Oh, you poor thing. I'm so sorry this happened, and I know how scary it can be. I had a terrible allergic reaction to a medicine. Same kind of story with the Epi Pen and so forth. They kept me overnight and sent me home with a deep fear of medicine in general that I still haven't completely shaken. :(

I don't know if this will help you feel better, but I've been gardening for about 15 years and have never been stung by a bee. In fact, I've only been stung by anything twice in my life: A wasp when I was about 10, and last year I got stung by a wasp again when I sat on one at my dog club (no plants in sight).

I tend to be pretty watchful about bees and wasps, and I'm sure you will be now too. I think it can be a pretty rare occurrence to be stung, as long as you are careful. As my parents told me (fruitlessly) for years, "They're not going to attack you if you just let them be." I still ran like a madwoman from them, up until last year. I planted soooo many bee magnets in my perennial garden last year that, after having to work around them for several months, to everyone's amazement I stopped freaking out about them. I have also been amazed that I can come and go and weed and be right there beside them, and they never bother me.

As far as preventing a severe reaction, there may not be much you can do to control the severity. If you were really worried, you could maybe pre-dose with Benadryl before you went out, although I'm not sure that would be any guarantee.

Try not to worry too much. You have the Epi Pin - keep it current and carry it and the phone with you into the garden. Wear gloves and long-sleeved white shirts if the weather is not too hot.

If it really becomes an issue, maybe gardening with foilage only could be an option. My mom tends to lean towards planting for foilage rather than flowers, and it has the distinct advantage of a garden that looks good all spring, summer and fall. :)

My first thought was always have an Epi-Pen, but you mentioned you already have it. Make sure you know where it is, it's easily accessible, and you know how to use it. Also, keep a spare Epi-Pen in your purse - never know if you'll get stung while at a nursery or in someone else's yard, garden tour, etc.

Other than that, I would suggest not planting plants that are irrestible to bees around your sitting area/major paths outside. They seem to go cuckoo over some flowers yet leave others alone. I never really see them on my annual geraniums, vinca, impatiens, for example, nor do they gravitate heavily toward all perennials. Two plants that pop instantly into my mind as being bee magnets are sedum and Caryopteris but of course there are so many.

I don't believe there's much that bees aren't attracted to. If it flowers, for the most part they will come. I haven't a clue if I'm allergic, but I do have family members that are. I've been gardening for 15 years, and have never been stung. I'm out in the garden ALOT; it's my "therapy" as I tell everyone. There are bees & wasps all over the place, I've just learned to deal with them and ignore them, which has worked so far. Keep the Epi Pen handy when you're outside and don't get freaked out by them in your vicinity. I know, easier said than done, I don't know how it feels, but living in fear isn't the answer either; it'll make you crazy!

just an observation ....

i have been stung once in 30 years ... and i stuck my hand in a ground bee nest .... but i am a man .... i dont smell nice ... lol

IMHO .... women tend to wear things with a scent .. and a lot of those have pheromones ... that actually attract bees ...

in the olden days.. there were hairsprays ...

but think about how or why you are attracting them.. above and beyond all the smells in the garden that should be attracting them ... rather than you ...

deodorants ???
perfumes ???
hair products ???
fabric softeners ???

i bet a buck.. if you go role in a pile of 'nure .... you will not be attracting bees ... nor many garden friends.. lol ...

i just bet you are somehow attracting them ... why do you smell better than a nectar bearing flower ????? and how do you avoid such when you are in the garden ?????

ken

ps: its a theory.. not a bias ...

I developed an allergy to bee stings years ago, not from gardening but from adventures in the woods, where I was stung repeatedly. After a couple of emergency room runs and keeping the kit handy I went to an allergist and through a long series of shots. That was 30 years ago and I now live in the woods and have never been stung again. We have a large garden and orchard with lots of bees which I work among everyday with no fear. As I am now in my eighties I may never know if I am still allergic! Al

If you're getting anaphylactic reactions to bee stings and want to continue gardening, I suggest looking into desensitization (allergen immunotherapy). Cleaning up debris like fallen fruit which attracts bees would be helpful (yellow jackets are fond of my rotting apples). Always have the Epi-pen handy.

