, 11:03:24 pm

   Plenty of SHB around Western Sydney and theLower Blue Mountains. That's no surprise really, they entered Australia near here, at Richmond, from the USA in 2000, with equipment for the Sydney Olympics - sure glad the Federal Government "saved" so much money cutting back Customs & Quarantine costs. The story I've heard is the Apiarist at Hawkesbury Agricultural College at Richmond had trouble convincing the State Department of Agriculture that he had found SHB . . . . . Ironic that SHB landed at Richmond, given that its the heart of NSW beekeeping including the Wheen Foundation.

I "control" the mongrel things with traps, and now I'm trying those new beeltra brand SHB traps. You have to help the bees, they can't stop all the SHB. The little beggars can fly for kilometres, some say 20K, and they breed in the soil around a hive once they find one.

Gloves are problematic, but you'll need them at least for major work on your hives.

regards, Wonga
 
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: BeeMaster2 on November 02, 2012, 12:01:26 am
I'm at the FL State bee keepers convention in Tampa FL. The quest speaker has been working with bees in Brazil. Home of AHB. The area he is working in produces green propolis. I asked what type of bees they were using because the pictures showed beeks in the hives with no attacks. He said that they were AHB and to work with AHB you have to learn how to be gentle when working in these hives. In teaching a new group of beeks he opened the largest hive and went through it from top to bottom with no problems. Then he let the students open the weakest hive. The bees went into a full attack. What he showed is it is all in how you handle them. He also mentioned that when someone mishandles a hive that the next time they get near the hive they get attacked before they opened it. Treat your bees as you want your bees to treat you.
Jim
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: Maryland Beekeeper on November 02, 2012, 12:52:25 am
Jim,
Very interesting thanks for sharing that. Being a Perone guy I have heard that once they,
"Get to know you", the Africanized B's are same as any. My area was recently switched into the next warmest gardening zone so maybe I'll be finding out one day. :)
Cheers,
Drew
p.s. Look forward to hearing about any interesting happenings @ the conference.
Title: Re: Beekeeping Gloves
Post by: rawfind on November 02, 2012, 01:37:36 am
What he showed is it is all in how you handle them. He also mentioned that when someone mishandles a hive that the next time they get near the hive they get attacked before they opened it. Treat your bees as you want your bees to treat you.
Jim

I have noticed that, sometimes i can be a  bit clumsy and bump a frame or 2 i once dropped one with bees on it, and yes they did go me the next day just walking near the hive. Ive found if they start to fire up ... if i back off for a bit then they calm down again, seems a couple set more off..