Apiphobia is more commonly known as the intense fear of bees.

Phobias

So how are fear and phobias different? Phobias involve intense, persistent and uncontrollable fear of the thing in question and the single-minded need to avoid it. The fear is disproportionate to the level of risk or danger expected. The fear can be so involving that it interferes with your life. If you have a phobia and want to deal with it, behavioural therapy has a very high treatment success rate.

Bee Repellents

In some circumstances, coming into contact with a bee is not something that can bee avoided. But sometimes it seems that a bee (or two or three...) seems to just sense your fear of bees and heads your way. Is there something you can do to ward them off?

One thing you can try is to wear a repellent. There is no proven recipe that will keep a bee away from you and even moving in the opposite direction, but there are a few ideas that are floating around and possibly have some success with some people.

Personally, I advocate using a natural solution/remedy. Not only do you avoid putting poisons on, and eventually in, your body, but you also take support away from companies that are poisoning the environment. The world is bigger than you and one bee, of course, and all of our actions have repercussions. Here are some suggestions I've located to deal naturally with keeping your fear of bees under wraps.

For home surfaces:

• Combine two parts orange essential oil and one part water. Paint onto wooden surfaces around your home.
• Combine tea tree oil and benzaldehyde in equal parts. Spray around your home.

• Combine one part natural oil and 10 parts carrier oil, such as olive or sunflower oil. Apply to skin or clothing avoiding eyes.
• Wear a sprig of wormwood on your person to repel wasps.
• Wear light-coloured clothing, like white. There is a reason that beekeepers where white coveralls...

• Place fresh cucumber slices around where you plan to be.

Reacting to the Flying Intruder

Let's talk about general fear of insects (especially ones that fly around) for those who are not allergic, and how to best cope with them flying about you. The typical fear reaction might involve swatting the insect in question, running around or away, and yelling or screaming. Unfortunately, this is the opposite of what you should do.

Some insects, like earwigs, are completely harmless to humans - you can swat them and the worst you'll experience might be a dark smudge on your white shirt. The worst is a little more final for the earwig :) But other insects, such as bees, may bite or sting, sometimes multiple times. I'll save a discussion of chemicals, pheromones and "smelling fear" for another day and another post. Like with fire and natural disaster situations, the best thing to do when faced with a flying friend/foe is keep calm.

Insects with the capacity to bite or sting only do so as a form of self-protection. They are not maliciously seeking you out in order to exact revenge upon you, in particular, or the human race, in general. They are only defending themselves against a threat, and in the mind of an insect, the the threat is you. You are less threatening if you stay calm regardless of a potential fear of bees, wasps or insects, in general. Thrashing about, swatting at the insect, screaming and running around will agitate the insect, scare it, and make it more likely to attack you in self-defense.

Oh, and smashing our flying friend only means that you'll come back in your next life as the friend in question! If possible, slowly vacate the area, or shoo the bug away without killing it.

Reacting to the Discovery of a Nest

Discovering an insect nest during a walk in the woods, or on your property, especially, can induce not only a feeling of fear, but of indignation or anger. What is that doing here? How dare they... Often, the first impulse is to destroy the nest on sight, obliterate any trace of it. First off, that is just cruel. Scroll back and note my words about the malicious intent of insects - it doesn't exist. They are just trying to live and survive.

If you are in the woods, for example, leave the nest alone. Keep walking. If it is in a place where many people will run across it, inform someone who works in the area (park ranger, neighbourhood association, etc.). If the nest is on your property, you will have to deal with the issue yourself, of course. Please see the section on Bee Removal for options. But first, whether you have a fear of bees or not, remember to keep calm :)

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