Washing a bee suit

[Ben Framed]

You are Blessed to have a seamstress in the family Bob! Your  jacket will be as good as new!

I only have the cheaper Man Lake Breathable Jacket but I love it! I have had it for years now and the elastic has over time,  failed.  We don*t have a seamstress in the family so what I do is use a doubled over number 64 rubber band around the failed elastic area or the wrist which works surprisingly well for the wrist area (not to tight and not too loose, the same size I Use during cutouts), and a cheap elastic material type belt around the bottom of the failed elastic area of the jacket for the same good security when I feel that need might arise from time to time. Maybe this bit of  proven dependable results will help someone.

Phillip

[Ben Framed]

I will add that I agree with Michael *Nothing is sting proof, but the mesh suits are as close as it gets.*

Phillip

[The15thMember]

Virtually, Nigel?
Are the mesh jackets not as good as a the standard kind? Do stings sometimes get through?
My biggest problem was bees getting past my jacket's old wrist elastic (worse than bees up a pants leg). My wife just finished sewing on some nice, new, tight elastic on mine.

I just strap my wrists tightly with velcro.  That way I don't have to worry about weak elastic.  My suit does have elastic, but it's for man-sized wrists, not my tiny ones.    I agree with everyone else, I was surprised to find when I got my mesh suit, that I got stung way less through it than my fabric suit. 

[Michael Bush]

I do own some suits and never wear them except in extreme heat.  I usually wear a just the jacket with the zip on veil.  It's SO much easier to get on and off.  When I think of it I put some rubber bands on my boots and when I go to the beeyard I put them on my pant legs.  Bees up my pant legs are by far the most common way I get stung.  I wear regular goatskin leather gloves and they are always pulling out of my sleeves but that never seems to matter much.  The Ultra breeze has elastic, but also Velcro on the sleeves.  I tighten the Velcro on the gloves but they pull out whenever I extend my arms too much.

[The15thMember]

I do own some suits and never wear them except in extreme heat.  I usually wear a just the jacket with the zip on veil.  It's SO much easier to get on and off.  When I think of it I put some rubber bands on my boots and when I go to the beeyard I put them on my pant legs.  Bees up my pant legs are by far the most common way I get stung.  I wear regular goatskin leather gloves and they are always pulling out of my sleeves but that never seems to matter much.  The Ultra breeze has elastic, but also Velcro on the sleeves.  I tighten the Velcro on the gloves but they pull out whenever I extend my arms too much.

That's funny, because I've had the opposite experience with my bees.  I just tuck the bottoms of my pants deep into my shoes (I wear knock-off Crocs), and sometimes they pop out but it's no big deal.  I've never been stung on the leg or foot while working a hive.  On the other hand, if one of my gloves pops out of my Velcro, I better get it secured again, or I'll invariably get a sting on the wrist.  My bees always go for the wrist first.  My suit takes the most stings there too. 

[NigelP]

Virtually, Nigel?
Are the mesh jackets not as good as a the standard kind? Do stings sometimes get through?
My biggest problem was bees getting past my jacket's old wrist elastic (worse than bees up a pants leg). My wife just finished sewing on some nice, new, tight elastic on mine.

Yup....beekeeping in speedos
Nothing is perfect but they are nearly there...veil is most vunerable area.

[Lesgold]

I agree with all of the comments on the mesh suits. They are pretty good at keeping you cool and providing a thick physical barrier to bee stings. You do get caught out occasionally if you inspect bees on days that you shouldn?t and the bees are particularly friendly. When angry, the girls seem to be able to overcome obstacles and dig into every crease and corner to find you.

[max2]

I have a triple layer mesh suit.
I have them made by a family in Pakistan.
They make them with an extended veil to keep the bees well from my nose. They will make any changes I ask them to make.

I wash the suit and veil seperately - the suit in the washing machine on a gentle cycle. The veil is washed by hand.

One of the main reasons I wash the suit fairly regularly is to make sure the zips work well . I rub some beeswax onto the zips too.
I wear shorts under the suit - no shirt. I live in a climate which allows me to wear shorts summer and winter.

The mesh on the veil is a weak point. I hang the suit, never fold it to make the veil last longer.

My granddaughter has put a new mesh into my old veil - like new.

She has replaced some of the elastic too.

Thinking back to the times  - nearly 50 years - when I wore just a home made veil...remembering far too many stings...I'm convinced that this new beegear hass allowed a lot more people to share our hobby.

[Ben Framed]

Keeping the bees off my nose is the weak point on my jacket Max. Depending on what position I am in, the veil will sometimes touch my noise and this allows a bee access to sting it in that case. So what I do is wear a base ball type cap under my jacket veil. The bill of the cap keeps the face of the veil a safe distance from my face (nose). This is the weakness of my three layer jacket....  I am glad you pointed this out...

