happypamama Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I'd like to find a beekeeper who would show us around his/her bee setup. But my DD is allergic to bee stings, enough that she swells up and has an epi-pen, though she's not had trouble breathing so far. Would going to visit bees be too risky? I'm thinking it might but wanted to know what other people thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I would not take my allergic DD to a bee-keepers place if she was allergic to bees. While I understand the educational value of such an experience, in my opinion, the risk would not be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I would not take my allergic DD to a bee-keepers place if she was allergic to bees. While I understand the educational value of such an experience, in my opinion, the risk would not be worth it. :iagree:I would never take that risk. Each exposure had a possibility of causing a worse reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 The likelihood of being stung by just looking at the hives from the outside is not any greater than it would be when walking through a yard with flowers or clover. If you came to see my bees about all you could see is the hives from a distance. Looking at a couple of stacks of white boxes isn't a real exciting field trip. To make a visit to see bee hives worthwhile you'd need to find a bee keeper that keeps an observation hive. Seeing the process of extracting honey wouldn't bring you in contact with the bees at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 Thanks; that confirms what I thought as well. I figured it would be too big of a risk, but I was wondering if someone would chime in to say that it was actually very safe, no bigger risk than normal playing outside, protective gear, blah blah blah. (Obviously, I've never been to a beekeeper's place.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 The likelihood of being stung by just looking at the hives from the outside is not any greater than it would be when walking through a yard with flowers or clover. If you came to see my bees about all you could see is the hives from a distance. Looking at a couple of stacks of white boxes isn't a real exciting field trip. To make a visit to see bee hives worthwhile you'd need to find a bee keeper that keeps an observation hive. Seeing the process of extracting honey wouldn't bring you in contact with the bees at all. Well, now, that is different. Hmm. I might have to look into this more. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 If she's in a suit then she's quite safe, I should think. I wouldn't take her without a suit, but then I put my own non-bee-allergic kids in suits when we visit the bees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 If she's in a suit then she's quite safe, I should think. I wouldn't take her without a suit, but then I put my own non-bee-allergic kids in suits when we visit the bees. Are you wanting to take her to see hives and the set up or are you wanting to suit up and look inside the hives, pull out frames and see the bees like that? If seeing inside is your plan, you & your dd need to be VERY comfortable around a lot of bees. Even in a full bee suit, having 20,000+ bees flying around you can be pretty overwhelming. At the least, find a bee keeper with a full, kid size suit. Personally, I think that you'd get a better close up view of bees with an observation hive or a video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 Are you wanting to take her to see hives and the set up or are you wanting to suit up and look inside the hives, pull out frames and see the bees like that? If seeing inside is your plan, you & your dd need to be VERY comfortable around a lot of bees. Even in a full bee suit, having 20,000+ bees flying around you can be pretty overwhelming. At the least, find a bee keeper with a full, kid size suit. Personally, I think that you'd get a better close up view of bees with an observation hive or a video. I'm not sure? I don't think she'd be comfortable around a lot of bees, even with a suit. But your post tells me what I should ask about when I ask around -- observation hive. Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I think it depends on what the beekeeper intends to do. I have a good friend who keeps bees and the kids play in her yard all the time close to the bee boxes and no worries. They've helped build and paint boxes for her as a project and she's shown us her gear and let us taste her honey and see a hive she took out that was empty and see ways she uses the wax... On the other hand, there's a homeschool beekeeping class that was happening and she was saying to me how dumb she thought it was because it sounded like they had not taken adequate safety precautions, especially in regards to knowing if kids are allergic. In that group they were actually working with the bees and there was a definite risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 (edited) .. Edited May 5, 2012 by farrarwilliams That took about a minute and a half, so I kinda knew it would double post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 Semi-update: Thanks for all the suggestions! I have been told that a local farm stand has a glass case with bees in it (with an exit to the outside). That should be safe for DD, and it should let us observe the hive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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