Do Beekeepers Get Stung Often? How Do They Avoid It?

When I first got my first beehive, I was eager to be the type of beekeeper who could confidently inspect their colony without any equipment.

After my first inspection I thought, “Hey that was easy! I guess I’m ready to do the next one without a bee suit!” And what happened on the second inspection? I accidentally crushed a worker bee as I was inspecting the hive and, in defense, one of her sisters stung me.

It was totally my fault.

How’d it feel? It hurt, a bit. Though luckily there was very little swelling.

The moral of the story is that everyone needs to respect bees, especially beekeepers. However, there’s no need to fear being stung. With some common sense, it’s easy to stay safe around bees.

At Buddha Bee Apiary, we get asked a lot of questions about bee stings from folks interested in our honeybee hosting program. Everything from whether they hurt to how often beekeepers get stung. In this blog, we try to break it down.

Do bees sting beekeepers?

Yes. It happens. Bees do sting, occasionally. However, they usually only sting if they feel threatened. Remember, most honeybees are not aggressive. They are defensive. A honeybee will die when it stings, which means it only stings as a last resort. A skilled beekeeper can avoid being stung when inspecting a hive. Below, we cover how.

Do bee stings hurt?

It depends on the location of the sting, how long the stinger is left in for, and of course, on the person. They certainly can hurt. For people who are allergic, bee stings can be extremely dangerous and should be taken seriously.

Oftentimes, the first few stings hurt the most. According to a study from the Yale School of Medicine, exposure to the key toxic component in bee venom can induce immunity. That explains why many beekeepers are simply "used to" stings.

How do beekeepers avoid getting stung?

The number one way to reduce your chance of being stung is to never swat at a bee. Here are some other strategies beekeepers employ to avoid stings. We follow these tips ourselves during our bee farm tours.

1. Wear protective gear

Some beekeepers don't mind a few stings on their hands, some just wear a veil to stop stings on their face, and others want to avoid any sting at all costs. Depending on the beekeeper's comfort level—and the temperament of the hive—they may wear a veil and gloves, jacket, or a full suit.

For example, someone who has been keeping bees for years and has a docile hive may just want to wear gloves and a veil when handling their own bees. But if they needed to remove a large colony from a tree? Well, they'd probably want to wear a full suit in that case.