poululla

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?

Bikes-N-Drums

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.

vlad

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.

poululla

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

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.

Bikes-N-Drums

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.

Jeepbikerun

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.....
Yvonne

tokus

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.

KennethToronto

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

Inkwolf

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.

dprayvd

aaaaa

Richard D

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 ******....

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

Natophelia

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

poululla

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.

The Toninator

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

Natophelia

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.

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.

Natophelia

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!

tokus

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.

webist

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

Carl

Redhed 

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!!!!

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?

Pat

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.

Roughstuff

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

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.