November Notes from a Central Oregon Apiary

The flowers are pretty near gone.  I’m blowing out the irrigation and trimming the dead plants.  The hummingbirds have headed south.  Some of us are tuning our skis, snowmobiles and other snow play items.

With your hives, there isn’t much left to do this month.  If you’re going to insulate the top, sides and/or bottom, now’s the last chance.  Same thing for entrance reducers or mouse guards.  In doing this, I try pretty hard not to disturb the propolis seals between boxes and in various cracks and holes (your bees may not be able to fix the damage before winter hits).  Then a big rock on top, as we do have occasional wind here in Central Oregon.  I do like to watch on warmer days as they still go out looking for that last little bit of nectar, or perhaps a final “elimination” before the winter really sets in.

My main activity in November is twofold.  I finish bottling honey I’ve extracted.  I like to store it in bottles, rather than the bulk buckets mostly because it’s easier to re-liquefy without warming the whole bucket several times, only the jars you’re working on.  And much easier and quicker to mete out in the final containers for Christmas, personal use or sales than bottling each time needed.

The second, and probably more important activity is a self debrief.  This isn’t beating yourself up, or even patting yourself on the back.  It’s honestly asking yourself what worked well (kept the mite levels below 1%, used ½ doses of formic acid, modulated the timing of inspections to better match the need of the colony), what didn’t work (too many hives spread out, couple of colonies just never thrive, colonies in areas where irrigation was turned off really had issues).

Finally, if you celebrate it, enjoy the Thanksgiving holidays with your family and/or friends.  That’s probably where most of us get the most satisfaction and love.

Allen Engle

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When the Honey is Not So Sweet: Managing Bee Stings

By Nancy Pietroski

Stings are a common and not unexpected hazard of beekeeping.  If a particular honeybee stings, it will only happen once as they die after stinging, and can’t attack repeatedly like hornets and wasps. However, a person can receive multiple stings at the same time. With the sting a venomous toxin is released, which can cause an allergic reaction in the unfortunate victim. The degree of reaction to the sting depends whether someone is allergic to the venom.

Initial Management of Stings

If a sting occurs, do the following as soon as possible:

• *        Remove the stinger by scraping it off with a fingernail or credit card
• *        Wash the area with soap and water
• *        Apply a cold compress or ice to decrease the amount of toxin absorbed into the skin ,and to decrease swelling
• *        To neutralize the acidity and initial pain of the venom, these home remedies used immediately on the stung area offer rapid relief: honey! (cover with a bandage), make a paste with baking soda and water, apple cider vinegar, meat tenderizer, toothpaste

Management of Sting Reactions

A mild reaction to a sting can cause burning pain, redness, and swelling at the site. A more moderate reaction can cause substantially more redness and swelling at the site. These reactions may become more intense with each sting.  After the above has been done:

• *        Take an antihistamine like diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton) to ease the itching (because bee venom contains histamine). These are older antihistamines and can cause drowsiness, but they work better than second generation ones like fexofenadine (Allegra), loratadine (Claritin), or cetirizine (Zyrtec).
• *        Take an anti-inflammatory agent/pain reliever like ibuprofen (ex. Motrin, Advil) or naproxen (ex. Alleve). Although acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a pain reliever, it is not an anti-inflammatory, so will not help with swelling.

*        Use hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion, or something with a topical anesthetic (like benzocaine) to ease redness, itching, swelling, or pain.

*        Herbal oils/creams like aloe vera, tea tree, witch hazel, calendula, or lavender may soothe the sting site.

*        Try not to scratch the sting area as it could make the reaction worse and may lead to infection at the site.

• Anaphylaxis
• A more serious reaction can occur after multiple stings at the same time, but is more likely to occur with a sting after a more pronounced reaction to a previous sting. This serious reaction can cause lip, eye, face, tongue or throat swelling/constriction, difficulty breathing or swallowing, itching, flushing, hives, nausea and vomiting, stomach cramps, or dizziness. These may indicate anaphylaxis, which is a true medical emergency. The only treatment for anaphylaxis is to immediately call 911 and administer epinephrine, such as EpiPen, if it is available. A person who has had a previous moderate reaction to a sting should be carrying epinephrine; this needs a prescription from a doctor. If epinephrine is not available, emergency personnel will administer it when they arrive on scene, along with other medical measures, but it may be too late.
• EpiPen and other products such as AuviQ and Adrenaclick are autoinjectors, which are a syringe and needle that injects a single dose of epinephrine when pressed against the thigh, even through clothing. If you carry an EpiPen or one of the other products, know how to use it and make sure those closest to you know how to use it! Those who have been prescribed epinephrine autoinjectors always carry two pens, because if the first dose does not work in 5 minutes, another one should be administered. Even if the reaction subsides after administration of the pen, follow-up monitoring in a medical facility should be done.

If you are carrying an Epi-Pen for yourself and someone you are with has what you think is an anaphylactic reaction, but hasn’t been prescribed the Epi-Pen, should you administer it? For perspective, bee stings are responsible for 20% of all anaphylactic reactions, and people who have had a more intense reaction to a previous bee sting have a 25-65% chance of experiencing anaphylaxis with the next sting.  Although legally an epinephrine autoinjector should only be administered to the person for whom it was prescribed, it is not unreasonable in an emergency situation to use another person’s pen if an anaphylactic reaction is occurring. If you are going to be repeatedly in a situation where stings are occurring (like beekeeping), familiarize yourself with the use of an epinephrine autoinjector (instructions are on the label of the pen, too) in case you ever need to use it. Visit one of the product websites, which contain useful information on recognition of anaphylaxis and administration of epinephrine, such as https://www.epipen.com/en.

Allergy Shots

If you've had a serious reaction to a bee sting or multiple stings, you should see an allergist for testing and possible allergy shots to decrease your response the next time you may get stung. Consider wearing a medical alert bracelet that identifies your allergy to bee or other insect stings.

Thank you to Nancy & Allen for these May Notes!