Bee Alert!

[Gliucoza]

I am deathly afraid of bees.I believe it started when I was 5 and a bee stung me in the ear. Now I run when I see one and scream if it lands on me. One time on a beach, in April, I jumped into freezing water after being chased by one. Plz help me conquer this illogical fear. If you have any bee stories-Share.

[Sloth the Enduring]

I have lots of bee stories, none of which will help you get over your phobia.

Bees don't chase you, they really have little interest in people as long as you leave them alone and don't act crazy. Also getting stung doesn't hurt that much, but it itches like crazy the next day.

[Jenn]

I have two bee hives (raw honey ftw!) bees usually could are less about you if leave them be. If you are deathly allergic you should carry an epi pen with you at all times.

As a tip if you run/swat/flail around they are more likely to peruse you than if you just calmly walk away.

[Havock]

Don't feel too bad, I have an irrational fear of Butterflies everyone just loves to tease me about. I've tried everything to get rid of it. Gone to Butterfly gardens, Butterfly Museums, discussed the possibility of a past life where I was killed by a swarm of flesh eating butterflies. I've learned to accept it as part of myself and to try not to run screaming like a girl when I see a butterfly, espcially around my kids.

[---]

What they said. My husband hates bees, due to bad experiences as a kid, but I don't mind them. Don't bother them, they won't bother you.

Now wasps and yellow jackets on the other hand... O_O

[Evicious]

Also terrified of wasps (honey bees, not so much - they're actually very calm so long as you're not panicking), and have had many run-for-your-life-screaming-like-a-little-boy moments. I HATE WASPS!!! I've learned to control my reactions as time has gone on, but I still come away from every experience feeling like my heart is going to burst out from my chest. And I have zero qualms about ducking and backing away as quickly as possible in the opposite direction while using my 'command voice', "Soldier, I want you to kill this thing - do it now, soldier - kill the wasp, soldier - THAT'S A FUCKING ORDER, PRIVATE!!!" :-P Rank has its priviledges, as they say. X-D

Seriously though, can't help but I can empathize.

[Rhiarti]

Yup, one wasp trapped in my six-years-old nightdress and I was mentally scarred for life! I'm normally pretty good at rationalising my way out of these things, but 30+ years after that one sting, I'm still so phobic of them I won't open the windows more than a crack at home no matter how hot it gets...

This is what happened last time one actually got inside. Safe to suggest I... may have gone a teensy bit nuts with hairspray and wasp killer!

Still, at least they have the potential to sting me, even if I've probably experienced far worse pain while sewing and don't have any allergy (that I know of) to the stings. If you want a really irrational fear... uncovered toilet cisterns. Literally can't be in the same room as one, and get anxious even waiting outside while somebody else takes the lid off. Absolutely no idea why!

[Georges]

I got stung when I was a kid, at that age where kids make a HUGE fuss over any little thing that will get them attention. Maybe I was 5? And was terrified for years afterward. In my college years, I developed ridiculous allergies and allergy-triggered asthma, which just made me EVEN MOAR TERRIFIED of stinging insects, because omg, what if I'm allergic????

Luckily(?), for me, terrified means frozen on the spot instead of flailing or even capable of walking away. I'm convinced this is why I never got stung again. After I moved to The Middle of Nowhere, I learned to chill out enough to walk away. After a couple of years here, surrounded by the least aggressive stinging insects in the world, I've learned to mostly ignore them. (We have jellowjackets, hornets, wasps, and a variety of bees around. None seem to be aggressive. I assume they're all hippies.)

Last week, I got stung. Twice, judging by the marks. (A bee got caught in my clothing. So, I can't even consider it aggression.)

Here's the crazy thing.

It hurt less than a horsefly/deerfly bite. It hurt less than a shot.

90 minutes later, when I finally felt it was safe to declare that I'm not allergic, all I could think was, holy crap, I can't believe I was scared of that.

But now I have to remind myself that just because I got stung, doesn't mean I need to worry about bees again. I've been kind of flinching away from them since I got stung.

