Don't panic if you encounter a stationary swarm of bees. The bees will sting only if threatened. But keep your distance. Moving swarms can pose a higher sting risk, and should be avoided.
Don't be Scared. You've likely heard the advice that if a bee comes near you, stand still and it will fly away. That's true. These creatures only sting people in self-defense or to protect their nests or hives.
(1) Despite their differences, one thing they do have in common is their ability to inflict a painful punishment. The good news is that wasps aren't always aggressive, and they typically only sting when they feel threatened. (2) If you stay out of their way, they'll stay out of yours.
Female bees have stingers, but they are not aggressive. They only sting if provoked by touching or handling. If you try to shoo carpenter bees away, they may fly closer to you, but there is no need to feel threatened.
Make sudden movements. Bees usually sting people for one of two reasons, and both of those reasons have to do with feeling threatened. They sting people who either wander too close to their nests… or startle them with sudden movements. If you see bees around you, try not to move too quickly.
So while bees cannot necessarily “smell” fear, they do have a way of detecting it and communicating that fear with the hive! One way bees do this is by emitting a specific pheromone to the rest of the hive, which is a chemical that alerts the rest of the colony that there is a threat.
Honeybees will likely even give you a warning before stinging you, so make sure you watch for these warning signs. One of the warning signs we call “bee bumping,” which is exactly what it sounds like: the honeybee will bump into you to show that it is getting agitated.
Bees do sting, occasionally. However, they usually only sting if they feel threatened.
Run. If a colony of bees thinks you're a predator, it first sends out a few guard bees to warn you away by "head butting" you, according to a guide by the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service's Saguaro National Park.
Know what to do when a bee is near you: Don't swat at it or you could send it into defense mode. Rather, calmly move away in a straight line until you reach an enclosed shelter. Even then, some more aggressive bees may still sting you. Don't try to hide from bees by diving into water.
Wasps and honeybees can remember individual faces.
If you take only one thing from this article let it be this: wasps sting you because they feel threatened. If you get a little too close to a wasp nest, or even worse, if you accidentally step on and destroy part of a nest, expect some painful stings to be coming your way.
So, if you see a wasp, simply stand as still as possible. Wasps are known for going on their way without bothering humans if they don't bother them. If you are chased by a wasp or even a swarm of wasps, the best thing to do is to run in a straight line about 50 to 100 feet.
Generally, bees and wasps don't bother humans unless provoked. In fact, according to a risk analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health, your chance of being stung by a bee is about 6 million to one.
Just run indoors as fast as possible. A bee can obtain speeds of from 12 to 15 miles per hour, but most healthy humans can outrun them. So, RUN!
Wear clean clothing and bathe daily. (Sweat may anger bees.) Wear clothing to cover as much of the body as possible. Avoid flowering plants when possible.
Bees also have a distaste for lavender oil, citronella oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, lemon, and lime. These are all topical defenses you can add to your skin to keep bees away. Unlike other flying insects, bees are not attracted to the scent of humans; they are just curious by nature.
Some people have tried to jump in a body of water, such as a swimming pool. However, the killer bees have been known to wait above the water for the victim to re-surface, and then attack again.
Do not jump into a body of water. That not only increases the chances that you will get stung when coming up for air, but also your risk of drowning, experts say. Angry bees may wait for you to come out and can track you via bubbles of carbon dioxide you might release when underwater, Nieh said.
If a bee lands on you, don't make any sudden movements
Although no matter how lightly you brush them off, there is always a risk of getting stung by aggravating them. So it's best if you remind yourself that they are not built to sting you and just let them move along on their own.
* Bees decide whether to sting, or not to sting based on the presence and concentration of an alarm pheromone. The likelihood for each bee to sting depends on the pheromone concentration and is highest at intermediate concentrations.
Angry bees tend to zip quickly through the air, sometimes even bouncing off your veil. Extremely agitated bees will cluster around your head. They react to your carbon dioxide and tend to go towards your face. You may even see some cling to the mesh and press their abdomens into it in an attempt to sting.
Darker colors such as red appear black to bees, and since black is the absence of color bees are not naturally attracted to plants with red hues. Also, some tubular flowers are not attractive to bees because the shape is not conducive to pollination. Choosing red plants will discourage bees in the garden.