Bee Stings and what to do

hello@idspartners.co.uk (William O'Dell) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 13:31:23 GMT

Stinging Nettles stings are worse!
There's an old wives tale that says, " ...vinegar for wasps and bicarb for bees ..." It's an easy way to remember that the sting from a bee is naturally acidic, and that from a wasp is naturally alkaline.

In the case of a bee sting, the bicarbonate of soda neutralises the acidity of the sting. These methods deal with the after effects of the sting, but often leaves the poison in your system to continue working away.

At a recent MUBK Q&A forum, an Aspivenin Insect Poison Remover Kit was recommended. These are available HERE from Amazon . This is a small cylinder that creates a vacuum and will pull out the sting and the poison by sucking it out.

There is one thing to be aware of and that is the poison sacs on a sting. On the photo you can see how the poison sacs are at the top of the sting and if you were to try and remove the sting with tweezers, you would squeeze the sacs and deliver a full dose of poison that your body then needs to process! In fact on a fresh sting, you can see the poison sacs pulsing slightly as they pump the venom onto you, so best avoided if you can.

The quick way is to take a hive tool or blunt knife or flat object and slice the sting away. Whilst it leaves a minute portion in your skin, it removes the remainder of the poison sac and makes recovery much quicker.

Or use the vacuum method as described above.

After that an anti-inflammatory cream, anti histimine or cortisone cream will soothe the area and take away the irritation - in time.

We encourage new bee keepers to get stung a few times before they buy their hives and colonies so you know if you are going to have a serious reaction or not. National Institute for Clinical Excellence NICE state " estimates suggest that approximately 1 in 1333 of the population of England has experienced anaphylaxis at some point in their lives *" This is less than 0.08% - so beekeepers should be aware of the possibilities of anaphalaxsis but the odds are not overwhelming on having a serious reaction.

*. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg134/chapter/introduction

Make the most of your beekeeping season by following these simple guidelines

PAR002_123@heg.com — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 20:26:44 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s changing some regular processes, cleaning more regularly, better inspection routines, queen rearing or taking an active part in MUBKA (a really good idea!) here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list and keep better Records
Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too , and keep this with your hive records. This way you have a constant reminder.

Hive Records are important for several reasons - you may not remember which hives are which a week on! It's a great idea to write down what you expect to see or plan to do at your next inspection so you don't have to start from scratch.

Check the list e very time you get out your hive records
Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

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Bee Stings and what to do

Make the most of your beekeeping season by following these simple guidelines