Ouch! 5 Ways to Prevent Bee and Wasp Stings
From childhood people learn to avoid bees. Formative memories of painful experiences linger in your mind, even if you don’t get stung for years. For some people, bee stings are potentially fatal. Common sense dictates that you should avoid them even if you’re not allergic. Here are five ways to prevent bee and wasp stings.
Dress for Success
Believe it or not, your fashion choices play a factor in how much attention you attract from bees. Almost every living creature has an instinctive fear of natural predators. Bees are no different. When you wear red or black, you can trigger their survival instinct. They attack you without mercy, just as you’d do in a do or die situation. To avoid the situation altogether, simply wear different colors when you’re going to be outdoors in a bee-intensive place like a garden or forest.
Skip the Scents
If you’re someone who wears perfume or cologne everywhere you go, you should reconsider that practice. Bees enjoy a sense of smell so powerful that it’s 100 times greater than what humans possess. The scent you might consider modest to the point of barely even there is more than enough than to drive bees into a frenzy and does little to prevent bee and wasp stings− it’s more likely it will attract trouble.
Now think about the situation when you wear floral scents. Businesses design these smells to simulate outdoors odors such as flowers and trees. When you wear such perfumes, you’re essentially telling bees that you’re a landing spot for them. If you must add some sort of body spray, at least pick something that isn’t floral.
Watch What You Drink
Those sweet beverages you enjoy so much work the same way. Bees can smell all the artificial and natural sweeteners contained in the products. The scent drives them crazy, which is why you constantly have to swipe bees away when you’re on picnics. If you’re addicted to sugary drinks, at least get in the habit of checking the surface as well as the interior of your drink containers to guarantee no unpleasant surprises when you take a sip.
Stay Covered
This one is difficult, especially in the summer months. When it’s hot outside, you want to dress in shorts, sleeveless shirts, and other forms of clothing that bare some skin. That’s a mistake when it comes to bee stings. All the open space on your body operates as an invitation for bees to land and eventually sting you.
There are a lot of options for summer-wear that will keep you comfortable but also safe from bee attack. Wear loose-fitting outfits that cover your body without making you hot. Think of the clothing as a coat of armor that protects you. Carefully chosen clothing can prevent bee and wasp stings.
Keep It Clean
Your garbage is a wonderful food source for bees. When you leave junk sitting around bees see it as a great opportunity; they can build a nest in a hospitable environment, guaranteeing that their future generations have plenty to eat. You can cut off the problem at the source simply by picking up after yourself whenever you’re outside. Be aware that many bees and wasps nest in the ground, and their nests may be less obvious. Frequent checks of places like your fence, shed, and eaves can help you stop a nest before it gets too big to handle.
The above steps are preventive in nature, but if you already have bee problems, you must act quickly. Call Beeline Pest Control at 801-204-9134 to eradicate those pesky critters.