Wednesday, July 11, 2018

What If a Bee Stings Me


June 10th was don't step on a bee day. Hopefully you did not step on a bee but do your know what to do if you do?? First, lets take a look at what the difference between the different flying stinging pests
Bees are fuzzy and love flowers. With thousand of different types of bees all over the world it is a good thing to know a bit about them.



Honey bees build nests out of wax in old trees and man made hives. The man made hives are cared for by beekeepers. Honey bees spend most their time collecting nectar and pollen from flowers. The nectar that is collected is made into honey.

Wasps are closely related to bees but instead of collecting pollen and honey they feed on it. Wasps eat animal food, other insects or spiders. While bees are fuzzy wasps are smooth and shiny with skinner bodies. World wide there are thousands of varieties of wasps with two most common being bald faced hornets and yellowjacket. Bald faced hornets are black with white markings, they build paper like nests shaped like footballs in trees and shrubs.




Yellowjackets are yellow with black stripes and smaller than hornets and honeybees. A yellow jacket nest can be found in the ground or in old tree stumps.



If a honeybee, wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket is upset it will sting. IF you are stung by any one of these stinging insects you most likely feel as if you have had a shot at the doctor office. The place the sting occured will feel hot and may itch, a red bump often develops at the sting site.

While wasps and many other stingers named can sting more than once without injuring themselves, honey bees can not. Honeybees must leave their stinger in the skin after stinging as the stinger is connected to the bee with special hooks. The honeybee will die after stinging an individual.



Some individuals are allergic to bee stings. Allergic reactions can include hives, nausea, dizziness and possibly difficult breathing. Many that know they are allergic to bee stings and the like will carry emergency medication that will help prevent severe reactions. If these appear then the one stung must seek medical attention at once. If these symptoms do not occur then you must:

  • If a stinger is left behind then pull the stinger from the skin. Many say it is important not to squeeze the stinger
  • wash the area with soap and water
  • ice the stung area
  • pain reliever will help with the discomfort
  • if a doctor is contacted he or she may suggest an antihistamine that will help control symptoms that may occur if symptoms of allergic reaction are present the doctor most likely will give a shot to the individual. The shot will help fight the reaction of the sting. 


To avoid stepping on a bee or getting stung by another stinging insect

  • Wear shoes outdoors.
  • Don't disturb hives or insect nests.
  • Don't wear sweet-smelling perfume, lotions, or hair products.
  • Avoid bright-colored or flower-printed clothing.
  • Cover food when eating outdoors.
  • Be careful when outside with open soda cans because yellowjackets like to climb inside for a sip.
  • Watch out for garbage cans because they attract bees and yellowjackets.
  • If a bee or wasp flies around you, stay calm and don't swat at it. If you get stung, tell an adult and go indoors right away.

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16 comments:

  1. I hate bee stings as they are painful. I avoid them at all costs.

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    1. using the many tips I shared should help in avoiding

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  2. I used to have a bee sting before when I was young and it scares me to hell. Glad to learn about so many facts about honeybee and other insects from this post.

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    1. thank you for your comment, most of us have realized the pain of a bee sting and do not want to experience it again

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  3. I love bees, without them, everything would go bad and wouldn't bloom. They will never sting unless they are in danger.

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    1. good point, yes I love bees as well, they do a hard job that is very important As I stated the bee is not the one out to sting

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  4. The worst sting spot was I was sitting in a folding chair and bent my legs to stand up and there was a bee behind my lags. The stinger went fight in my back leg behind my knee. I couldn't see that spot to pull out the stinger very well

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    1. oh that sounds super painful, sorry you had to go through such an experience.

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  5. My hubby is insanely allergic to bees. He runs away if he even suspects he hears one! These are all really good tips to keep in mind. Keeping an epi-pen on us is what we do.

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    1. I have to keep epipen for one of my children as he is allergic to many different things as well. Thanks for your comment, good luck to your hubby in never getting stung by a bee

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  6. I know bee sting is painful but I've heard there are benefits to it? I certainly wouldn't want a bee sting tho!

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    1. yes, there are many that rely on treatment of bee sting that help muscles etc... I am not sure that I would ever take the treatment but we never know what we would do til the time comes

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  7. Bee stings hurt really bad! I actually was stung by a bee when I was pregnant with my 3rd boy. I was wearing clogs and taking the trash out to the alley, which required walking through the grass in the backyard. I thought I had a rock in my shoe and tried to shake it out. It was actually a bee and it stung the bottom of my foot. So painful.

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    1. I agree very painful, while they do not want to sting they still can and will and yes, it does hurt when it happens

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  8. We have an area in our yard where bumble bees live. Even though I know they don't want to hurt me, I still get anxious when being in that area.

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    1. I agree, those little things make me nervous as well, hard to trust them even though we share the same territory

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