General Cycling Discussion - Bloody bee stings

I have been stung twice this week so far, both times the buzzing bastards entered through my helmet and delivered its sting into my shaved head. I look like a pimply teenager with two red bumps on my head. No offense to teenagers, but I am 31 and red bumps is something from my past.....
Bees and wasps are a fact of summer, but how do I beat them at their game? Any ideas?

This is going to sound unbelievable, but since you brought it up.....
Last week I got stung by a wasp in the crotch while doing the dishes.
I guess he had found his way in and landed under the kitchen counter. I lean against it to wash the dishes and WHAMMO!

I had heard a good way to lure and eliminate flying pests was to make a mixture of fruit juice and beer and put a dish of it in a semi-enclosed box outside. The idea is that they're attracted to the fruit juice but once they have discovered it, the carbonation from the beer has built up to the point where it will asphyxiate the bug and it falls into the dish. I've never tried it, but it sounds like a good theory.

I am not sure how to keep bees away. If your helmet has slots, perhaps you can cover the slots with nylon mesh on the inside.

They tell me that BeneDril (diphenhydramine ) gives relief from beesting.

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, now I just need to tape the fruit, beer concotion to my helmet, and there I go....he he he he:D

Ethylene glycol antifreeze, which has a sweet taste, kills people, dogs, cats etc. I have read that as little as four oz will kill a person.

It might work for insects too. I have not tried it. Put the dish where your pets cannot reach it.

Take four fly-swatters and glue them to some old skateboard roller bearings. Attach roller bearing unit to top of helmet. Ride quickly to activate the "auto-swatter". Plus, it's as stylish as any beanie.

I carry a tube of "Afterbite". It works! Not only does it relieve the pain, but it also shrinks the swelling and gets rid of the redness. Now if it would only wash my bike..... :D
Yvonne

Apple vinegar will do the same as the fruit and beer. They are attracted to the apple smell and when they land the vinegar gets em. Not sure how it could help you on the road though lol.

Maybe you can smear the apple vinegar or fruit/beer concoction over your head while you ride? :D

The gas station where I work Sundays sets out bee traps...they are buckets filled with a mixture of Mountain Dew and detergent. The soda attracts them, and the soap breaks down their natural water-proofing oils so they drown.

aaaaa

If you get stung remember:

vinegar for vasps, bicarbonate for bees

Bee's rarely sting in agression (if they do 'flick' the sting off rather than pulling it off). Wasps a can be little ******....

If the bees/wasps were attracted to you using a Deet type repelent will keep them away. If it was a random collision it may not help as much. People tell me that regular "Skin-So-Soft" also works as a repellent.
HTH
Joe
:crash:

Wow...so how common is getting stung while riding?? I'm allergic to wasps, and gee it would suck @$$!
Nat

The last time I got stung was approx 10 000 km ago. I remember it quite well, it was the same day I got my new Polar heartrate monitor. I guess it really is the luck of the draw with these bees and wasps.
My wife has come up with a novel idea (this is the women who famously dressed my wounds with tupperwear so that I would not stick to the sheets....) - Line the vents in the helmet with the material used in screendoors - air could pass through, but not the evil bastards. I'll try this and show you the results later.

i'm allergic to wasp stings. I have to carry epinephrin with me where ever i go. stingy things bad.

Me too. I like to freak people out with it and tell them I have to stab myself in the head with it or something. And by the way, have you ever seen that needle??? I had an expired one and I wanted to see what it looked like so I stabbed it through a cardboard box. Bad, bad idea. It's so friggin' huge that it looks more like a small metal tube than a needle. I'll probably have to get someone else to do it if the need ever arises.

Wasp are bastards that piss people off and serve no purpose in nature. Fun to piss them off though when they can't touch you.

They seem to like redheads. I can be in a crowd of people and they will dive-bomb my head! My redheaded friend has the same problem. So yesterday one was chasing me around, then landed on my door so I couldn't go inside. My dad walks up to it and squashes it with his hand!! I wish I could do that!

I dont have too much of a problem where i ride with wasps, the problem comes in the form of a 1 1/2 inch horse flies. The bastards chase you around and when they bite it HURTS bad.

Originally posted by poululla
I have been stung twice this week so far

Buy a lottery ticket. You've used up your bad luck. Only good remains:p

Carl

They do like red heads!!! So do horse flys. Horse flys are the worst bite and I would rather be stung by a bee than bit by a horse fly. Nothing in the world makes me pedal faster than a horse fly at my back. I have a radar in my head that can hear a horse fly from 50 miles away!!!! :D

I have these antique wasp catchers that are glass, and they can get in them but can't get out. One problem, the instructions say to use a mixture of sugar and water, but I have only caught ants!!!! Does anyone know what I could put in there that is non-toxic?

