Stung by a bee? It can be of benefit to you

Bee stings are a communal terror in spring and summer but Ruth Meredith, a secluded beekeeper in Smithfield, have faith in more or less stings can truly be worthy for your health. Meredith reflects herself an apitherapy beekeeper, one who studies and nurtures bee harvests for their therapeutic value. She even medicates herself regular with a cocktail of self-prescribed bee tonics.

Although the American Medical Association as well the Food and Drug Admiration have not confirmed or permitted these treatments, Meredith is an advocate.

She takes pollen tablets like daily vitamins, a material “high in protein, amino acids, vitamins and helps with seasonal allergies,” Meredith said. She indorses to her family use of a tube to breathe in the vapors inside of a beehive to get rid of pneumonia and bronchitis, as well other respiratory conditions. Royal jelly, an element created by worker bees to nourish newly hatched, and queen bee larvae, it has anti-viral, antiseptic and antibacterial qualities.

Apitherapy approves its use for many wide range conditions, lack of sexual desire in women, impotence and hair loss, also including anorexia.

Propolis, discovered in tree sap and bees used this to coat their beehive; this can be used as a natural remedy to treat burns, allergies, sore throats and some forms of cancer. And then there is the bee sting. “I have arthritis from an injury that causes certain joints to ache,” Meredith said. “When that’s problematic, I give myself a couple of stings in that joint and it helps relieve the pain.”

Apitherapy science also inspires bee stings for the treatment of both Lyme and Parkinson’s diseases. Meredith stated, adding it’s been helpful for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder which is also recognized as PTSD. The venom from the sting gets rid of the bacteria and several parasites, and as well harvests cortisol to encourage healing.

Constructing a bee sting on command is a lot easier than people contemplate. Just capture a small number in a jar, grasp hold of their heads with tweezers, and with an aide’s help, position along the spinal column. An irate bee will do the rest. Meredith has remained a beekeeper for about three years, but didn’t move too fast for a couple of years so she could as much as possible.

Also allow her time for her three children to get old enough to respect the bees’ place in the yard. Currently, her son Ben who is 18, Ralegh at age 16, and Luke who is 12. They think their mom has been stung way too many times. Her husbands laughs off the entire matter, and with thousands of bees residing, nearly a dozen hives in the backyard, and several at the front door, few solicitors and neighbors come by.

She has been stung while working with the hives but hardly ever. As soon as stings do happen it’s always female or a worker bee. The males also known as drones predominately mate with other bees, but there after only with a virgin queen. After the bee stings you, the stinger stays lodged in your skin, causing the bee’s insides to be eviscerated, killing the insect.

However, wasps, not like honeybees, just sting and then simply fly off or come back to sting again. Meredith practices with top bar hives, which consent combs to be positioned on one layer of the box different from the similar Langstroth, which permits hives to be stacked four or five boxes high.

Spring time is a major time for beekeepers. It’s when bees are full of activity: collecting pollen, nursing their young, making honey to survive on through the extensive winter in the future. Queen bees produce up to 1,000 eggs a day during the spring and summer. Spring is the time thankfully when bee stings are the least.

“Where there’s a strong nectar flow going, there’s little danger,” she said. “In summer, with not a lot of blooming and little honey being made and a bunch of unemployed worker bees hanging out at the hive, and they become a little agitated.” Meredith does not retail honey but offers beginner bee clusters and encourages bee assembly. She profits extra honey to the hives to increase more bees.

Meredith also expedites regular seminars at Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and McDonald’s Garden Centers in Hampton. She interchanges at each location regular, but can be convinced to make house calls in circumstances of disasters.

“Each week, it’s important to check on your hive to make sure the colony is healthy in the spring, once a month in summer,” Meredith said. “Check on the queen, make sure she’s still laying eggs, add another bar if needed. And make sure your bees are not getting ready to swarm.” Bee’s swarms, typically in line f to congested environments, often results in an intimidating looking group of untamed bees in a nearby yard. When it occurs, “Don’t go out there and spray with a can of Raid,” Meredith said. “Call the fire department or extension agent who will call a beekeeper to safely remove them.”

When Colonies collapse, a worldwide pandemic will happen, and it will be caused by Varroa mite that sources a virus that kills bees, said Jennifer Berry, an examiner from the University of Georgia. Berry recently spoke at a Virginia State Beekeepers Association conference in Smithfield; she also stated overuse of chemicals on crops, shrubs, and lawns could contribute to the problem.

Fall is the greatest period for novice beekeepers to start doing their studies. Data and reference resources are obtainable at local libraries or concluded with an extension agent. Gear purchases and bee hive building should be completed over the winter. Beginner colonies ought to be in the dwelling by the spring but buy native bees, to avoid the extent of diseases or alien strains like Africanized or killer bees that have occupied the U.S. from the southern hemisphere. “Beekeeping is a good pastime if done properly,” Meredith said. “It’s relaxing, calms you down and can be therapy for many ailments.”