Getting stung by bees sucks! Especially if you are wearing a beekeeping suit. It doesn't make sense. As a beekeeper, one of your most important pieces of equipment is a quality sting proof bee suit. Because yes, bees can sting through clothes. Today I'll help you find the best beekeeping suit.
As of February 2024, there are over 400+ beekeeping suits sold on Amazon alone. Many of these have different features, fabrics, and construction that make purchasing difficult. It can be annoying.
So how are you supposed to know which one is the best?
Last year I spent hundreds of dollars on beekeeping suits and some of them just plain sucked. I went through and investigated tons of different bee suits for sale so that you don't have to... and here's my top 10 Best Beekeeping Suits of 2024.
While you're here, I want to show you my youtube channel, here, I'm showing you how to install a package of bees.
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Looking for a suit that is sure to protect you from wasp and hornets? Click here.
These beekeeping suits should all work for yellow jackets and other stinging insects. It's important to make sure the suit is completely zipped up with gloves and boots with the pants tucked in.
Make sure there are no openings or ways for an insect to enter the suit or you could be stung!
It doesn't hurt to wear a thick layer of clothing underneath the suit just to be safe.
Now, before I waste any more of your time, here is the best beekeeping suit to buy.
Farmer's Pick
Foxhound Bee Company, Sting Stopper Professional Ventilated Beekeeping Suit,Olive Green
I like this suit for a couple of reasons.
1. Ventilation -Beekeeping is a hot job, especially if you live in a warm climate. Honey production is in the summer months, this is when the bulk of beekeeper's work occurs. Beekeepers are outside lifting heavy boxes of honey outside for long periods of time.
This is why you want a suit that is "ventilated". Ventilated suits are usually made with three layers of "polycotton mesh" which allows for air flow, while still offering superior protection from stings. This vented bee suit will keep you much cooler than a standard solid cotton suit or jacket. The three layer design will offer superior protection from stings, you could call it a hornet suit.
2. Stains - Due to the nature of beekeeping, your suit will tend to become soiled very quickly with propolis, dirt, moisture, and other outside elements. A white suit will look very dirty in a short amount of time. I like the darker colors that don't show dirt as bad.
3. Veil Design - The round veil that comes with this suit offers the most visibility compared to other hood designs.
Types of Beekeeping Protection
The beekeeper suit is important for any serious beekeeper because, yes, honeybees can sting through clothes!
Bee suit variety has become much like the millions of personal drinking water jugs out there nowadays. By that I mean, there are only a few different features and variations in a beekeeping suit, but there are literally hundreds of suppliers and styles.
Most of the time its the same design with a different logo on it. But if you look closely, by the end of this article you'll be able to tell the difference between a good quality professional beekeeping suit and a piece of junk that nobody wants to wear.
There are some key beekeeping suit features that all beekeepers prefer, which we'll discuss here.
Beekeeping Suit vs Beekeeping Jacket
There are two main types of beekeeping protection, suits and jackets. A beekeeping suit includes protection for both your upper and lower body. They can be a separate pair of protective pants with a jacket, or they can be a jumpsuit style that zips up in the front. Think of it as a body beekeeping suit.
A beekeeping jacket protects only the upper body. They are made with the same material and protection as a suit, but it is only a jacket with elastic waste at the bottom to keep bees from entering. Jackets must be worn with with thick long pants, or beekeeping pants.
Just like everything there are drawbacks to both types of beekeeping protection. We'll cover jackets in another post, this article is strictly for suits.
Beekeeping Round Veil vs Fencing Veil
Head protection from bees is called a veil. Both beekeeping suits and jackets have two main styles of veils that are offered. There are round veils or fencing veils, most suits come with a veil that zips onto the suit.
A fencing veil is a self supporting veil with a zippered screen that opens in front of your face. A round veil is a screen that is supported by a round brim hat. The screen usually zips to the suit or drapes over your shoulders with elastic straps.
We'll cover hats, hoods, and veils in another post. This article covers beekeeping suits with round veils or fencing veils that are attached to the suit in one piece. Some of the suits come with both style veils.
Top 10 Best Beekeeping Suits for Comfort and Safety
Farmer's Pick
Foxhound Bee Company, Sting Stopper Professional Ventilated Beekeeping Suit,Olive Green
I like this suit for a couple of reasons.
1. Ventilation -Beekeeping is a hot job, especially if you live in a warm climate. Honey production is in the summer months, this is when the bulk of beekeeper's work occurs. Beekeepers are outside lifting heavy boxes of honey outside for long periods of time.