I had a couple of severe reactions to wasp stings years ago. After moving to Texas I was stung by fire ants on numerous occasions, initially causing marked swelling but less severe responses with each attack. After that I was stung several times by bees and wasps and never had a significant reaction. (As far as I know, fire ant desensitization is not a proven therapy for bee sting anaphylaxis, and is probably not an option at the present time in New Jersey anyway).

I'm allergic to bee stings too. Last summer a wasp stung me and my entire arm and hand looked like a balloon for about a week. Overcoming the psychological trauma is hard. I didn't want to go near my garden for a long time after-wards, but I did and am glad I did.

I think it's important to try to be as logical about the situation as possible. Do what you have to do medically to put your mind at rest. If that means visiting an allergist do it. Also do what Ken suggested. Avoid personal products with a scent, maybe even switch to unscented laundry detergents. This may take some effort, because it's really amazing how many products are scented in some way or another. Also avoid brightly colored clothing and the color black when working in the garden. I just make a point to always wear white.

Go through the check list of what you need to do every time you work in the garden to not make bees and wasps attractive to you. Also take some time to figure out where the greatest number of bees and wasps seem to congregate in the garden. You may have a nest nearby. After doing this for a while, it just become automatic and you really don't think of it anymore.

I've been stung maybe twice in the last 10 years and each time it happened I was messing around unknowingly near a nest. I'm very careful about that now. It really does get easier with time. I'm always aware of bees and wasps around me now, but I really don't give it much thought any longer.

Kevin

I've never been stung while in the gardens and it seems that bees and wasps are not aggressive when they are pollinating - even the yellow jackets. But they can become quite aggressive if you threaten their nests. In the past few years, on 2 occasions I've been stung multiple times by yellow jackets, after stumbling across their nests while cutting out invasive plants in the back of my lot (one time my hand ballooned up and took some Benadryl).

Just last week I finally got around to working on a corner of the back garden - overgrown all season. I was pulling a few weeds, brushing some leaves out of the way - and suddenly yellow jackets started swarming around me. I immediately backed....away....slowly. They were swarming around their nest hole in the ground about a foot away from where I was weeding. I am amazed they didn't sting me! Have decided to work on that corner of the garden after we get a freeze.

Allergic or not it's a good idea to learn about where bees and wasps build their nests and try to discourage or avoid them.

two further thoughts ....

do NOT take my suggestions w/o the medical checkup .. start with the allergist as rec'd above... then think about being an attractant ...

and for sure.. in fall ... STAY AWAY FROM ANY FALLEN FRUIT ... which tends to rot and ferment ... and stoned stingers do NOT cooperate with any theories ... they are just mean drunks ...

just this morn.. i was cutting down a wild cherry ... which.. believe it or not... has a scent of cherry pop ... though today i could not detect it ... w/in 10 mins... there was a single stoner bee hanging around ... no there wasnt a single flower within 50 feet ... i have no clue where this drunk came from ...

allergist first ... then avoidance ...

ken

>I've never been stung while in the gardens and it seems that bees and wasps
>are not aggressive when they are pollinating - even the yellow jackets. But
>they can become quite aggressive if you threaten their nests.

This has been my experience as well. I intentionally picked plants that attract pollinators, and I'll often sit inches away from the flowers as the bees go about their business. I've touched them, they brush up against me, have even landed on me... but have never shown any aggression. All sorts of bees, including carpenter, honey, mason, giant resin, little metallic bees, etc.

The only time I've been stung is when I stepped on one walking barefoot thru the clover... probably not the smartest thing I ever did!

I am allergic to bee stings too but not that severely. I just have to take Benedryl. I have been stung three times in thirty years. All three times it was a yellow jacket wasp not a bee.

The first one was on a water faucet and I didn't see him and grabbed the faucet. It was in Arizona and he must have been trying to get a drink. It was back in about 1980.

The second two were in my current yard, I did not know there was a nest in a hole and DH had put the hose in the hole to try to drown them. I pulled the hose out and turned to use it and one stung me in the rear, I could not sit down comfortably for a week. The third was on my shirt and I sat down and leaned back.....Those were six months apart, over ten years ago.