Phillip

[The15thMember]

Keeping the bees off my nose is the weak point on my jacket Max. Depending on what position I am in, the veil will sometimes touch my noise and this allows a bee access to sting it in that case. So what I do is wear a base ball type cap under my jacket veil. The bill of the cap keeps the face of the veil a safe distance from my face (nose). This is the weakness of my three layer jacket....  I am glad you pointed this out...

Phillip

This is another reason why I love veils with wide-brimmed hats built in.  Keeps the sun off your neck and the bees off your nose! 

[Ben Framed]

"This is another reason why I love veils with wide-brimmed hats built in.  Keeps the sun off your neck and the bees off your nose!  "


Me too, my regular veil is made with a 360 offset screen as I described earlier. When wearing this independent veil the screen itself is good for ventilation and even nose protection because it is as you described and what you prefer in a veil as do I.

The veil which is zipped on the jacket, made 'for' my jacket is another situation. The veil which is attached to my jacket is zipped on, incorporating the two into a single unit. Position by the constant moving and shifting of the beekeeper affects the position of the veil and the position is ever changing while working with bees. Sometimes the veil screen will be inches from your nose and sometimes the tip of you nose will be against the screen. And sometimes ouch! lol
 

On the plus side, and in favor of the attached jacket veil, is the three layer protection material just as used in making the jacket. When working and shifting positions, the material will touch the back of your neck from time to time and is already touching your head in places. Even so that is no problem when it comes to stings. The neck and head areas are not only protected from stings, but have the added luxury of the best ventilation possible, instantly releasing all heat put out from our head and neck area for our comfort, and because it it zipped onto the jacket with the added Velcro covering to protect the zipper areas, 'guarantees' no bees will enter the veil from the zipped on incorporated area.

As I said, with my jacket, the only drawback is during the shifting around, the screen will sometimes touch your nose, and is why I were a baseball cap beneath. I wish my jacket veil had a little better design....I love the open top ventilation of the material in the jacket veil. Even wearing a baseball cap beneath will restrict a certain amount heat to the head. An incorporated bill, or offset in the design of the jacket veil itself would have made the outfit perfect. Perhaps their is  now offered a different designed jacket veil with some manufacturers?

Phillip

[Lesgold]

I know this is a bit off- topic but what do you folks wear on your feet? For most of my beekeeping, I wear elastic sided work boots that do a good job. When performing a lot of major invasive work (especially in a dearth) I wear gum boots with special elastic gaiters that fit over the top of the boot to prevent bees entering the boots. Getting stung is a regular occurrence and doesn?t worry me but a sting to the ankles where joints and blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin is an annoying experience.

[The15thMember]

I know this is a bit off- topic but what do you folks wear on your feet? For most of my beekeeping, I wear elastic sided work boots that do a good job. When performing a lot of major invasive work (especially in a dearth) I wear gum boots with special elastic gaiters that fit over the top of the boot to prevent bees entering the boots. Getting stung is a regular occurrence and doesn?t worry me but a sting to the ankles where joints and blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin is an annoying experience.

For normal inspection work, as I mentioned, I wear knock-off Crocs and just tuck my pants into them.  If I have a hive that is nasty or if I have to go over into the brushy area on the next property to get a swarm, then I wear my rubber farm boots.  I've got a pair of Sloggers brand boots that have bees printed all over them.    I learned the hard way that it's easy for bees to fall into boots, so I either strap my pant legs outside my boots with Velcro, or I'll just make sure my pants are bloused out over the boot tops.     

[Ben Framed]

Les I do not have a full suit, but the jacket I described above.  On hot days I will wear shorts and flip flops. I will many times take a power inverter, and an extention cord just as I would on a Oxalic Treatment day. But instead of my home built vaporizer, I bring a box type fan instead. I move it along from hive to hive as it serve a two part function. It keeps me cool on a breezeless day, and it helps keep bees away from my leg area. The breeze is so nice!  And Reagan I have also worked my bees in Crocs!
 

[Lesgold]

Sounds like I?m the odd one out with my girls being quite a bit more anti social to what you guys deal with. That?s a consequence of allowing the bees to make their own queens and not relying on commercial queens bred for particular traits.

[The15thMember]

Sounds like I?m the odd one out with my girls being quite a bit more anti social to what you guys deal with. That?s a consequence of allowing the bees to make their own queens and not relying on commercial queens bred for particular traits.

My bees are (for the most part) very docile, and I haven't purchased a queen since I bought my first two packages.  I always let my bees requeen themselves. 

[Ben Framed]

"My bees are (for the most part) very docile"

Mine are too Regan for the most part. To be fair, there are some days that the shorts will not do and some of the bees will be in a pesky mood as Beemaster2 described above. On a day like that I will change from shorts to loose fitting dry fit material pants. Even these are much better than jeans or some of the other type pants for cooler comfort. Their again the fan is a huge asset. But shorts are my presence when working 'my hives' when the weather gets HOT...

Phillip