This is why you want a suit that is "ventilated". Ventilated suits are usually made with three layers of "polycotton mesh" which allows for air flow, while still offering superior protection from stings. This suit will keep you much cooler than a standard solid cotton suit or jacket.
2. Stains - Due to the nature of beekeeping, your suit will tend to become soiled very quickly with propolis, dirt, moisture, and other outside elements. A white suit will look very dirty in a short amount of time. I like the darker colors that don't show dirt as bad.
3. Veil Design - The hood on this suit offers the most visibility compared to other hood designs.
Best Premium Beekeeping Suit
OZ ARMOUR Beekeeping Suit Jacket & Trouser Pant with 2 Veils Fencing & Round Brim Hat Ventilated 3 Layer Mesh Costume
Here is the most expensive beekeeping suit with the highest number of positive reviews right now.
This suit comes as a jacket with a separate pair of beekeeping pants. (most suits are jumpsuit design with a full front zipper.) This is a suit with round veil and fencing veil so you have options to pick the style veil you like best.
Having the jacket and pants separate gives you more options. You could wear just the jacket with some thick pants if you're in a hurry, just grab your jacket and go. Or if you're wearing shorts that day, you can easily throw on the beekeeping pants over your shorts and you're good.
However, this hood design is not ideal, you can see there is not good visibility on the top of the hood. There is a piece of white cloth covering the top portion of the hood. Hoods tend to fall down towards the front of your head, causing poor visibility.
I'm glad they offer the hat veil with this suit as well, because the hat veil will offer much better visibility and comfort.
Best Budget Beekeeping Suit
Beekeeping Suit Professional Beekeeping Protective Suit Full Body Protective Equipment Beekeeping Clothes for Men Women
Here is a suit that will protect you from bees at the very lowest price point available.
This is a very basic beekeeping suit that will get the job done and probably keep you from getting stung. It is solid white cotton material which is going to get very hot in the summer. It will get dirty very easily because of the amount of sweat you'll be creating in this hot cotton suit.
Further, the quality of material and zippers is probably not great. This is a good option for someone brand new to beekeeping that just wants to go on a few hive inspections with a beekeeping friend. Its a good suit to have as a backup, or keep around in case you have someone that wants to help you in the apiary.
More Beekeeping Suit Options
Natural Apiary - Apiarist Beekeeping Suit
Pros: The hood looks like it offers protection while maintaining optimal visibility.
Cons: This suit is camouflage, I don't know why anyone would want a camouflage beekeeping suit. It's not ventilated so this suit is going to get super hot in the summer.
Overall, this is a decent suit. It claims it is flame resistant, which is a strange feature for beekeepers. If that is something you're looking for in a beekeeping suit, this may be the one for you.
Humble Bee 410 Polycotton Bee Suite
Pros: This suit offers a hat veil which is better than hoods in my opinion. The hat will not fall down and cause you to have visibility issues.
Cons: The material is thick cotton. You will be drenched from head to toe in this suit after working your bees in the hot summer heat. The sweat will then turn into mildew if it is not washed after each use. Twas warned!
This is a typical beekeeping suit that is offered pretty much everywhere. There have been improvements to the material with more ventilated designs which provide better comfort to professional beekeepers.
Final Verdict: I would never pay money for a solid cotton beekeeping suit due to the lack of ventilation. I work bees in an area with very hot and humid summers. If you live in an area with mild summers, this suit may work for you.
Ultra Breeze Beekeeping Suit
Pros: Ventilated design will keep you cooler in the hot summer.
Cons: Hooded veil with cotton fabric on the top portion of the hood will cause visibility issues. This veil could be removed and replaced with a round veil like this.
Overall this is a decent suit. I like the ventilated design, but this particular fencing veil design will drive you crazy after a long season of beekeeping.
Xgunion - Professional Beekeeper Suit
Pros: It will protect you from bee stings, that's about it.
Cons: This is solid cotton, with a very basic design. I can tell it's cheaply made, using very low quality zippers and material.
I would not recommend this suit to anyone who is actually trying to be a beekeeper. It's a good suit to have as a backup, or for guests/students to wear when they are joining you on a hive inspection.
Humble Bee 430 Ventilated Beekeeping Suit
Pros: Good hat type veil.
Cons: Not actually ventilated enough
This is a well made beekeeping suit. It will hold up to abuse and get the job done. You will notice if you look closely, the ventilated material is only in a few places up by the chest area. The rest of the suit is thick cotton, so this will still be a hot box for you even though it says it's ventilated.
Mann Lake - Economy Beekeeper Suit
Pros: Well made beekeeping suit with a better visibility designed hood veil.
