Allergic To Bees Anyone????

I am and was wondering how many other gardeners are??
I told my DH I was gonna post this question and he doesn't think there are that many of us. I say there is.
I am especially scared of all the bumble and carpenter bees that are sooo active now- I can't get near my ajuga or salvia right now.
I cannot go near a pea patch b/c of all the wasps. If I do gather veggies, I am so careful and never do it when no one else is at home. I have an inhaler and an Epi-pen, but I am still nervous.
But I say that the bees are not gonna keep me housebound.
I know thay are vital to vegetation, but I do sorta hate em. I was stung many years ago by a Japanese Wood Hornet and it was soo scary. Up til then I had never had a bad reaction so the Dr. assumes I am now allergic and to not take chances. I wouldn't go to Savannah last summer til I got an Epi-pen. I have never had to use one- heard it hurts like the dickens.
Now for irony of ironies- my real first name means BEE in Hebrew!!!
Does GOD have a sense of humor or what!!!
P.S. am also interested in what precautions you take when outdoors. Thanks and GOD bless!!

I am slightly allergic. If I get stung, it makes me feel "weird". My hubby is very allergic to them, and it frightens me when he goes to spray the hives the yellow jackets make in the garage. I have told him we need to get a bee kit, but haven't, and I dread the day I have to drive him to the emergency room.

I had an awful reaction a few years ago. I was digging out a row of strawberries and there was a nest of yellow jackets in the ground. I must have stuck my digging fork right in the nest. I got stung about 5 times on my mad dash into the house.

I swelled up and broke out in hives within 10 minutes. It was the first and only time I've ever been stung. I never did go to the hospital but I did take an antihistamine right away. That seemed to take care of it and the swelling went away. I am a little nervous about getting stung again. Most bees won't bother you. The big bumble bees really need to be provoked to sting. On the other hand, yellow jackets are nasty & agressive. If they feel threatened they go into attack mode.

If I get a sting on my finger my arm swells up half way to my elbow and itches like crazy for about 2 weeks. The only way to describe the itch is that it feels like an anthill looks. I take antihistimine right away and every time it starts to itch again I take it again. So far nothing has been too serious.

Yep...I agree poppysue, mainly the yellow jackets will attack (if you disturb their nest).

As for the carpenter bees and bumble bees, berrygirl, those are the ones you should be the least afraid of. Bumblebees very seldom will sting, they'll fly away from you. The carpenter bees will also...the only exception w/those are sometimes the female will buzz you IF you are too close to her nest, which is gonna be in the wood rafters, overhang, or the like near your house and not in your garden.

I would hate to think you are being deprived "garden time" becuz of your fear of bees. Trust me, altho I understand how they can be a great burden to allergics more often than not they will never mess with you.

Your sentence, "But I say that the bees are not gonna keep me housebound." Yay!...Berrygirl ain't pushed aside easily! You go, woman!

Oh yeah. I got stung on my hand and my arm looked like Popeye's. Later got stung right between the eyes by a very mad bald faced hornet. Whole face swollen, eyes close, I keep an injection kit in my car and at home. I've always wanted to take out one of those football sized nests with a shotgun.

Berrygirl, I am also allergic to bee stings, so is my youngest son and his son (my grandson). They have to carry those 'kits' with them at all times in the summer. My son is a roofer and usually gets stung 3 or 4 times a summer.

I'm not as bad, usually I only get the hives and it constricts my windpipe somewhat. If I take a Benadryl immediately after I get stung it controls it pretty well. But, if I get stung several times, it's off to the hospital I go!

Most bees/hornets won't bother you if you leave them alone, but as Shoe says, those yellow jackets are the worst. If you find a nest, wait until after dark and use a hornet bomb and saturate it, it gets them all.

Big_Red, Could you tell me what a hornet bomb is? I did a search and came up with nothing. I have a yellow jacket nest that I found last year that I would like to get rid of. Thanks a bunch!

Groovytee, it's just a spray can of chemicals, Raid is one brandname, that kills wasps and bees that you can buy at any hardware store. I usually don't like to use any poisons but I make an exception to get rid of yellow jackets.

Another method I use with ground nests is, again, wait until after dark, stick the nozzle of a garden down the hole and turn on the water using a slow stream. Leave it on for two or three hours and it usually does the trick.

Thank you! I don't like yellow jackets because I was attacked by them for running over their nest with the lawnmower. They are so mean and I'm afraid of them even though I'm not allergic to them. I feel bad for all you folks who are allergic to bees...

I never been stung by wasp or anything but of course bee stings when I was playing with bees when I was little girl.. How dumb I was.. Got stung! Ouch! We have full of bumble bees around here.. They dont bother us They would fly away.

As Poppysue mentioned, if you aren't "deathly" allergic, you can take an antihistamine (I keep benadryl on hand). But if you are one who's throat swells up so you can't breathe, and can die, you need that bee-kit in arms reach, which I believe you can buy over-the counter at any pharmacy. It's some sort of epi-pin that you just stab yourself in the thigh with and inject. We had to use it on some children with bad asthma occasionally when I worked for the school district.

Karrie,
Is there a kit you can get OTC???? Do you know the name? If so it sure would save me a lot of $$$ as my Epi-pen { which is RX only} is very expensive and ins. won't cover all the cost.
Thanks!
"bee-afraid" Debbie

Call a pharmacy (like one in your grocery store, or whatever, and ask the pharmacist). They are most helpful. I'm not real sure if the laws very from state to state, but I was always told the bee-kit is available over the counter. Let me know what you find out!

Bringing this latest info to ya'lls attention:

http://davesgarden.com/t/426733/

As a young child, I had a bad reaction to a honeybee sting. Since then I've always assumed I'm allergic to bee stings, and have tried to avoid being stung - it's pretty much imposible to garden and avoid bees, though.

This spring, I found myself working among some smaller bees (not sure exactly what kind, but probably honeybees) as I tried to dig up Glechoma ("Creeping Charlie") that is in bloom. As long as I moved slowly, and kept tossing the weeds on top of the next area I was heading for, the bees would move on ahead of me and we didn't have any problem.

I agree with Shoe about the carpenter bees and bumble bees. I've found that moving slowly and not making swatting motions allows me to work right in among the bumblebees in the garden all summer long. Most the time they're so drunk on pollen, they're extremely laid back.

Carpenter bees can't sting - at least that's what I've always been told, so they're just a nuisance. You can ignore them if they're in your midst, or develop a mean backhand when you play bee badminton (see 'shoe's link above ;o)