Also, I'm glad Sloth-Like posted about the itching. I totally didn't expect it, and was kind of wondering if something was wrong/infected when mine itched. (It doesn't itch anymore, but it's still visible... I'm a slow healer.)

[Siferiax]

Oh that's not irrational... I got a freaking irrational fear of anything that buzzes and has the ability to sting.

Basically anything but a mosquito can drive me up the wall.

I've never been stung or anything.

Yeah there's really no reason. I'm also freaking afraid of needles... maybe it has something to do with each other.

People try to prevent me from freaking out. If I'm not sitting I walk away unless they come after me.

If I'm sitting? FULL BLOWN PANIC. Hasn't actually happened, but I did almost flip tables to get away.

Back in 2003 I had a full freak out with tears and just needing to be held in place by my mom.

Yup, not so pleasant.

I've gotten somewhat calmer, but still I freak out. I try to walk away (standing still is impossible for me), but that doesn't always go over very well.

I'm just really glad for our summer being screwed up and not hot and thus there not being any wasps around.

But there's this bumblebee hanging around my parents house. I don't dare getting out of the car, I swear. Yes a bumblebee, I know.

Not a helpful post, but just saying you're not alone!!

[Siferiax]

PS. yes I freak out over houseflies until I realize it's a fly.......

[airen123]

I've been stung by both bees and wasps. Not fun. The most memorable story is I was sitting Indian style on the floor of my bedroom, reading a book, my ankle was itching and I would idly scratch at it. So I finally get up and realize I've been sitting on a wasp for a good part of an hour. The thing was stinging my ankle as I slowly crushed it to death.

[silverpeacock]

I've only been stung once, but it was really quite memorable. I was on a "family roadtrip" and was about 14-15... and we were driving the cabot trail. (Boring unless you like scenery... at that age I didn't). We had stopped at a lookout, and I was just getting back into the car, when I felt this tickle near my bum. I brushed it away, and then got stung. Right on my ass. Then I had the joy of having to sit in the car (right after being stung) for about 4 hours, with my parents waking me up every time I fell asleep because they had no idea if I was allergic or not.

Not a fun few days, but it is quite funny now.

[Raincloak]

Things that buzz give me the creeps, but only when they're ON me (or in my face or around my ears). If they're just buzzing on by, I have no problem.

Honeybees, as above posters said, are actually pretty mellow. You can recognize them by their short, fat, fuzzy orange-brown striped bodies. They die when stinging and they have work to do, so they will usually mind their own business unless you actively attack them or bother the hive. (If a bee lands on you, do not try to brush or push it off. Shake, don't touch. If you accidentally crush the bee, it will release a pheromone that alerts nearby bees to attack.) You can sit right in front of a flower with a bee on it, enjoy watching the bee do its thing, and it will fly away while completely ignoring you. They're really cool creatures. If you hang around in front of the hive, the bees will usually just go around you unless you're blocking their flight path.

A bee that bumps you with its head is warning you to move out of its way; don't panic or try to swat it, just move away. You don't need to scream and run; the bee will not be impressed. Move away calmly so you don't trip and hurt yourself (or the bee; remember, hurting the bee will upset it and possibly alarm the hive if it's nearby). If you're not near a hive and a random bee comes to investigate you, it probably thinks you look or smell like a flower (bright colors or perfume can attract them). Just stand still and wait; it'll go away pretty soon, when it figures out you have no nectar or pollen.

Wasps and yellowjackets (which have smooth, long bodies with narrow waists, and bright yellow and black colors) are more aggressive and nasty. I don't like those suckers. Yellowjackets seem to be attracted to meat at picnics; I have no idea why. Do they, like, lay their eggs in carrion or something?

Remember too that a sting is just a sting; it's no worse than a minor burn or scrape, and the pain goes away in a few days. Unless you are allergic to insect venom, there's no real reason to be scared of a sting, and some people even swear it's a cure for arthritis. (Beekeepers also say that the more stings you get, the less you notice them. Your body may develop some resistance to the venom in time.)

If this phobia is a real problem, you could get rid of it by desensitization. That means expose yourself to the source of the fear (bees) until you're used to them. A counselor, or just some time spent with an apiarist, could help you there.

