Buying a Beekeeping Suit

After 11 years of use and abuse, I finally threw my beekeeping suit away and began searching for a new one. There were things I loved about my old suit that I had to have in the new one and things new suits boasted about that I wanted to try. I finally settled on the BeBees Ventilated Bee Suit. 

This blog post is about the suit I ordered, what I like and dislike about the suit and what you should look for when buying protective gear for yourself (suit, jacket, veil and gloves). After all, good protective gear can make all the difference when checking your bees on those hot, sunny days or when you need protection on those super cranky, "why are you stinging me so much!?" days.

Ventilated Beekeeping Suits

My first beekeeping suit was made from heavy cotton. It survived a decade of abuse with year round beekeeping in Hawaii, which is an impressive feat, but boy was it hot! It protected my clothes from sticky situations (literally and figuratively), but I was always glad to get out of that thing and often chose to wear jeans, t-shirt and just a helmet with veil instead of the suit whenever possible.

And so this time I wanted to get a ventilated suit. What this means is that instead of heavy cotton fabric, there are three layers of mesh to keep you cool, but also separate your skin from those sharp, little stingers honey bees are known for. Now, I just got this suit, so tune into my beekeeper's diary series (a YouTube series that is raw, uncut footage of me out with the bees week-to-week) as I wear this suit over the months and see how well it protects me from getting stung.

Speaking of getting stung, there are two important things to remember.

1 - No suit will protect you from ever getting stung, even the heavy, cotton ones. If you bend over and the suit is tight against your back, a bee can sting you through the fabric and YOU WILL feel it. You might not swell up as much because the stinger is mostly in the fabric and not under your skin, but it will hurt and I have seen this happen to people. If you are severely allergic to bees, no suit will protect you from ever getting stung. Unfortunately, beekeeping is not the hobby for you. 

Something to remember is that the reason why people swell up is that the stinger has a venom sac at the end of it. When you are stung, you want to get that stinger out ASAP. After a few seconds of being under your skin, the venom sac will pump venom into your bloodstream. One reason why seasoned beekeepers don't swell up as badly as when they first started beekeeping is because they're really good at getting a stinger out fast.

A Must in a Beekeeping Suit - The Hive Tool Pocket

The one thing I had to have in my new suit was a hive tool pocket. My last suit only had one, but this suit has one on each leg and one on each arm. In addition, there are more deep pockets on the chest and legs. I like to keep a few hive tools on me because I lose track of them quite often when checking my bees. I also spray paint them neon colors so I can find them in the tall grass.

Beekeeping Suit, Jacket or Veil?

My first year as a beekeeper, I wanted to spend as little as possible. I was a self-employed graphic designer in my 20's and didn't have a big budget for beekeeping. I used a spray bottle with sugar syrup instead of a smoker (doesn't work well), a flat head screwdriver instead of a hive tool (don't recommend doing this either), and used just a veil with helmet. Although nowadays I prefer just a veil over wearing the full beekeeping suit, I was nervous my first year with the bees and would have benefitted from the safety of a full beekeeping suit and probably would have been a more confident beekeeper.

I've tried beekeeping jackets as well as the suits and the suit does the best job, by far, at preventing the beekeeper from getting stung. Bees can still crawl up your back when wearing a jacket, especially when bending over, and it is much easier for a bee to get into your veil (something that has happened to me too many times to count), when wearing just a veil.

This suit has nice zippers that are easy to use even with gloves on and there are protective flaps over the zipper as an extra precaution against bees getting in.

Additional Things I Love

There are zippers on the side of the legs to make it easy to get the suit on and off even when wearing boots. It's important to take your suit off before going into your house just in case a bee is still hanging out on you. You would be surprised how many times there's a bee or two just hanging out on my back 10+ minutes after checking my hives, about to get into the car with me.

There's heavy cotton reinforcement over the knees and other areas that need it. 

Elastic loops for the heels and thumbs to keep the suit in your shoes and gloves.

Gloves

This suit came with gloves. These are goat skin which is the standard material most beekeeping gloves are made from. It is a soft fabric and very comfortable, but the fingers are about double the width of my fingers, not ideal for people with petite hands. I plan to keep them for any helpers that come out with me and got another pair for me to use.

The Veil

Most beekeeping suits have one of two veil designs – the fencing veil and the round veil. 

Photo: bebeesuit.com

BeBees let's you choose which veil you'd like with your suit. I chose the round veil because I prefer the 360 view. However, the top of this veil is fabric so you really should wear a hat underneath to prevent getting stung on the head. 

The other veil option is the fencing veil and this is a popular choice among many beekeepers because it is less bulky and easy to open up for a quick drink (or honey sample).

Personally, I prefer the smaller veils worn by commercial beekeepers and plan on wearing my tie down veil with the suit instead of the veil it comes with even though that means it doesn't zip into the suit.

As a fairly petite woman who is 5'5" and 120lb, the medium unisex suit fits me well. It is baggy, and that's what I want in a suit. 

Tip!

Whether you're looking to buy a suit, jacket or just the veil, make sure the mesh of the veil is either made from wire or is tear resistant fabric. You'll find veils that are pretty cheap and it's usually because the fabric is thin (but not breathable) and the veil mesh tears easily and quickly.

To sum it all up, so far I am very happy with my new suit. I'm optimistic that it'll keep me cool (or as cool as I can be in the summer heat), safe from the stings and last me many years. 

You can find the suit I purchased at: https://bebeesuit.com/products/unisex-white-ventilated-bee-suit

Happy beekeeping!