Summertime comes with inevitable sting. It’s just how it goes. Bees and wasps are out and about doing their thing, and occasionally we tick them off or get in the way. They retaliate. Sure, it would be nice if they would “use their words,” but since it ain’t gonna happen, I say we lower our expectations and try to work around them.
Bees are very, very in touch with their own mortality, so unless you accidentally stumble onto their hive and/or they feel actively threatened, you’re probably safe.
Wasps, the stinging kind, at least, are a completely different story. They have anger issues. Since I am allergic to bee and wasp stings, I try to avoid antagonizing them in any way while I am out in the garden.
It’s best to avoid bright colors {hello black, my old friend}. They like bright colors—they don’t like sudden jerky movements though, so your bright shirt while you weed will, in fact, tick them off.
They also love, love, love clover in the grass. So tip-toeing through the daisies barefoot is a pretty bad idea. I know you’re trying to carpe diem and all that, but put some shoes on and create a barrier between you and their fear-stinging.
Summertime means wasp and bees are out busily pollinating. One of the ways they do that is by smell. If you wear scented lotions, perfumes, or use heavily scented soaps, you are basically sending them an invitation to land on you. Don’t do that. If they do land on you, stay calm and slowly/gently brush them off and walk away.
Just like any living creature, wasps {and bees} don’t want really want you disturbing their living situation. Usually, this is accidental, so it’s best to stay hyper-aware of your surroundings. You might just be minding your own business and accidentally water their home or disturb it. They have terrible coping skills, though, and will not care one bit about “accidentally.” They will come out guns a’blazing.
Less stings means less Benadryl naps, plain and simple. It’s really all about avoidance.
~Mavis
Amy says
FYI… If you do get stung, don’t pull the stinger out. This will only release more ‘venom’ into you. You should use something like the edge of a credit card and scrape the stinger out.
Mavis says
Good tip, thanks Amy.
Reya says
Benadryl and other anticholinergic drugs are linked to dementia. Critical in a bee sting scenario but try to aboid its use in daily life.
Emily B says
So, what I’m hearing is that my current default reaction of screaming, swatting, and running could be improved upon. I’m not sold.
Brianna says
I wish I could have been reminded of this Wednesday. I ran across my clover infested lawn to get the mail and I thought I stepped on a thorn. Then a few steps later I looked at the bottom of my foot and has a squished bee to pull off. A good reminder and an idiot moment of being barefoot. I mowed all of the clover blooms awhile later so my kids wouldn’t suffer the same fate. My daughter put her hand on a rail at a park last week and got a sting in the face and one on the hand. I’m glad it was just two stings because there were at least a dozen swarming her. At least her instincts kicked in to run because the motherly instinct wanted to grab her, but I didn’t want to irk more wasps. They had built a small nest under the handrail and we didn’t know or even think of it.
Diane says
I had an “interesting” encounter with a bee and learned a lot out of the experience. Here goes:
I was at a demonstration garden enjoying how it was put together and reading the signage. All of a sudden, a bee came around me and just wouldn’t go away. I kind of lost it when the bee got inbetween my glasses and my eye. I flinched and the bee got trapped by my eyelid. I was so scared that I would be stung! Luckily I was not stung.
Some interesting things I learned:
Be careful with black clothing (I was wearing black). Black and red (which bees see as black) colors actually can make bees more aggressive. These colors are associated with natural predators of bees. Note that beekeepers outfits are white.
Bees are usually more noticing of smells rather than sighted colors. That said, if you use one of those laundry detergents that has the UV whitener/brightener in it, something in those chemicals the bees will pick up on no matter what color you are wearing.
Bees will usually move around necks and cuffs which are high contrast areas. High contrast areas the bees associate with the eye/nose area of a predator.
Fabrics that have texture like corduroy or polar fleece are like fur! You are a predator. Thankfully, we don’t wear much of these fabrics this time of year.
Bees may be in unusual places right now. So watch where you put your hands! In the Pacific Northwest, blooms are exploding out everywhere and the bees are running amok pursueing all of the pollen. I have seen bees so overloaded with pollen that they hardly could fly anymore. They have to stop to rest frequently to make it back to the hive.
I’ve a great photo of a bee in this condition that I just took. The bee was on the door jam of my garden shed. I could have easily put my hand on it unknowingly. The bright spot of golden yellow which was the collected pollen caught my eye. I felt sorry for the bee, it looked like it was panting it was shaking so hard.
Last but not least, a garden buddy of mine had issues with bees always bothering her. It wasn’t always that way, one summer it just started up. It was driving her nuts. She was trying to figure out if she had started to use anything different to create this. Turns out, at her annual physical she was discovered to have high blood sugar and was considered a borderline diabetic. When she got her blood sugar down, the bee issue faded.
I thought that was so interesting. Of course, it is only one lady’s experience. It sure would be interesting if other people with diabetic issues had similar experiences. I know they have trained diabetic service dogs.
Mavis, I love your blog and reading all of the respones you get.
Happy Weekend everyone!