# Hands sting....gloves not cutting it.



## Bienenstock (Oct 9, 2015)

OK...im getting tired of dealing with hands getting stung. I've got (what I thought were some nice) goat skin leather beekeeping gloves. They are now three years old but still look good. That said I'm getting stung on the back of the hand, on my thumb and most recently on the tip of my index and ring finger. This is getting very old. Most of the time they are "prick" stings....not imbedding the stinger in my hand but definitely breaking the skin and stinging my hand. That said I did get a sting on my thumb yesterday where the stinger was set and would not subside until I pulled the glove off and removed the stinger.

The dexterity of these gloves is already bad enough. Pulling bigger gloves over the beekeeping gloves just doesn't seem practical or functional.

Anyone have any ideas?


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## Muenster (Feb 19, 2018)

I've had the same experience with leather gloves. Last year I had a few hives that would cover the gloves with stingers, especially as I dug through them to kill individual responsible! This year I've been using heavy, disposable, nitrile gloves. I think they're 12 mil. I can't believe how well they work. The bees simply won't sting them. Many of my hives are fairly testy and you could never get away without gloves in them but these nitrile ones are close enough. I usually get several days (1-2 hours a day)use out of a pair too. Just peel them off and let them dry inside out, then turn them right side out and blow the fingers out like a balloon and you're gtg. Unless you work bees without a smoker this is the best advice you'll get to to minimize stings to your hands


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## Bienenstock (Oct 9, 2015)

Thank you so much. That's my plan.


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## dvorai (Feb 15, 2018)

after trying everything else i found nitrile gloves to be most convenient and providing pretty good protection.
bees still can sting you through nitrile , but pulling out the stinger will be much faster and easier. 
even if you decide to wear double nitrile gloves, your fingers will have much better grip on frames than with most quality leather gloves.


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## fatshark (Jun 17, 2009)

Thin washing up gloves or nitriles give sufficient protection and much more tactile feedback ... they also don't absorb the alarm pheromone. The improved 'feel' makes a huge difference in avoiding crushing bees in the first place.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Muenster said:


> Last year I had a few hives that would cover the gloves with stingers, especially as I dug through them to kill individual responsible!


This exacerbates the problem. Any time you crush a bee defensive pheromones are released and if you are wearing gloves they are absorbed into the glove material. The accumulation of those pheromones draws attackers every time you open a hive.....compounding the problem. 
Once a bee has stung you she will ultimately die any way. No need to seek her out and kill her.


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## Muenster (Feb 19, 2018)

Sorry I wasn't very clear on that. The individual responsible is the queen and in a mean hive she always seems to be hiding on the box after you've looked at every frame twice. 

I do think leather absorbs odors and that nitriles lack of porosity is why it works so well. I would wash my leather gloves often but they'd get start smelling bad to the bees shortly after starting to use them


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## little_john (Aug 4, 2014)

fatshark said:


> Thin washing up gloves or nitriles give sufficient protection and much more tactile feedback ... they also don't absorb the alarm pheromone. The improved 'feel' makes a huge difference in avoiding crushing bees in the first place.


I'll second the use of washing-up gloves. For some weird reason my hands are uber-sensitive to stings - anywhere else, no problem - just the hands. So - you can often find me in summer inspecting hives in a tee-shirt, shorts and sandals ... but still wearing 'Marigolds' (washing-up gloves).

I find such gloves have one problem - they collect sweat. So I always work with 3 pairs: one being worn; a second pair held in reserve; with the third pair inverted and drying-out in the sun. On a hot sunny day (remember those ?) I can usually inspect 4 hives before each glove-change.
LJ


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

I want to buy the nitrile gloves but have a few questions. Does color matter? Do sizes correspond with hands or do you need to try first? You said 12 mil. Does 5 mil work?


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

I use the Thickster brand gloves which are 14mil. Occasionally, you will get a sting through them but those stings barely penetrate the skin. My only complaint with them is they are hot and my hands get really sweaty wearing them. They are much better than leather gloves. I believe that 5 mil gloves would not protect your hands at all.


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## DoverBob (Mar 31, 2015)

Do you have any details like where you buy your Thickster gloves and what color?


