Now, I’m not saying I have the answer here but I’ve been thinking about buying a beekeeper’s suit lately, and it’s not because I plan on keeping bees anytime soon… someday I might like to try it.
Instead, I’m thinking about SHTF situations where I may have to deal with a hive of bees or, more likely, a nest of yellow-jackets or paper wasps. Granted, I’ve never bothered with a bee suit thus far but, then again, I’ve never had to REALLY deal with them on my own, at least, nothing more than a healthy wasps nest here and there.
The problem for me is this: what if something goes wrong and I get a few too many stings and wind up having a bad reaction? A reaction bad enough where I would need hospitalization? During SHTF the expectation is that proper medical care won’t be available and so it’s “every man for himself!”
With this in mind, and understanding that prevention is worth a pound of cure, I figured that I should have something at my disposal that could help me from becoming another statistic post-SHTF.
Of course, in most cases these insects are best left alone if possible but that’s not always feasible. Perhaps they’re just a nuisance to start with but could eventually become a serious threat to family, which is something I cannot allow. As such, I’ve been considering a beekeeper suit like this one:
Personally, I like the idea of purchasing a professional-grade beekeeper suit because, well, it’s designed for the task! In particular, it has the all-in-one suit design and integrated hood (and gloves too).
Most beekeeping suits are made from cotton which apparently breathes much better than other options, such as this very inexpensive suit made from tyvek material. This may not seem like a big deal but I’d hate to pass out from heat exhaustion if I don’t have to.
Regardless, that got me to wondering whether I could just buy any old set of coveralls and a separate bee veil and call it good? I don’t honestly know.
My take is that I’d rather spend a few more bucks and get a product made for the job–even if it’s not the best option out there–than to find out the bees found an unexpected hole or several when I tried to piece something together. That would be a bad day times ten!
Of course, there are those people that don’t use anything special whatsoever, save for coveralls and nerves of steel… but that’s just not me 😉
I might also want to purchase a hive smoker too but figured I would start with a suit if I buy anything at all.
Honestly, I’m torn about buying a suit, figuring that the odds of me ever actually needing one are slim to none and that I could probably just makeshift something if I absolutely had to. Of course, then I get to thinking that if I’m actually in a situation where I’m contemplating wearing such a protective suit then I’m probably in a situation where I would REALLY appreciate having a suit on-hand. And that, in my opinion, is a bit part of what prepping is all about.
Hmmm… seems I’m trying to talk myself into buying one! What do you think? Is a bee suit useful? Or should I do something totally different? I know this person seems to despise bee suits altogether. So, for the person who doesn’t currently keep bees and has little expectation of needing a bee suit BUT doesn’t want to end up dead due to massive amounts of potentially avoidable stings SHTF+1, what should I do? Oh, and remember I’m actually more interested in avoid stings from yellow-jackets and wasps rather than bees.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
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