I have been stung a number of times by wasps on rides and it is not fun. Fortunately, I am not allergic to the venom, it just smarts. For those of you that are allergic, be careful. Bees and wasps account for many more fatalities per year in the USA then Lions, tigers, bears, poisonous snakes and sharks put together. They just don't get the press coverage.

There were a number of solutions for baits vs bees and wasps suggested. The best way to get rid of them is just to remove or poison their nests and do it at night (they will not fly at night). But this will only affect the population in the immediate area and will have no effect out there on the road.

Remember though that bees and wasps are virtually all beneficial insects. Bees account for a considerable amount of economic value by pollinating various crops and wasps devour quite a few insect pests. Also, insect populations are incredibly high. Generally efforts at reducing their populations by putting out a little cup of ethylene glycol (which could accidentally poison pets and children) are ineffective.

Almost all stings occur in 2 situations a) nest defense or b) personal defense. A wasp or bee considers being whacked by a high speed cyclist as an "assault" and they respond defensively by stinging you. Besides putting screen in the vents of your helmet or wearing thick clothing (a really bad idea in the heat of the summer) there really is not much you can do about it. In this case, bug repellant will do no good at all. Bug repellant is designed to discourage blood feeding insects like mosquitos from snacking on you and it has no effect on the defensive behavior of hymenoptera.

Yikes! Bees like redheads? Will wonders never cease. They also like skinheads, apparently; I was attacked by a swarm of killer (?) bees when I was on my world tour.

I wear a skull cap under my helmet and while they can sting thru it if they really want to, it does seemto deter them. Also, IF you are attacked by a swarm, you can pull it down over your eyes, nose, and mouth (they really stretch) and thus enable yourself to keep breathing and keep your eyes open (though you are looking thru fabric). This is important because bees swarm into your eyes and face, suppressing your breathing reflex and your eyes slam shut: more people have suffocated to death from bee attacks than from the venom itself.

roughstuff

Ah another bee story...

When I was little I was at a 4-H fair and I was sitting on a bleacher swinging my feet and little did I know there was a hornets nest under the bleacher. These werent yellow jackets these were those red headed hornets and my my do they hurt. I accidentally kicked it and got swarmed but about 20 hornets and was stung repeatedly, I then proceeded to fall off the top of the bleacher and land on the ground. Which actually turned out good since I wasnt further injured and it scared the hornets off. A guy came over and told me to take weeds and rub them onto the sting, it really does help in case your ever in the middle of no where and have a sting. I ended up having about 40 stings on me, damn hornets and those smooth stingers.

Wasnt really cycling related but when there was talk of swarming i thought I'd share, also remember that trick with the weeds it helps.

WOW! So what do you think is attracting them to your head/helmet?
:(

Originally posted by tokus
Ah another bee story...

When I was little I was at a 4-H fair and I was sitting on a bleacher swinging my feet and little did I know there was a hornets nest under the bleacher. These werent yellow jackets these were those red headed hornets and my my do they hurt. I accidentally kicked it and got swarmed but about 20 hornets and was stung repeatedly, I then proceeded to fall off the top of the bleacher and land on the ground. Which actually turned out good since I wasnt further injured and it scared the hornets off. A guy came over and told me to take weeds and rub them onto the sting, it really does help in case your ever in the middle of no where and have a sting. I ended up having about 40 stings on me, damn hornets and those smooth stingers.

Wasnt really cycling related but when there was talk of swarming i thought I'd share, also remember that trick with the weeds it helps.
Just make sure the weed isn't poison oak or poison ivy.

Yup...red heads. They like bright colors and shiney things. When I found out I was allergic I was 'ordered' to not wear bright colors, patterns, hairspray, or perfume. Yeah right..I was 12 and it was about 1989. Doh..just realized..the jerseys. Bee/wasp magnets. Hmmm...

Wasp/Hornet Top Speed = 4 mph

My top speed = a heckuva lot faster!

Arg! I was stung today on my middle finger. A wasp got stuck in my gloves, and decided to sting his way out.