My yard is covered with flowers and honey and bumblebees but they don't worry me nor bother me. I do always wear my shoes if I walk through the clover in the lawn....

I keep Benedryl on hand and I don't let bees keep me out of the garden. If I had a worse reaction I'm sure I would do the same.

I do agree, watch out for rotting fruit. Yellow jackets are far more aggressive then bees.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. What type of 'bee' has a nest under the ground? What happened was I was moving plants around on a rainy day and my shovel hit a bees nest under the ground. I was lucky I was wearing long pants and only one got me on the arm.

I have been gardening for 40 years and have been stung 4 times The first time was 20 years ago!(turning on the water faucet like buyorsell888) I never had an issue with bees before this. I always realized they were more interested in the flowers than me. In fact this was the first time I was stung while actually gardening.

The second time in 2004 I was stung on the tip of my nose while holding a basketball hoop for my husband while he hammered it. (The bees had a nest inside the metal hoop) I didn't know someones face could expand like that - I was unrecognizable! The doctor said it was an extreme local reaction and a mild systemic reaction.

Then about a month ago I was walking across my lawn and a bee stung me on the leg. I was like "what the heck"- I had no idea why! Now I realize I was walking past where the nest was in the garden under the ground.

Well this time I broke out in hives/rash over my entire body and then I felt faint and couldn't stand up. The doctor said that was my blood pressure dropping. The doctor said that often allergic reactions gets progressively worse and that I am crossing over into dangerous reactions.

I'm going to have to carry the epipen with me at all times. I just wonder if after a few years of no bee stings if I start to get careless. That is when there is going to be a 'bee' with my name on it.

From my limited knowledge, yellow jackets and bumblebees commonly make nests in holes in the ground. They will use old chipmunk holes and things like that. All 3 yellow jacket nests I've encountered in the yard have been in the ground, but they also made a nest in a hole in the side of the house one time (had to spray in that hole, and then filled the hole with Bondo after they abandoned it).

I've also observed bumblebees going in and out of nests at the base of a shrub, or in some leaf litter. One year bumblebees nested at the base of a shrub right near the winter-sowing containers, but I never worried about them or felt any aggression from them and sometimes a bumbler would sun itself near the containers.

It was not bumblebees. They are kind of cute and harmless. The 'bees' after me must be yellow jackets. But to be fair, they are not after me. I was the one who bothered them. They were just 'sleeping in' on a rainy afternoon.

This is very frustrating. My hours were cut at work because things are slow. I have the entire day off, it is gorgeous outside and now I know there is a nest of angry bees in my garden. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to work in the front yard. I'll just feel like an idiot if the people at the emergency room look at me and say "you, again!". Of course, that is being hopeful that I actually make it to the emergency room. The ER said sometimes people are found (too late) with the epipen instructions in their hands. I have been warned about serious anaphylactic reactions and that it is not a joke.

Question-what is social etiquette? I am supposed to inject the epipen in my thigh. If I get stung while shopping at a nursery, do I start ripping off my pants in the middle of the field?

The more I think about this - I am definitely going to an allergist. Gardening is my hobby, obsession, therapy, etc... Only you people on this forum can understand that I cannot just give up gardening!

The epipens can go through most clothing, even jeans.

If I were you (and I'm glad I am not), I'd get some help in identifying the 'bee' and finding the nest (s). I'm wondering if this might even be something that the Extension service master gardeners might be encouraged to volunteer for. They are mandated to do so many hours of volunteer services, this sounds like a good project to me!

Once you know more about who you are dealing with, you will be better prepared to deal with it.

I've been a professional horticulturist for about 30 years and have only been stung once and that was because I STEPPED on a Cicada Killer Wasp in my bare feet. My neighbors still say that they can hear my screams on warm sunny days in August. That was 10 years ago, lol.

You could wait out the rest of the year with the yellow jackets - most will die off and the pregnant queen won't nest there again next year. For now, as long as you give them some clearance you should be okay. I walk within a few feet of the nest I discovered last week, and am working on a new bed about 6+ feet away, and they don't seem bothered by that. But I'm careful not to disturb their immediate nest area again until it gets so cold that they have died off or are very sluggish.

