Are you wearing any fragrance? I am constantly around bees and haven’t been stung in years. The last time was when I inadvertently disturbed a wasp nest while mowing.

tj

I once got a lot of yellow jacket stings by mowing over a hole in the ground that was a yellow jacket nest entrance. So I try to notice where they live. Take a good look before mowing or digging. I sometimes remember to take a good look before pulling on a weed such as invasive passionflowers or wild grape vine. When I see them around my potted plants I just don't reach for a pot without looking. Otherwise I am not as afraid of them as I used to be and I think they tolerate me better if I tolerate them. Staying calm is better than freaking out though I will freak out if one gets too close. Sudden movements, flailing your arms ...these upset them a bit I think. I usually think, " Eh, you're not going to bother me." and that helps me a bit. I went up some outdoor wooden stairs when I was young and my foot connected with a bee hive that was under a stair. A lot of honeybees swarmed after me and got in the sleeves of my dress and in my hair. That gave me some fear of bees.

Have you been batting at the bees or disturbing their nest?

I have to agree with the above. For the most part, bees are extremely docile. I've been gardening for more decades than I like to admit and have been stung by a bee only once. And that was because the bee got stuck up under my pant leg.

OTOH, wasps and hornets can be very aggressive and can sting without provocation. I was stung multiple times - on the head!! - when I inadvertently disturbed a nest that had taken up residence in a disused birdhouse.

I should also add that I don't have firsthand experience dealing with ground dwelling bees and it may well be that they do become aggressive if they feel their nest/hive is threatened.

I don’t wear fragrance. I may have swstted. They aren’t yellow jackets or obvious wasps so I assumed they were bees. But in any caae this year seems different. Are there more becauase of the heat or rain? Anyone avoid certain times of day or weather? Protective clothing?

My problem is I like to at times go barefoot, you guessed it, I have stepped on bees. I also tend to walk about and touch the flowers, yep sometimes there's a bumblebee resting under the petals, OUCH, they have a potent sting more so than honeybees, yellow jackets and the hornets we have here. I've seen grown men really wince when bumblebee stung.

Didn't know that about bumblebees. We have lots. I stepped on one when I was really little, the first sting I ever had, but I never could compare it to other stings. I think wasps and yellowjackets are a lot worse than a honeybee. We have hornets here. Some years lately there have been a lot of them and they seem to have a great time swooping from one end of the yard to the other really fast. They look like they just do it for fun. Never have been stung by a hornet but I hear a Japanese hornet feels like a nail driven into you. I have a misting system set up to root plants and the wasps, yellow jackets and hornets frequent the pots of cuttings and I guess they drink from the leaves.

Yellow jackets move their nests around...they abandon old nests when it gets cold. So it's possible some ground dwellers moved into your yard from elsewhere. Hornets move too. I'm not seeing them as much this year. Twice I've seen yellow jackets made a nest in a large potted plant. You can see them frequently coming and going from their nests. Nests can be very large and really could be dangerous if disturbed.

Never ever had a bee sting. I've had about three wasp stings and each from standing on one barefoot on a lawn.

7 times in a week is amazing. Can you get a picture of one?

back when i was a kid.. it was hairspray that attracted them ... taking the term beehive hairdo to new meanings.. lol.. im not really that old.. but in the 70s... it was hairspray.. aqua net ...

in the 80s and 90s.. it was shampoo and conditioner fragrance... and deodorant..

the worst.. was garden club women.. who came for visits with perfume on.. yu would think they wouldn know better.. but in fact.. many were not gardeners.. it was a social club.. it was easy to ID which was which.. by whether they showed up for a garden tour in any sort of heals... really.. what were you thinking????

men rarely wore most of that stuff... so they werent as impacted...

dad was usually perfumed with beer.. lol.. he would mot move from his chair on the patio for hours.. and attracts bees and squeeters.. and the occasional hummingbird... i figured it was the yeasty aroma...

most of us.. who work hard in the garden... bathe after working in the yard.. so we dont start smelling good.. and surely dont finish fresh and clean.. lol ..

i used to ... the evening before.. take a lawn chair to sit where i planned on working.. watching for patterns of bees and wasps flying missions in the area.. if on missions.. and distraction from said mission.. resulted in aggressiveness ... of a ground nest was found.. it was eradicated.. but it might take a week to do such.. back int eh day.. some of the wasp killer cans were labeled for ground wasps... you have to attack at dusk.. when they return to the nest.. and its hard to penetrate deeply... so you have to keep at it..

be aware of your surroundings... just dont blunder into harms way... stay stinkee.. and rule your world...

ken