Natural Apiary Apiarist Polycotton Suit Includes 1 x Non-Flammable Fencing Veil Total Body Sting Protection for Professional & Beginner Beekeepers, XS, Camouflage

Great for fighting wasps and hornets, with prep. Protected me against a nest of 100+ European hornets. I have been stung by up to nine yellowjackets (dove into the lake to escape). However, in my old age, even getting stung by a couple can make me a little woozy. I even have an epipen now. But one sting from these creeps was itchy for 2 weeks and left a big hole where I got stung. It was time for some Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).Inevitably, yellowjackets will build a forward operating base in the backyard of my house or lake house and, inevitably, I'll won't see it before they send out the troops. They usually leave a hole to their nest and make it easy to ram one of those foggers down it and it's game over. Well, nature sent out the big boys this time.I was spreading mulch toward dusk and got tagged on the arm. Knowing "that feeling" I took off like a bat outta hell. It swelled up more than I ever had and migrated down my arm. Still hurts. During recon the next day, I found them in one of our many hollow trees (high water table) and was, "What the heck?". They looked like yellowjackets on steroids. Found out they were European hornets. They were a first for me. They're not supposed to be as aggressive as our domestic bald-face (black-and-white) hornets. I will disagree. It's been over a week and it still itches and they have chased me twice. Of course, I did empty a whole, 20-oz can of wasp spray at the opening to no avail.It's war I tell you. On a note, these little lovelies fly at night and are attracted by light, so there is no "safe" time to attack their nest and they are in trees or other places you can't just bomb. Suit required.So I used this suit along with a pair of welders gloves since regular bee gloves wouldn't protect me in this instance (long stingers). Had some welding sleeves to cover the gaps in the gloves and a generous application of 40% DEET where clothing met (gloves and boots). Popped a fogger and held it to the hole when I realized the bottom of the nest opening was right there. So another, 20-oz can of wasp spray and another fogger, if you please.I had at least 25 hornets madder than hell swarming around me and was completely safe. Polyurethane foamed up the slit in the tree and applied a generous amount of boric acid in case they decide to dig through.I will note that the card that comes with this says to register with the website for instructions. There are none, whether you register or not. It would have been helpful though it's mostly intuitive except the elastic loop on the sleeve (I put it on around my pinky). But info on care and cleaning would be nice. Due to hornets, I had to keep the hat well centered since it doesn't completely on its own, so I used a hood (for top and back) with a baseball cap (for the front). I am 5'9" and weigh 185 lb and got an XL to make sure it was baggy and boy was it, but that's okay. I didn't want it stretching tight against me anywhere and it didn't. I'll admit I was nervous going out there to face them, but I made a few trips just to observe until it started getting hot. I will be using this for all my bee fighting events and will offer to do so for my neighbors.

We're into our seventh year of backyard beekeeping. I've been using a Dickies cotton jumpsuit with round hat circular veil which has been fine... until the bees are in a particularly p*****off mood. Last week while working with a queen less hive, the girls were not having it and found their way into my veil (that's fun) and stung my face and neck six times. So yeah, it was time to up my beesuit game. Read lots of reviews and recommendations then decided the Natural Apiary Apiarist was a good fit for my use and budget.The biggest uncertainty was the sizing. Here's my stats:Weight: 181 lbs.Height: 6'Back Length (Collar to Crotch): 30-1/2"Chest: 38-1/2"Waist: 41"Inseam: 30-1/2"Arm Length: 34"The size calculator gave me an "uncertain" or XS, and I knew that was wrong because I usually wear a Large. Conventional wisdom seems to be to buy one size up from normal so I initially purchased an XL. That was definitely swimming on me so I exchanged it for a Large. That fits beautifully, loose enough to fit plenty of clothes underneath and yet still accommodate light clothes in hot weather. I hope my stats and fit will help other shoppers. No barbs at Natural Apiary - it's a hard job to size gear for so many different body shapes.The suit itself is brilliant! I love the construction and the integral fencing veil. It will definitely give me confidence working with upset bees. The velcro closures are well engineered and we didn't see any place for bees to enter. The veil material seems sturdy which is notable because so many other reviewers felt it was flimsy. Perhaps they upgraded the material. Lots of accessible pockets. The suit is definitely cooler than the Dickies all-cotton.The final test will be how sting resistant the polycotton is. I never had a sting through the heavy Dickies cotton suit. I went to visit the girls in it but they are in a happy mood. So I'll know more after the next inspection.

When I purchased this suit back in 2019 it was $112. I would not spend the amount it is now for this suit. It is good but not that good. Don't go in expecting to never get stung through this suit either. Wear proper clothing under it or you can be stung through it. I was wearing a thin moisture wicking shirt on under it while dealing with an extremely aggressive hive. I had to dispatch the hive and was stung 4 times through the suit.Only twice has a bee found its way into the suit so far.Only complaint I would truely say is the mesh over time does come apart making holes for bees to get in. Nothing a little duck tape can't fix until I use a screen patch kit on it.

Love my new suit

Sehr gut sitzendes Kopfteil (schlackert nicht herum, wie häufig bei anderen Jacken), fester Baumwollstoff, sehr gut umschließende Arm- und Beinbündchen mit Gummis zum Halt geben. Mir ist der Anzug zu lang (Gr. S), da ich sehr klein (155 cm) bin, was aber bei der Arbeit nicht stört, sonst gibt er genug Bewegungsfreiheit. Minuspunkt: Ein, zwei Taschen mehr, wäre toll - und auch verschließbare ( Bienen verstecken sich gerne in offene Taschen). Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit diesem Anzug, würde ihn wieder kaufen. Lieferung und Verpackung waren top.

I bought this suit to help a local bee keeper remove honey bee hives from the roof of our house. So far we have discovered 5 hives. The suit works very well. I was standing right beside one of the hives while the beekeeper was trying to capture the queen. I was covered from head to toe with angry bees and was not stung once. It was a little disconcerting have them buzzing angrily near my head. I bought the XXL size as I thought it was best to have the suit baggy. I have not tried washing the suit yet. The beekeeper was very impressed with the quality of the suit I bought (he helped me seal it up). I would certainly recommend this suit and would not hesitate to buy items from this company again.

J'utilise cette tenue régulièrement et pas de souci majeur. Les fermetures éclair, souvent le point faible de ces tenues, me semblent solides. Le fait de pour enlever aisément le haut est un plus. Facile à nettoyer.