An allergy to bees wouldn't stop me from gardening. I love the bees and butterflies and delight in planting whatever attracts the most of them. I would have that Epipen and be sure to know how to use it though! On a similar note, the risk of Lyme disease hasn't stopped me from walking in meadows or wild places, even though I get bitten by deer ticks at least 2-3 times per year. You just have to be smart about the way you do it.

I think you do need to go to an allergist. I think they will make you feel a lot better. Aith an allergy to stings, maybe there is something like desensitization shots they can do! I would have loved to have that option. There's nothing like that available for allergies to medicines, unfortunately.

Doctors take anaphylactic reactions very, very seriously, and I think they do their best to put the fear of God into a person. Mine told me the same thing about them getting progressively worse, and gave me this LONG list of related medicines I may want to think twice about taking. This was six years ago, and I'm still terrified of taking medicine. I have taken very little since then.

What I WISH I had done is talked to an allergist first, before the internal medicine guy scared the bejeesus out of me. The allergists I saw (several, because I was really freaked out about the whole thing) were, on the whole, not nearly as "gloom and doom" as my IM doctor. Their attitude was more like, "You have the Epi Pen, don't worry about it, you'll be fine." But often, the first thing you hear is what sticks, so it's been hard to shake off his ominous warnings enough to be able to work up the nerve to try taking, say, an aspirin. :(

I actually had two severe reactions, a month apart. The first time my doctor didn't think it was an allergic reaction (in spite of a very detailed story from me that absolutely screamed allergic reaction...). But hey, he's the doctor, so I trusted him. A month later I took the same medicine, BAM. Same thing happened to me - my blood pressure dropped and I passed out both times. The second time I did have an Epi Pen, but I piddled around and tried taking Benadryl before I used the Epi Pen, to see if that would work. It didn't. Lesson learned: Use the Epi Pen as a first line of defense if you feel even a hint of this about to happen.

Vespula germanica, also known as the German yellowjacket. It helps if you read a little about wasps, bees and their habits. It will help you to understand how best not to have a close encounter. Yellow jackets are perhaps the most aggressive of the wasp species in your territory and their behaviour differs depending on the seasons. My son is a farmer and he was just relating to me his run-in with these critters a few days ago when he bush-hogged over a ground nest. There were on him, his equipment, and he got away lucky. He said he returned to the site later when it was light and literally thousands of them were huddled above ground around the disturbed hole. He and I are both allergic to stings of the bees and wasps, and how badly we react seems to be related to which species nails us. Both of us carry epi pens.

I am a horticulturist, so I am also continually at risk for stings. I have only been stung a couple times in the last five years, however, because I am more careful of where I thrust unprotected skin surfaces. I also avoid rotting fruit and have to keep it policed up in the orchards. Fall is the most dangerous times because the yellow jackets are out scrounging for sugars now. I am very tidy with rubbish cans, food scraps in compost, and leery of timber retaining walls where I often find them nested.

I do, however, work in close proximity with a feral honeybee colony right next to our house, and gardened all summer under a hornet nest.

My allergy seemed to appear from numerous stings when growing fall crysanth crops where they'd often be found on the foliage and I'd stick my hands into it inadvertently. Also when picking grapes. Both cases involved sugars on the leaves. From the ripe fruit in grapes and honeydew from aphids on mums. I had to be taken by squad after one bite. I seem to be (knock on wood) growing less sensitive to them now and immediately take benedryl liquid after a sting but have not had to use my epi pen since it was rx'ed. I am very thankful because I can't NOT be around bees and wasps.

Yes, you should see an allergist.

For what it's worth, my husband and I keep a couple of beehives, and routinely work our hives with either no protectective gear or veils only, and often go years without being stung at all. In fact. I haven't been stung in at least 4-5 years. Our hives are just right off our patio because we like to watch the bees fly in and out, my garden is planned to be very, very bee-friendly and I literally stick my bare hands into thousands and thousands of live bees several times a week without a sting. Most of the beekeepers in our local club say it's rare for them to be stung as well, and again we're talking about people that go out of their way to stick their hands into hives.

