# Lurker in IL



## DeterminedDan (Dec 19, 2014)

I have looked into keeping bees for a little over a year now and am thinking about taking the plunge. I need to get stung to find out if I can really do this. Anyone know where I can get stung in the winter? Most of you probably don't want to open your hives right now. I am also looking for opinions on doing a Warre as my first hive. I am a little concerned about lack of knowledge in my area of this type of hive and the availability of help when something goes wrong.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

Just curious- why do feel the need to be stung?


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## erranterudite (Jul 23, 2014)

Glad you are taking the plunge! Being stung is something to think about, but keep in mind that only 2-3% of the population are allergic to bee stings, so the odds are in your favor. I just started beekeeping over the last year, and one thing I wish I had done is to get two or three hives. That way, you have options to fix problems if they arise by moving around resources or raising new queens.


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## DeterminedDan (Dec 19, 2014)

I guess it is what I am most concerned about. The money is a small concern, the time is a larger concern, but if I get stung once and say nuts to this then I am out all of this. I was stung once when I was younger but don't remember it that well. If I get stung and still want to do this then I figure I am good to go.


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## erranterudite (Jul 23, 2014)

If you were stung once as a child and dont remember it, I think there is an exceedingly good chance that you will be okay. I am a psychologist in training, and I got into bee keeping to try and fix my phobia of bees. Believe me when I say that I was extremely worried about that first sting. Over the course of the year I have had two, and I can honestly say that they are not that bad. I wouldnt go out of my way to get one, but I also dont find myself worrying about them anymore.


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## MTN-Bees (Jan 27, 2014)

For me I never thought hard about. I knew I was going to be stung as it comes with the territory. You can certainly reduce your exposure to stings by wearing a suit or jacket and following good beekeeping practices. Such as using your smoker and opening your hives at the right time of day. Have fun and enjoy.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome Dan!


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Dan,
Realize the first sting will get your body's greatest reaction with any swelling and itching. When I first started my finger would swell to where it was tough to bend it and itch like a son of a gun. Rather quickly the reaction became less and less, by the end of the first season the "pinch" of the sting still occured but not much else. Point being, unless you have a severe reaction, don't judge your body's reaction to the first sting as the norm.


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## jfmcree (Mar 10, 2014)

I had the same lingering concern when I started with my own hives a couple of years ago. I had helped another beekeeper the prior year or two and had been stung on 3 separate occasions, but never while actually handling the bees (sneaky freeriders on the suit that get you when you take it off!). I wondered, "Would I still want to do this after getting stung handling my own hives?"

Nuc delivery day came. My first bees arrived. I was dressed in a head-to-toe suit with those velcro straps that wrap around the angles. I felt timid yet invulnerable. I had noticed my suit had what seemed to be a defect in that one of those velcro ankle straps was missing from my suit leaving an ankle unwrapped. I wasn't concerned.

It was a drizzly day. The beekeeper who delivered my bees said today might be a "crawling" day. Hmm....what's that, I wondered. Not long later I felt a bee or two crawling up my calf on my un-velcro wrapped leg. Beekeepers warned me about this situation as you feel so helpless. You don't want to disturb the bees for fear they will sting you yet you also don't want to them to keep crawling higher. I disturbed them! ....then a few stings! Before I know it, there was a small cloud of bees flying around my unprotected ankle following the pheromone. My calf must have been stung at least a dozen times. It wasn't comfortable, did swell, then got itchy and was back to normal within about a week.

I am still a beekeeper! I've had one other similar incident with about a dozen stings to my scalp in a moment of recklessness. They all seem to follow the same pattern - a "pinch", swelling that varies from just a little to softball size or more, itchiness then it all goes away. I think the pain of the sting is less than just sticking yourself with a pin, but that could come from "experience".

A fellow beekeeper once commented on stings as, "You feel a honey bee sting for about 5 to 10 minutes and forget about it a week later. You feel a Yellow Jacket sting for days and remember it for the rest of your life!" As bees go, honey bees are much less impactful in their stings than other bees that really create the fear of being stung.

Your doctor can do a quick test for bee sting allergies. Other than that, I wouldn't worry about getting stung. Try a couple of hives and you should have no trouble finding a beekeeper to take them off your hands if you decide beekeeping is not for you. Hope this helps...

Jim.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

I think the sting reaction for everyone is different. It seems to me that every bee-sting is different. Normally I just spread a little aloe vera on the sting and forget it, but once in a while I get one that really hurts. 

Bee stings to me are not much worse than mosquito bites and not nearly as bad as a spider bite.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Ha ha the first time you get stung especially if done on purpose I guarantee you say nuts to this LOL............but don't let that stop you. Like others have said you get less and less of a reaction over time and before you know it you'll be out there in just shorts, flip flops and a veil like many on here do.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Any beekeeper with a hive that has a top entrance can find you a bee to sting. Just blow in the entrance and take the first one that comes out. This can be done year round - even in the north. I do it weekly.


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## mjl328 (Jun 9, 2012)

Adrian Quiney WI said:


> Any beekeeper with a hive that has a top entrance can find you a bee to sting. Just blow in the entrance and take the first one that comes out. This can be done year round - even in the north. I do it weekly.


Hey Dan , I am a local beekeeper across the town Munster Indiana.Pm me and I can help you


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## missybee (Sep 6, 2014)

Hi Dan, new bee keeper in Maryland.

We had our doc prescribe us an epi pen just in case. My normal reaction is to swell up fast and bad, pain, itching, husband he does not swell at all, does not even notice the sting. 

I started using Unker’s® Multi-Purpose Therapeutic Salve, based on the recommendation of a bee keeper near me. I carry a small tub of it in my bee suit, get stung, smear it on right away. The swelling and pain stops immediately.


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## flhultra (Jun 14, 2013)

first few you will notice , after that you'll feel the pinch and not even slow down to look.


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## RudyT (Jan 25, 2012)

Different people react differently, I suppose.
I second the idea that the first few stings (for me each season) I notice more than after that. Get a good jacket with attached veil (or the full length suit if that makes you feel better). Get good gloves (maybe goatskin).
Then get used to your bees.
In a little while you'll be out working the bees in short sleeves, shorts, and a veil.
If I go a while without getting stung I kind of miss it. I believe it helps my mild arthritis so I don't regret a few stings -- I average less than one sting per hive inspected.
I'm just trying to say, you'll probably find beekeeping fascinating, and a few stings are for most people not a big deal.


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