Sooo many times I have received this question! So many times to my videos or pics published on whatsapp or instagram, I got these messages ‘mamma mia what a fright!‘ ‘no no, I wouldn’t be able, you’re not afraid of bees stungs?‘ ‘but they don’t sting you??‘ ‘so manyyyy! They don’t enter in your mouth while you speak??‘ ‘I would be so fearful in your shoes!‘. Now I tell you one thing…I have told or thought all these sentences me too before getting closer to the beekeeping world. I already had my coming out here: I’ve never loved insects. Still now, I run away when I see a grasshopper or I jump if I see a spider (do you want to know something funny? Granpa Heinz is extremely fearful of spiders and if he sees one, he calls granny Eva to get rid of of it). This just to let you know that it’s understandable in case you are scared of bees, especially of their stings. It’s normal. We understand this, even more if you are allergic. But what if I tell you that me too I had the same fears and now I can spend hours at the apiary without any issue…what happened in the meanwhile? I am not afraid anymore of bee stings? How to deal with this fear?
Remedies against the fear of bee stings? Awareness!
I think that the main difference between the pre-apiary Cri and the post-apiary Cri is the knowledge of what I am dealing with, in this case the bees. Most of the time you are afraid basically of what you don’t know. What if I tell you that once you get stung, the bee dies? Me for example I had no idea, but it’s really this way! Their sting has serrations, that are perfect to protect the hive from other insects but in case it’s a human in the bee target? Our skin is much harder and thicker compared to any other insect, for example. And so, what happens? The sting enters our skin, but it gets stuck there. At that point, when the bee tries to run away, the bee sting stay in the human body that’s right, but it also rips the body of the poor bee that will inevitably die. I am telling this to let you ponder about the fact that most probably bees have anything else to do (they’re hardworker, you remember?) instead of turning into kamikaze. If they attack you, this means that you are bothering them somehow…they don’t hunt for humans, just to make it clearer!
Afraid of bee stings? Here some suggestions to avoid turning into a bee target
There are for sure some things that annoy them and that it would be better to avoid to do when you are near an apiary. Shortly, if you don’t want to ask for troubles, you’d better to follow the points here below:
Do you want to visit an apiary?
- Follow carefully what the beekeeper tells, explains and suggests to do
- Careful with strong smells: don’t put on tons of parfums (do you remember what Granpa Heinz told us?). Also if you have sweated much, better to take with you a spare shirt – strong smells bother them much
- wear the protection suit: especially if you are scared, cover yourself and protect especially the upper part of your body and your face, there there are the most delicate parts of your body! For the below part, it can be enough simply normal long (and well closed) pants.
- Don’t stay in front of the hives entrances, you would interfere with their flying route – it would bother you as well, wouldn’t it?
- Watch out for the weather forecast: if it’s cloudy/cold/windy, they will be particularly nervous and susceptible. Better to leave them in peace.
If a bee gets closer to you when you are around and you have the feeling that she’s following you?
- First of all, keep calm. Just go slowly far away, often a few meters are more than enough
- bear in mind that often these are very young curious bees that are observing you. They are harmless, even if annoying maybe. Anyway…general rule: don’t start to move your arms and hands like a fool, you don’t make them run away but you make them much nervous and then yes, they’ll most probably sting you at that point
So now you have read some simple, but effective tricks. No need to be so scared, no need to kill them! Do you agree? And you, how do you feel and how do you behave when you get closer to bees? Are you afraid of bee stings? Did it ever happened to you? We would like much to know this, please let us know with a comment here below!
A hug,
the Gaeblini