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## datsdajoke (Aug 17, 2012)

The thickster gloves I have seen are all latex. Does it ever concern you selling honey to someone with a severe latex allergy? Probably highly unlikely to be a problem but I've avoided latex gloves for that reason.


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## mike17l (Jun 22, 2012)

All I wear, and I deal with hot bees all the time:

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-mil-nitrile-powder-free-gloves-50-pc-x-large-61774.html


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

datsdajoke said:


> The thickster gloves I have seen are all latex. Does it ever concern you selling honey to someone with a severe latex allergy? Probably highly unlikely to be a problem but I've avoided latex gloves for that reason.


I handle frames while wearing the gloves, not the honey. Since I am not sticking my hands into the honey when wearing the gloves, I am pretty sure it is not an issue. 

Dover Bob, I get them from Amazon and they are always blue from what I can tell.


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

12 mil an occasional sting might get through... barely, if at all. You don't have a lot of tactile feel with gloves this thick, but it's a lot better feel than leather.
5 mil, most will get through, but sting doesn't get as deep as bare skin and it's easy to remove the sting. Just tug on the rubber near the sting. very good tactile feel, but still miss a few bees, those will get angry with you.

some companies use color to differentiate thickness, the darker the thicker.

Size corresponds with hands.


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## BeeDuto (Apr 19, 2018)

Hops Brewster said:


> 12 mil an occasional sting might get through... barely, if at all. You don't have a lot of tactile feel with gloves this thick, but it's a lot better feel than leather.
> 5 mil, most will get through, but sting doesn't get as deep as bare skin and it's easy to remove the sting. Just tug on the rubber near the sting. very good tactile feel, but still miss a few bees, those will get angry with you.
> 
> some companies use color to differentiate thickness, the darker the thicker.
> ...


How many mils are the marigold washing gloves?

What about these bad boys at 18mil?
https://www.northernsafety.com/Prod...ed-13-ZGrip-Nitrile-Chemical-Resistant-Gloves


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## frustrateddrone (Jan 31, 2015)

I have a 40 to 70% Africanized bee mix in my hive. Estimated from the way I gauge the reaction from them. I use regular bee gloves that are leather. They cost $20 at the time. The construction is a heavy textile cloth on the uppers and leather gloves. They have a elastic cuff. Long length that go up to my elbows. A bit too long, but I have never had a stinger penetrate. I've got mean tempered bees, so no nitrile gloves are going to give me peace of mind. Do what works for you.


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## Muenster (Feb 19, 2018)

frustrateddrone,
I was working a pretty darn hot hive yesterday that's bound to be africanized with no stings on my hands. They stung my pants and my sleeves but with the neoprene its like they don't see the hands as a stingable object. As if your hands are a solid plastic object to them. I was pretty skeptical at first too and only wore them to work on known gentle hives or nucs, now I wouldn't go back to leather. You really should give them a try


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## Indianhead (May 7, 2018)

So I know everyone kinda has there on thing. I do like the Nitrile gloves but sometimes when i'm working the yard and handling boxes and staples and such splinters and metal have busted through mine.. I've become somewhat comfortable being stung in the hand, but i can't stand being stung in the wrist (Bottom). Best gloves i use are Tillman 24CM gloves. The leather is very thin and supple but strong enough to not break from normal work. and the thicker cuffs protect my wrist. You can still be stung initially because the leather is thin, but after working a few yards a few days they get so much propolis, wax, and residue on them the bees can't sting through them anyways. Thicker gloves are harder to work the hives with IMO, but these thin ones after a few days in them become perfect for what i do.


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## mcr (May 5, 2018)

I use 9 mil& 12 mil to work on cars. I use goat skin gloves with my hives. I get both at Harbor Freight Tools. The nitrile are so cheap they are one use for me. I also used them as a Crime Scene Investigator. 5 mil doesn't keep much out.
A tip I learned while working EMS was to double glove so if you needed to change gloves the sweat was inside the first set and you could easliy get a new pair over them.


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## COEngineer (Apr 30, 2018)

14mm?!?!? That's over half inch! I don't think a T-Rex could bite through that 

Maybe "mil" is not short for millimeter??


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Perhaps thousandths of an inch? From the latin "mille".


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

I use 7 mil nitrile gloves. The bees can sting through them but it's quite rare that they do. If I'm going to be getting invasive and likely to hack them off then I'll double up. I've never been stung through double 7 mil nitrile gloves.


