is there a way to avoid bee stings while on a bike?

[kjay]

So, there isn't any kind of repellent for bees/hornets/wasps, etc?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I keep two hives here at home, so I get honeybee stings maybe once or twice a month. They do hurt locally, and they itch a lot for days afterward. Lots of things hurt worse. Of course a severe allergy is altogether different.

Any bee or yellowjacket will sting if they get caught in your clothes somewhere.
I had a honeybee sting me on the temple when it got accidentally lodged between my head and my bike helmet.
To avoid stings, wear wrap-around goggles, a snug fitting helmet, a closed jersey, closed shoes, etc. A skirt is sort of like a large catcher's mitt for bees and hornets.
If you really want to avoid stings, then eliminate openings and flaps where bees can get caught.
Goggles are particularly useful for when you are biking 30mph and a bumblebee smashes into your eye.

[moonfroggy]

thank you BleeckerSt_Girl! this is what i wanted. since the bee in my ear incident i have kept my ears well covered.

i may change from sunglasses to wrap around goggles. have any links to what you are talking about?

i react a lot worse than it sounds like you do. if i take the maximum dose of benadryl right away and then take more when it wears off that is the level of reaction i get. otherwise i have a lot of swelling sometimes hives in the general area and it can last 2 or more weeks. not a sever deadly allergy but a worse than normal reaction to a bee sting i think. the problem with benadryl is it wipes me out. i would never be able to ride a bike on the stuff and i can hardly keep my eyes open so if i am stung while i am alone with my son i am afraid to take it i am just not certain i could stay awake and keep him safe.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Moon, try taking a half dose of benedryl. It might be just enough to take the worst of the sting effects away without making you feel weird. The goal is just to take the edge off and keep swelling manageable. Apply hydrocortizone cream to the sting often.
Though a few people get worse reactions to stings with each successive sting, actually most people get less of a sting reaction if they get stung a couple times a year.

Honeybees usually just want to be left in peace, they don't typically come after you. A wasp can sting many times, and is always more aggressive.
All bets are off if a bee or wasp gets stuck in your clothes.

A honeybee can only sting once, her stinger with its minute venom sac gets stuck in your skin, and then she dies.
If stung by a honeybee, scrape the tiny stinger out of your skin as quickly as possible. Don't grasp it and pull, but rather scrape it off. That's because the tiny venom sac on the stinger is still pumping venom into your skin, and grasping/pinching it will squeeze more venom in. Scraping pulls it out without pushing more venom into the wound.
If stung by a wasp there will be no stinger embedded in your skin. That's why a wasp can sting over and over.

[Aggie_Ama]

DH reacts much more than I do. He got stung by a yellow jacket a few years back and his hand swollen terribly. I compared it to the little Hamburger Helper guy it was so puffy! That time was so severe he went to the doctor because working outside I was alarmed and worried he might be allergic. The doctor said no he did not need to worry about going into shock but could only recommend benedryl which also makes DH terribly sleepy. Have you tried Benedryl topically? It makes a major difference for me in the itch department.

[pll]

Not even pro riders can escape the fury of bees. In the Vuelta a España, Joaquim Rodriguez, was stung by a bee today, close to one of his eyes. Apparently he could hardly see the finish line:

[moonfroggy]

ouch

[Biciclista]

are you always getting stung in the same area? maybe you are coming too close to a hive of bees?

[moonfroggy]

no there is like a 20 mile range where i have been stung. really i think bees are somehow attracted to me. in high school every time we had a picnic they got stuck in my hair! they never stung me though i would be standing there minding my own business and someone would inform me a bee was in my hair. happened so often it became a bit of a joke.

maybe if i get used to being stung enough i will start keeping bees...

honestly this most recent time i laughed it off and then had a miserably itching welt that is almost gone now. when i started this thread the sting in my ear had just happened and that was so scary. going down a steep-ish hill with trucks and cars and traffic with a bee in my ear. really really was scary. but i guess i am feeling more ok with it now.

[Biciclista]

maybe you should change your username to BeezinBonnet

[GLC1968]

moonfroggy - you definitely have some really bad bee luck! That's just nuts!

We have two massive honey bee hives and more yellow jackets and hornets that I can count (fruit trees). I've not been stung on my own property in more than two years and I am outside more than I'm inside most days.

[Aggie_Ama]

Maybe it is your natural phermones? Or your just have crazy bad luck with the stinging insects!

[Artista]

A skirt is sort of like a large catcher's mitt for bees and hornets.
If you really want to avoid stings, then eliminate openings and flaps where bees can get caught.

Just found this thread. I can't take my new skort back to the store fast enough!