Cons: Thick cotton, basic beginner suit at not a very budget friendly price.
Good suit to have as a backup, or for students joining on hive inspections. I wouldn't want to wear this suit as my primary every day suit.
Natural Apiary - Max Beekeeping Suit
Pros: Well made suit with both the hat and hood veil options.
Cons: Thick cotton hot box that will have you absolutely dying in the southern hot summer at a high price point.
Would not recommend this suit unless you live in Canada.
Things To Look For In A Professional and Comfortable Beekeeping Suit
Here are the top qualities to look for when selecting your beekeeping suit.
Sting Proof
We all know bees can sting through clothes. The whole point in buying a beekeeping suit is to protect you from stings. It's safe to say that most of the suits we covered should protect you from most stings. However, some of them are better than others. Proper zipper function is critical in preventing stings. The fabric on all of these options above should provide enough thickness to protect you from the sting.
Ventilation
As a beekeeper in the hot and humid United States, this is the top priority for me. Buying a ventilated suit if you live in a warmer climate is a must. The thick cotton suits provide less air flow, and are pretty much like walking around with a thick blanket on your entire body. Not good!
Flexibility
The ventilated suits offer more flexibility as well. Its a lighter material made of nylon and polyester offering a lighter feel compared to some of the more basic suits made out of cotton.
Quick & Easy To Change Into
Beekeeping suits are fairly easy to get in and out of. They aren't as easy as a bee jacket worn with thick pants.
Some people prefer a full beekeeping suit so that they can wear shorts and t shirt underneath and still have full body body protection. The bee suit allows you to be flexible with your attire underneath. Compared to a beekeeping jacket must be worn with thick pants or beekeeping pants.
A high quality beekeeping suit will come with heavy duty zippers, elastic cuffs, and double stitched pockets to hold a hive tool or other items you may need to carry. These features are important to look for for any beekeeper, even those interested in hobby beekeeping.
Professional Beekeeping Suit Components
Most suits you find online come with a hat or hood style veil with a zippered connection to the suit.
Hat and Veil
Hat and veil combos offer superior visibility compared to hood style veils.
Jacket
For the sake of this article, beekeeping jackets will be covered in a later article.
Gloves
Beekeeping gloves are required with suits or jackets. Beekeeping gloves are usually designed as regular gloves with a long protective extension covering your forearms with elastic banding to keep bees from entering.
Regular leather work gloves can be worn if desired, protection is achieved by pulling the jacket sleeves over the gloves and secured by an elastic band attached to the jacket sleeve that extends around the hands to keep bees from entering the sleeve.
Beekeeping gloves are designed with cotton sleeves or ventilated nylon/polyester for the same added benefit of ventilation. The cotton sleeve gloves will increase the heat for the beekeeper in the hot summer months.
Pants
Beekeeping pants can be purchased separately and provide lower body protection. Beekeeping suits do not require pants since the lower body protection is already there. Pants are needed with jackets if the beekeeper doesn't trust his jeans or regular pants for protection from stings.
Honeybees are able to sting through jeans, however, they can't fully sting you. Its just a light stinging, if there is such a thing. Hard to explain, but if the bee can't fully insert the stinger into your skin, the pain is not as bad as a full sting.
Tight fitting jeans or pants without wearing bee suit pants over would definitely provide an opportunity for the bee to fully sting you. In this case, beekeeping pants would be necessary.
Farmer's Final Say on Beekeeping Suits
Do yourself a favor and buy a darker colored, fully ventilated beekeeping suit found here, and check out our article for the best starter bee hive kits so you can start your beekeeping journey with great success.
Foxhound Bee Company, Sting Stopper Professional Ventilated Beekeeping Suit,Olive Green
FAQs
What is the best material for a beekeeping suit?
The ventilated suits are made up of mostly polycotton mesh, this material provides adequate protection, ventilation, and flexibility.
Is there a sting proof bee suit?
Yes, the ventilated design with three layer polycotton mesh is sting proof.
What is the best color bee suit?
Darker tan color reduces the amount of staining and holds up better to abuse in an outdoor environment. Proper cleaning is still recommended, but white cotton suits are almost impossible to remove stains from.
What are beekeeper suits called?
Bee suits is the most common name for any type of beekeeping clothing, including jackets or full suits.
Can a bee suit protect you from yellow jackets?
Yes, yellow jackets shouldn't be able to sting you through a three layer pollycotton mesh bee suit. However, the suit must be worn properly with gloves, boots, and a veil. All openings must be zippered shut and properly secured.