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## BeeDuto (Apr 19, 2018)

JWPalmer said:


> Perhaps thousandths of an inch? From the latin "mille".


You’re right. When talking gloves “mil” means .001”. So 14mils is still only 0.014”. 

My dad had some old gloves laying around that are very think. I gave them a try and because they are so thick my fingers move around inside I placed a frame in my hive on top of the tip of my glove and didn’t even know because my finger wasn’t flush against the tip. Those gloves are definitely not good when doing any kind of meticulous work in the hive. I may have to try some 14mil nitriles.


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## Live Oak (Oct 11, 2008)

Have you tried Ansell Canners and Handlers Gloves? They are 20 mil thickness and a white color which the bees are not likely to attack like they do very dark colored gloves. Not meaning to jinx it but I have yet to be stung wearing these when I am installing Apivar. I am sure the bees are capable of stinging through it but they will really have to work at it. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-PAIRS-A...350946?hash=item3ae81d8162:g:UX4AAOSw3h1ZSXUJ

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GLOVES-Ans...879657?hash=item3af46ce229:g:8noAAOSwP-5Z4sAF

When I wear leather gloves, I have recently tried a few drops of lemon grass oil on the back side and on the opposite side and rub it around to spread it out in hopes of camouflaging attack pheromone from being stung. It is no guarantee against being stung but a very pleasant smelling glove I would think may be less likely to get stung. Washing the gloves is probably the best option but it makes my gloves get stiff which requires oiling to soften up the leather again.


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## GmB (Sep 30, 2015)

For the folks that use the leather and/or goatskin gloves, do you wash them in between use? Wondering if this will wash out any pheromones absorbed by the glove. 

I wash my gloves but also don't get stung in hand at all [knocks on wood]


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

Gosh you guys down south with those nasty bees why don't you requeen with nice bees? I like working my hives and I don't have to wear any protection.


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Hey Dan, it's easy to work the bees when they haven't broken cluster yet.


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

JWPalmer said:


> Hey Dan, it's easy to work the bees when they haven't broken cluster yet.


This year that is a true statement


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

I use HF blue surgical gloves. Get hit every now and then but, it is great no clean up. You got to use the blue ones the skin ones they sting as well as the black ones.

https://www.harborfreight.com/5-mil-nitrile-powder-free-gloves-100-pc-x-large-68498.html


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

Never ever have washed my heavy cotton/canvas gloves in 13 seasons , doesn't seem to make much of a difference in my case

regards
Brad


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## Slayer6769 (May 1, 2017)

I normally wear the leather been gloves and have never gotten a stinger through them. 
I remember last summer I had a tree limb hit one of my hives and it was drizzling rain. WOW! Those bees were really hot! I got them straightened out and never got a single sting. I promise you it wasn't a lack of trying on their part. 
I recently started trying the 9mil black nitrile gloves from HF. My hands do get sweaty but I have excellent feel. My bees have not even tried to sting me through them. I like wearing some kind of glove so I don't get sticky stuff on my hands. I hate that. 
Funny part is I get syrup or whatever bees find tasty and the bees are licking the syrup off my gloves. It's a strange feeling having them buzzing on my hands, but I think in a way it's educational for me. 
Maybe that's the reason they haven't tried to sting me through the nitrile gloves is because they are coated in "goodies". 
I normally don't smoke my hives. Mostly depends on what I'm doing and the time of day I'm doing it. I normally use 1.1 syrup with some honey b healthy mixed in. I spray some on them and they are too busy licking up the treat to care what I'm doing. That's where I get the syrup on my hands. 
So I'm using the nitrile gloves most of the time now. I only use the leather gloves when I'm doing something that might possibly rip the nitrile. 
I have never actually washed my leather gloves. Leather shrinks if you wash it. I have wiped them with a damp cloth. Mostly to get some of the sticky stuff off them. 
My leather gloves aren't very think, but I have a hard time imagining a stinger being able to penetrate the leather. Not saying it isn't possible, but I think a bee would have a really tough time doing it. 
Let me know what brand of leather gloves your using so as I can be sure to never buy that brand.


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## hague (Sep 7, 2012)

Try applying wintergreen rubbing alcohol on nitrile gloves


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