Definitely see an allergist to discuss your options, certainly be prepared and carry your Epi-pen with you always and make sure those around you know how to use it, but please don't let fear keep you from enjoying your garden.

thought of you last weekend ...

got invited to a honey harvest ...

now i am not afraid of bees.. but i dont go looking for them ...

so here we are... about 10 of us in a 3 car garage ... 20 hives ... melting the wax off the cells... spinning the honey out of the the cells...

yellow jackets invading the 3 car garage ... the bees covering the outside of the structure .... i gotta tell you .. it took a good 45 minutes for me to get over the willeys ...

as the boxes were emptied .. they were put outside for the bees to clean ... when you stepped out there.. you could literally here the buzzing ....

there were 100's of yellow jackets in the the garage [or so they kept claiming.. as i could not tell the difference] .. and thousands or honey bees outside.. and not a single sting anywhere ...

and yet.. i would bet a buck.. if you walked by .. within 50 feet.. you would have got stung.. whats that all about ... its like the cat will only go to the one cat hater in the group ...

anyway ... i hope you are moving forward with dealing with your problem ...

ken

One option if you do go see an allergist, is look for allergy drops not shots, my wife has been on them for quite some time and they've worked out very well. I'm not sure if you can take "shots" for something which you have a server reaction to though... Just thought I'd put that out there, that drops are available as an alternative to shots; but they're still rare and you have to find doctors who will prescribe them, as most allergists still make most of their money for shots; so giving you the ability to do your drops takes their main revenue source away; hence they're usually not friendly to drops, although it's much easier for the patient.

Not to make light of bee sting allergic reactions (since I've had them myself), but the title of this thread has caused an old Robert Palmer tune to run through my head:

You like to think that youâÂÂre immune to the stuff, oh yeah
itâÂÂs closer to the truth to say
you're going to wheeze
you know youâÂÂre gonna have to face it
youâÂÂre allergic to bees

Ocelaris,

Yes, can get shots for something you get any reaction no matter how bad the reaction. They have been doing studies with children and peanut allergies. With medicine allergies your out of luck. I have a whole list of things I'm allergic to from food to plants that can be found in my garden. I'm not allergic to bees though they do enjoy landing on me to check things out. I've been seeing an allergist off and on since I was 12 or was I 13 years old. Anyway, go see an allergist and get tested. You will feel so better after the testing that is. Another thing you should know is that something you were allergic to as a child no longer bothers you. However, something you've always enjoyed for years is now making you break out in welts. I've had to be tested twice, the second time was in my early twenties. And if my doctor can't find a new allergy medication to help my symptoms, I'll be under the allergist needle again. The immune system is a funny thing.

Here's something I learned about yellow jackets. They don't like lysol spray.

You can't avoid bees, so I wouldn't let that stop you from gardening. An epi-pen is absolutely essential, you should probably see an allergist, too, to find out if you're allergic to anything else. I came across this - hope it helps:

Avoiding stings

Bees and wasps can be attracted to, or may react to, odors in the environment. It is best not to use perfume, cologne, or scented soaps if you are going into an area of bee and/or wasp activity. Unless someone accidentally collides quite hard with or swats at a bee or wasp, it is not likely to sting.

Avoid going barefoot in vegetation, especially clover and blooming ground covers. Also avoid wearing brightly colored or patterned clothing. If you remain calm when a bee or wasp lands on your skin to inspect a smell or to get water if you are sweating heavily, the insect will eventually leave of its own accord. If you donâÂÂt want to wait for it to leave, gently and slowly brush it away with a piece of paper. When swimming in pools, watch out for bees or wasps trapped on the surface of the water. If you find bees or wasps in the water, it is best to remove them to avoid being stung.

Stinging incidents often occur when nesting areas of social insects are disturbed. Be observant of the area around you. If you see insects flying to and from a particular place, avoid it.

If you are going to be in an area where disturbing a nest is likely, wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. It might be a good idea to carry a military surplus, collapsible mosquito/gnat veil with you. Stinging insects often fly around the top of their targets. Because stings in the face can be disorienting, put on the veil, or pull a portion of your shirt over your head, and run away. Be sure that you can see where you are going! Insect repellent applied to your skin or clothing will deter these stinging insects.