I've been very lucky I guess. The last time I got stung while riding was about 12 years ago when a wasp flew into my mouth and stung the inside of my mouth before I could spit it out. Over the years since, I've had stinging insects bounce off random parts of my body but no stings. Recently I had one of those big fuzzy bumble-bees fly into my helmet and that kinda scared me. I nearly strangled myself getting the helmet off. The bee simply flew away. It probably was too confused to sting or something but those things are generally pretty harmless anyways. I'm glad I'm not allergic to any stings but I have often thought about carrying some anti-sting creme or something... as well I should probably carry a mini first-aid kit. I'm trying to limit the amount of stuff I do carry though. Anyone know of a really compact first-aid kit appropriate for cycling? I have a small seatbag that barely fits my mini-tool and I usually carry a tiny cellphone, wallet with credit cards, contact case in the event my contacts get all wonky on me, rx inserts for my sunglasses (same reason), and a couple of energy bars so my jersey pockets are fairly occupied. What do other people carry for emergencies/repairs/etc?

damn Joe! uh..I can say damn right? Guess you'll let me know if I can't! What a wierd place to get stung. How'd the bee get in there???

I guess I'm lucky so far. Haven't physically encountered a bug while riding. Maybe it's the desert tempreture and lack of humidity. Maybe they dry out before they can fly too far:p

Originally posted by khuon
I've been very lucky I guess. The last time I got stung while riding was about 12 years ago

I must have jinxed myself. I just got back from a ride cut short because something (probably a wasp) managed to catch the airflow over my helmet and got deposited right on the back of my neck. I guess it was angry at being tumbled around and stung my right at the base of my neck. My neck and back are tingly. Grrrr... Funnily enough, there's not much swelling.

Originally posted by vlad
Ethylene glycol antifreeze, which has a sweet taste, kills people, dogs, cats etc. I have read that as little as four oz will kill a person.

It might work for insects too. I have not tried it. Put the dish where your pets cannot reach it.

It sure will kill insects. It is used by entomologists in numerous passive trapping systems. But I think your scheme would not be that effective. Insects exist in tremendous populations. We are living in the "Age of Insects" afterall. It would be impossible to put a big enough dent in the bee and wasp population to affect one's chance of an accidental sting whilst riding. Besides, nearly all bees and wasps are beneficial. Bees are invaluable for pollination (nearly all of our fruits and vegetables are dependent on bee pollination). And virtually all wasps prey on insect pests.

Originally posted by joeprim
If the bees/wasps were attracted to you using a Deet type repelent will keep them away. If it was a random collision it may not help as much. People tell me that regular "Skin-So-Soft" also works as a repellent.
HTH
Joe
:crash:

I doubt that this would have any effect. Deet interferes with the detection apparatus for flying blood sucking insects like mosquitos and maybe no see ums, black flies, horse flies etc.

Wasps and bees generally sting in nest defense or when you whomp them a good one (like running into the little girls when you are riding your bike). Did you know that the males don't sting? The sting is a modified ovipositer (egg layer). So the bee or wasp does not care if you are smeared with Deet or not.

The only possible exception might be yellow jackets. Yellow jackets are mighty fond of sweet stuff and can be real pains at picnics. Deet might interfere with their ability to detect food. But they are coming after your food and not you. I don't know anyone who puts Deet on their food.

Originally posted by Cdude
Wasp are bastards that piss people off and serve no purpose in nature. Fun to piss them off though when they can't touch you.

Nearly all wasps are predators of insect pests. Nearly all wasps are beneficial insects. Some wasps are so effective at curbing pests that they are introduced into areas where foreign insect pest have become a problem.

Of course, to the wasp, I suppose that people are pests who serve no purpose. It all sort of depends on your viewpoint.

Originally posted by SoreBum
Wasp/Hornet Top Speed = 4 mph

My top speed = a heckuva lot faster!

I think it would be a lot faster than that. Honey bees and yellow jackets and paper wasps might be that slow. But I think bald faced hornets would go somewhere over 10 mph. They are big, fast and hot tempered.

Some friends of mine and I were riding through a forested area and we were hotly pursued by deer flies. We found that the deer flies could draft in our slipstream at a certain speed. I think it was 12 mph.

Yes those deer flies are as bad as anything and are hard to out rund in a lot of off road conditions. I seem to have luck with the Skin-so-soft as a repelant.

Yes Pat I didn't mean it would do a lot to prevent most bee stings sinch they are usually caused by accidental collisions but maybe it would reduce the few that were do to some other attraction.

Joe

Aaaah, stinging demon stories....

I always remember the time I saw a wasp the size of a 747 drowning in a jar of water....I tipped the jar, figuring that the waterlogged insect wouldn't be able to come after me until it dried out. No luck, it zoomed up immediately and headed right for my face, sounding like a dirt bike motor. Fortunately, I was close to a door. :D (No kidding, this thing was about 4 or 5 inches long! Never saw anything like it.)

