The Best Gloves for Beekeeping?

UPDATED!!! A simple question, but as with everything beekeeping there's no simple answer.

We started beekeeping in surgical gloves without much thought, just because we

were told that was best. Kat then switched to the BJ Sherriff latex/cotton hybrid gauntlets (see below) to give her more confidence and that prompted me to try some alternatives and see if there is anything more suitable for me. The outcome was a bit unexpected.....

Why?

As a business we're trying to be as environmentally responsible as possible and the main problem I have with surgical gloves (nitrile/latex) is that they don't last long and we throw lots away, even though we wash and reuse them for as long as possible. I have searched for biodegradable/recyclable gloves of a similar thickness to nitrile and have found one option, but none with a long enough cuff for beekeeping.

Some beekeepers will use one pair per hive and bin them for hygiene reasons, which I can understand, especially if you've experienced foulbrood. We think one pair of gloves per apiary with soda solution in each apiary to thoroughly clean gloves and a wire pad to clean the hive tool after each hive is sufficient as things stand.

Alternatives We've Tried

The alternatives to surgical gloves seem to be:

Leather gauntlets

Marigolds/Washing up gloves

The slightly strange option!

So we tried all of these and here is what we found.....

Leather Gauntlets

No prizes for guessing. Used these once and gave up. Absolutely useless with no manual dexterity, even getting a frame out of a box becomes almost impossible and squashing bees is inevitable. They are also not really effectively washable between hives (at all?).

They do have one use case for me, and that's for dealing with really angry colonies that need to be moved or requeened, so we'll keep them just for that.

Marigolds

I tried these and did stick with them for an elongated trial.

Positives

The feel and dexterity with these has not been a problem.

I didn't expect any sting protection from these, and clearly there isn't much, but since I've been using them there have been lots of times the bees have got me with a 'glancing blow' that hasn't penetrated the gloves.

They are robust and washable and have lasted half a season on the same pair, significantly reducing waste.

Given their longevity, they are the cheapest option.

Negatives

Unbelievably sweaty! I didn't realise surgical gloves are somewhat breathable, but judging by the state of my hands after an hour in Marigolds I can only conclude they must be.

This means that unless you wash them thoroughly inside and out they do start to smell!

Others

BJ Sherriff Latex Gauntlets

As I mentioned above Kat has started using these latex gauntlets from BJ Sherriff. They are significantly thicker than Marigolds, but much thinner than the leather ones.

Positives

They do offer very good, if not total, sting protection.

They have the added advantage over leather of being effectively washable.

Not to sweaty at all.

Negatives

Pricier than the alternatives (except leather)

The dexterity and feel in these gloves is borderline at best; to me it's not good enough, but for Kat it is. I think they definitely have a place for the more nervous beekeeper, but make fiddly tasks really tricky.

Showa TEMRES 281

These gloves are made for commercial fishermen, but

came to my attention as they are also used by ice climbers who

want waterproof and (somewhat) breathable gloves. I thought they might offer a similar but less sweaty alternative to the Marigolds; they are similar thickness, but are intended to fit fairly loose, so I wasn't sure how that would work.

Positives

The positives of these are much the same as Marigolds, plus:

Despite being looser the dexterity of these is fine for me.

Substantially less sweaty and smelly and slightly more sting resistant than Marigolds.

They feel really robust, it remains to be seen how long they last, but they're like new so far (4 months use and counting).

They have a rough finish on the hands to increase grip.

Being loose fit they are easy to take off without them turning inside out.

Negatives

The feel and dexterity of these is fine for me, but if you're the kind of beekeeper who picks

queens up to mark them, it may not be good enough.

The loose fit may be off-putting for some. You can't size down to make them tight as the finger length is short and becomes unworkable (they also size small, I take a 7 nitrile, but a 10 in these).

These are in the middle price-wise at about £8 a pair.

Conclusion

Overall, for me, the nitrile gloves are too wasteful, the Marigolds are too sweaty, and the leather and Sherriff gauntlets lack sufficient dexterity, so I will be continuing to use the Showa gloves to see how they perform in the longer term. Currently they are my pick for the majority of beekeepers.

For those wanting a bit more reassurance the Sherriffs are recommended.

If you want to pick queens up to mark them, then it's surgical or barehanded.

Please let us know your recommendations and why you love them.

UPDATE: I have continued to evaluate the Showa gloves, they are still like new and I still like them more than the alternatives, but..... The one downside that has become apparent is that the loose material round the wrists means that the gloves move around more and can work themselves loose from under the cuffs of your suit, with obvious consequences if you don't keep an eye on it. Longer or tighter cuffs would remedy this, as would gripper on the inside of the suit cuffs, but none of those are options. I'll carry on using these, but the search goes on for an ideal solution. If anyone has any other ideas I'll try them and add them to the blog.

UPDATE 2: Anyone who has read our review of the Swienty Breeze suit will know the frustration we found with the sting-proof material ending a few inches above the cuffs. I

don't know if it's even possible, but the bees seem to have learned that this is a weak point and I get more stings here than I used to, and more than anywhere else. The other place is obviously the back of the hand, so my latest experiment is to try wearing neoprene wrist supports under the suit and gloves to provide sting-proofing. These are sold to support wrist injuries and are a few millimetres thick, but obviously don't affect finger dexterity. I haven't used them in very hot conditions, so I don't know how uncomfortable that will be, but so far they have completely prevented any stings in that area and I'll be continuing to experiment with them next summer.