[---]

Great post, Raincloak. I've stood about 2 feet away from flowers, watching the bees do their thing. It's kinda cool, really. They just go about, minding their own business. Bumblebees especially make me smile. I think they're kinda cute, in an entymological sort of way.

[Rhiarti]

Lovely post, Raincloak - thank you! I never knew that about bees bumping you with their heads. That's... kind of adorable, actually!

Wish it translated to wasps. They just seem to keep coming at you now matter how calmly you try to move away.

I guess the whole "it's no worse than a scratch" thing is what separates a fear from a phobia. I know I've caused myself way worse pain just with sewing! Somehow, no amount of trying to talk sense to myself seems to work! (Though I had an inadvertent aversion therapy moment one particularly bad summer which completely cured me for that summer only... no idea why the phobia came back.)

[Siferiax]

Thanks for the info Raincloak!!

Maybe I can be less panicky with bees now.

Only wasps will probably get me to panic every single time.

[Thilde]

This is what happened last time one actually got inside. Safe to suggest I... may have gone a teensy bit nuts with hairspray and wasp killer!

Rhiarti, this reminds me of an incident I had with a spider on the carpet....and a bottle of bleach. o_0 Had no idea at the time that what I was frantically spraying was actual bleach. And it was right smack in the middle of the floor...not in a nice edge area where you can pull the sofa over it. How I got any of my deposit back when I moved out is beyond me.

[Oogiem]

Well I think the fear is totally rational.

I've been stung once by a bee, ended up in the hospital for over a week. I now carry an epi pen all the time. I've been stung by wasps twice, both times I totally freaked out, started screaming, sat down, and got my epi pen out. I was smart enough not to run but still it was horrible and I was miserable for days. I can get stung by a mosquito and have a hive and welt before I can make it back to the house to put cortisone on it and take benadryl.

Just to give a bit more credence to the fear, if you live in an area that has been invaded by the African bees then calm is not going to help, they will attack in force to defend whatever they perceive as their space and will follow you and kill you. And contrary to popular belief, you can in fact become allergic to bee stings and other poisons after a single exposure with no problems, so if you have ever had an allergy or allergic type reaction to anything it's best to assume you will either develop an allergy to insect venom or already have one.

Me, I'm totally paranoid about all stinging insects, and will meet them with as much death and destruction at my disposal.

[SusieBlu]

I am scared on Ladybugs. I got bit by one when I was in college (I know that it could have been a beetle that looked like one but I swear to you it was a ladybug). See ladybugs are a natural pesticide they eat other bugs so why couldn't they bite me. Beside they swarm too. I don't go running screaming when I see one but I am not going to go and pick one up or let it crawl on me. I don't even point them out to people to prevent others from picking them up.

I have no problems with bees. I am just leave wasps and yellow jackets alone. My husband would run away from them though. He broke a window once trying to kill a bee. Don't feel too bad.

[Khep]

I've never had to much problems with bees/wasps/stingy-flying-things. It may have to do with the fact that I've been stung. A LOT.

Kicked over a yellow jacket nest in the middle of a brier patch (4-5 stings/bites whatever they do.)

Got stuck underneath a latticed porch and knocked down a wasp nest (9 total stings)

1-2 random bee stings every summer since I can remember

the latest was from when I was standing fire guard for an aircraft engine run. Apparently bees hate running propellers.

I can definitely say, after a lifetime of being stung they're not so bad (unless you're allergic. Then they're horrible). Bees tend to be of the "I wont mess with you if you don't mess with me" mentality. Wasps though, can go to hell.

[Atalan]

I've been stung a few times and it's not that bad. Worst one must have stung right around a nerve, though, because I had a numb spot for about 4 hours after where I was stung.

Best bee story I have happened to my friend. He was out camping and got really thirsty. The camp had safe to drink water out of some spigots around the camp so he went looking for one to fill his water bottle. He finds it, turns it on, and bees start flying out. Not one to panic he takes the most reasonable option and turns it off. The bees keep coming out so he just booked it out of there.