Hello.......

[Bumble]

I have been helping with beginner practical classes for the past few weeks and those who do their handling in Marigolds, or better still nitriles, are much better handlers than those who wear the leather gauntlets.
Wearing leather gloves puts you at a huge disadvantage as a beekeeper and tends to rile up the bees.

I think one of the things about gauntlets is that they're often given away with suits, but most people get them too big. Leather gloves can be almost skin tight when new because they stretch.

I wear marigold nitriles, and don't plan to go gloveless at any point in the near future, not while I'm anywhere near bees that have access to moist piles of manure or foul water.

[HJBee]

Here's Gavin's tip for the day. Give long-cuffed nitriles a try. These thin gloves are no worse for stings getting through than leather (with or without latex on top).

If the bees locally tend to the aggressive, work towards reducing that.

Hi Gavin

Where do you source your gloves as I see there are many available from non beekeeping suppliers (cheaper - but worried re quality)? Also std or double thickness?

My bees are generally good, so (especially right now) with work commitments and changeable West Coast Weather, I sometimes need to go in when not really best for keeper or bees. I'm looking after a few hives for friends at the moment too, a few that are sometimes not always as good natured as they should be. One of the colonies that may be more inclined to be angsty, is where my gentlest hive queen came from, in the same apiary! So I read the queen rearing threads with interest and consider the male genetics part to play. We are letting that hives drone populate the apiary this year.

H

[Jon]

A box of 100 nitriles costs about £6 on ebay from a range of suppliers.
When I wore leather gloves I got more stings than with nitriles.
A determined bee will push the sting through the leather - and they are always more determined when you wear leather gloves.

[mbc]

Aye, this is an oft overlooked aspect of hand protection/stinging.
Most bee stings are the result of a warning shot by the bee 'catching' and causing the bee to sting for real once the barb gets caught. The sheer surface of nitrile gloves dont offer a purchase for the casual warning shot bee to sufficiently get her sting in to engage the barb, usually resulting in her loosing interest and moving on to something more productive. Leather, on the other hand (puts me in mind of a demonstration opportunity with a different material glove on each hand!) allows the bee to grip the material with her legs making it much more likely she'll engage her barb, sting properly, leave alarm pheromone and initiate a further stinging event. I am a fan of bare handed beekeeping, but if they start stinging they can easily snag their barbs in my flesh, and I'm no hero, so on go the nitriles and a puff of smoke later the inspection can usually go on pain free.

[Maybee]

Bee Hive.jpg

20140517_123834.jpg

This is the hive I have ordered from Caddon Hives in Galashiels - Will mine look like this when built? Have not ordered frames or anything else yet. I am thinking the long cuffed nitrile gloves sound good - but this maybe this is beginners bravado, maybe once I have been stung I will change my mind but the bees getting a better grip on the leather seems to make sense - I'm still wading through all the info on this forum, beginning to feel I was a bit naive in thinking I could have a hive in my garden. Will need to think about sites now as well as everything else - just thinking out loud really. S

[Mellifera Crofter]

Is there a difference between latex and Nitrile gloves (apart from the fact that latex is a natural rubber and Nitrile is a synthetic rubber) as far as a beekeeper is concerned? As far as I can see they cost about the same, except that the long-cuff Nitrile ones are about twice the price. I've been using lightly powdered latex ones with wrist protectors to prevent the bees crawling up my sleeve.
Kitta

[snimmo243]

Hi maybee if the photo is the hive you have ordered it is a national, one thing to bear in mind is to stick to the same equipment throughout so that everything is interchangeable

Sent from my C5303 using Tapatalk

[Rosie]

Apparently some people are allergic to latex but not nitrile. I tried latex once about 8 years ago and found they stuck to propolis and I was unable to let go of the frames. It could have just been that particular hive but I haven't tried them since.

I suspect Jon's £6-a-100 gloves may be short cuffed.

[Rosie]

(puts me in mind of a demonstration opportunity with a different material glove on each hand!).

The last time I wore leather was during a visit from a bee inspector. He was wearing nitrile and my bees were as nice as pie. He asked me to hold a frame for a minute and as soon as I took it from him hundreds of bees jumped onto my leather-gloved hands. I don't think they stung me but they were clearly agitated. When I gave the frame back to him they calmed down again. The contrast was so marked that I vowed that I would never wear leather again.

[madasafish]

I started beekeeping as I intended to continue.. bare handed. I receive approx 55 stings a year (sad I know but I count).. and only wear nitriles when propolis or gentle stinging is an issue. I keep marigolds for really nasty bees- our Association apiary has a few (thousand).

I also cover the backs of my hands and wrists with Olbas Oil - the cloves put bees off..a bit:-)

I'm nearly immune to bee venom (now).

Nitriles or marigolds are useless when using gaffer tape - when I do on treebumbles in bird boxes- they are a serious pest here..