My dog loves to snap bees and wasps out of the air. One of these days she'll miss and get stung in the throat or something. :(

Another lovely wasp memory was when I was running a paper route through Oneida...I took some old, soggy Buyer's Guides out of a delivery box, only to realize that they were COVERED with wasps, apperently nesting. I threw the papers out the car window and floored it. Only got two stings out of it, that time...I was lucky. I don;t take old soggy papers out of the boxes anymore, except occasionally and carefully....and if possible, I wait for winter to do it.

The wasps like to try to build nests over the library's back door. Once when I came out, one zipped down and stung me on the lip. My lip swelled up, and it gave my whole face the most awful, lop-sided, mentally-deficient expression. I walked around for two weeks looking like someone whose entire vocabilary probably consisted of "Duuuhhhh....."

My only other fond memory of wasps is from the time I was driving along leaning on the car windowsill and one went up my sleeve. BTW, the last three incidents all happened in one year. Must have been a good year for flying nasties.

Funny that this subject would come up....


I was out riding last week and was zipping along and OUCH, a bee hit my shin and sunk its venom in. I haven't been stung in years. I forgot how much it does sting and how big of a swell my body produces. I think I will pack some anti-sting medication when I go on my cross country tour next summer. I hope I don't get West Nile!:(

Originally posted by Inkwolf
Aaaah, stinging demon stories....

I always remember the time I saw a wasp the size of a 747 drowning in a jar of water....I tipped the jar, figuring that the waterlogged insect wouldn't be able to come after me until it dried out. No luck, it zoomed up immediately and headed right for my face, sounding like a dirt bike motor. Fortunately, I was close to a door. :D (No kidding, this thing was about 4 or 5 inches long! Never saw anything like it.)

Ink
It sounds like we used to have in New Mexico called Trancilla (sp?) hawks. They would fight with trancillas usually winning stinging and laying eggs in the poor over size nonspider. I got to look at one close up that was drunk on fermented watermellon. Yes 4 inches across!
Joe
:beer:

Originally posted by joeprim

Ink
It sounds like we used to have in New Mexico called Trancilla (sp?) hawks. They would fight with trancillas usually winning stinging and laying eggs in the poor over size nonspider. I got to look at one close up that was drunk on fermented watermellon. Yes 4 inches across!
Joe
:beer:

Well, dang, what was it doing in Wisconsin? No tarantulas here....

Back in Virginia we called em Cicada Killers (or cicada wasp).
The first time I saw one I nearly passed out (I had this thing
for wasps). We had this huge tulip tree in the back yard
where the not so little bastards built a nest.
I heard of one person who was stung by
one of these beasts and said it was excruciating.

Funny thing (slightly off topic) in South Africa the wasps
are rather docile but the bees are aggresive, exact opposite
of here (at least for now).

Marty

Back when we had horses putting vinigar in their water kept the horse/deer flies away. Will that work for people?

Actually I find wasps to be fairly nonaggtessive. Sure if it gets caught in you cloths, but I've not been botherd even workiing fairly close to their nest. They do eat mosquitos so I try not to bother them.

Joe

:beer:

My bicycle helmet mounted face screen keeps them out while moving. We call it "MyBugScreen".com and just for safety, it does keep most bugs out of your face, eyes, mouth, ears and nose. Some do get in, but most don't. I'm not supposed to solict here and I'm trying not to, but the screen does add safety to your biking experience. www.gbnpro.com (http://www.gbnpro.com) Just an FYI - Bob.

Epic. You should get an award.
Your pal,
t

I am a hobby beekeeper and I get stung everyday that I see them. When I first started about 50 bites a day. Now maybe 2x month. They are attracted to heat/sweat. As long as you are calm around them and not swatting at them they will not hurt you. Always scratch the stinger out if you are stung. The barb in the stinger is pumping venom into you, so the sooner you get it out the less poison will be in you.Wasps however are different. They will attack you unprovoked. They like sugar. To kill wasps set up a container of coke or sugar water in a can. They will land and not be able to fly away and drown. Horsefly's are the worst, big stings and itchy.
Cheers Marc'o
Keep cycling:thumb::thumb:

Anyone hear about that skateboard guy, he died.

EDIT: Name was Andy Kessler

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/14/skateboarder.kessler.bee.wasp.stings/index.html

Okay - you opened a thread that lay dormant for 7 years. I won't ask why. But I'll give you a bit of entomology: Though only bees are known for this, wasps, too (and yellow-jackets) are attracted by floral scents. If you wear aftershave - it likely has a floral scent. You are, in effect, inviting them. And what color clothing you wear also can invite them over to get a buzz. Yellow is their favorite. Wearing a darker color and forgetting the aftershave, cologne, perfume, etc - will reduce your likelihood of being sought out and stung.