Honey bees

[Bubster]

Thanks for the info. Can I find that at Home Depot or Lowes?

My local feed store carries, as should Lowes or maybe even Wal-Mart.

 

[pdqdl]

Spectracide does wonders on many bees...

Spectracide is a brand name, not a product. They sell 6 different insecticides, as well as fungicides and herbicides.

If you really must kill off the beehive with deadly force, I'd use a common pyrethrine, which is found in most of the hardware stores. Bifenthrin is common and cheap, as well as labeled for indoor usage. It has a high margin of safety for humans and pets, too. Have a wasp & hornet killer spray can handy to handle the ones that fly out, or perhaps just some soapy water in a sprayer for those flyers that escape your attack.

A can of fumigant should do the job, too, but that would require that you properly introduce it to the nesting area. Best answer: get a bee suit, and start tearing away non-structural parts of the home until you can scoop all the nest out.

Soapy water in a sprayer is your best friend.

 

[Bubster]

Looking at my jug now. It is Spectacide Bug Stop Home Barrier. I had yellow jackets in my basement foundation last year, I just sprayed above the quarter size hole every couple hours for about 2 days .It dripped down as they flew out and problem solved. They went into the small hole and then apparently nested upwards of the hole,so spraying directly was not an option. Anyhow , Spetracide is good stuff and only $20 a gallon.

 

[pdqdl]

The active ingredient in your jug is Gamma-Cyhalothrin. It is a bit more toxic against bees than bifenthrin, but also has a longer residual action. You may not prefer to soak the walls with it.

Gamma-Cyhalothrin is labeled for outdoor use only. It is primarily used for agricultural purposes and for treating outdoor areas such as lawns, gardens, and perimeter treatments. Gamma-Cyhalothrin is not usually intended for indoor use, and its label typically does not permit its application inside residential or indoor living spaces.

 

[dboyd351]

The problem I'm having is where they are located. They are located in a difficult spot and I am trying not to damage the house trying to get to where they are.

This is why most beekeepers are reluctant to do cutouts (as a colony established in a house is called). Purchasing a colony of bees normally runs in the $150-200 range, so it is next to impossible to get bees out of a house without doing much more damage than that.

Without sophisticated equipment it is difficult to tell how much you will have to cut out to get all the bees and comb.
Most beekeepers I know are also not experts in house construction so they may not understand the details of the structure they must cut into to get the bees out.

If you don't get all the bees, comb, honey and the queen, they will most likely be back.

The homeowner still needs to get the bees out, but the risks far outweigh the rewards for most beekeepers.

I do know quite a few beekeepers who will come by, look at the situation and give their advice for free.

There are also methods such as a beevac or trapping the bees out to save the bee colony, but you will still need to cut into the walls to get comb/honey or they will be back. Beevac is quick, trapping takes several weeks minimum.

Even most of the beekeepers I know who used to do cutouts no longer do them because the risks so far outweigh the rewards.

I have been keeping bees 12 years. I will gladly catch swarms not in a house, but not do cutouts. I will come take a look and provide advice for free. I have assisted in doing several cutouts, but quickly decided I did not want to do them myself. The several friends that used to do them no longer do so.

Hope you got yours out and they stay gone. Definately seal up any small holes they could get back in.

 

[pdqdl]

This is why most beekeepers are reluctant to do cutouts (as a colony established in a house is called). Purchasing a colony of bees normally runs in the $150-200 range, so it is next to impossible to get bees out of a house without doing much more damage than that.

You seem to have an excellent understanding of how that works.

My two daughters dug a hive out of a house about two months ago. It took them two days, and that involved about a 90 mile drive, each time they went. It was apparently a comedy routine of chasing hive pathways and not knowing how older houses are built. The homeowner was helping them tear out the panels, although I'm not sure how they gave him a suit. I suspect they let him wear my bee suit.

Either way, they spent way more time at it than the cost of a new hive. That being said, they also got a lot of experience from it and the homeowner got all the hive removed cleanly with no pesticides used.

I tried to tell them we could build a bee vacuum real easy, but they thought it wouldn't be worth it. We'll see if they change their mind for the next capture-the-hive event.

The hive since then seems to have declined considerably after its move into the new hive box, re-queened itself, and now seems to be thriving. All is well, except that the bees got pretty damned mean after the new queen took over. The girls are leaving her alone, so long as the hive beetles don't move in, the mites stay away, and the hive does well otherwise. They have been trying to get a hive doing well for about 4 years now, but we keep having problems. Mostly mistakes caused by our ignorance, but some of it has been bad luck.

Our first hive was a small swarm harvested out of a dead tree I took down. Don't ever underestimate how hard it is to find a queen in a fallen hive. The comb gets mashed, the rotten log collapsed: it was a mess. We ended up with less working hive than buying a nuc.

 

[dboyd351]

There is an old saying among beekeepers - ask 3 different beekeepers how you do something and you will get 4 different methods.

There is a heck of alot of learning as you go and different things work for different people.

One thing I would suggest for your daughters is join a beekeepers guild and try to go on hive inspections to lots of different hives. Every location has differences so you can learn alot quickly that way. Also get a mentor. Most beekeepers really want to help.

I feel your pain with the hive beetles.
Varroa mites are supposed to be the biggest problem for beekeepers but I have had more issues with hive beetles than anything.

View attachment 71312767048__0E5AEF69-51E3-4E91-A551-15725847EF18.MOV

 

[pdqdl]

You have the right solution. Keep 'em from pupating in the ground beneath the hive.

Kill the generations, and the "wander in" population of hive beetles will not likely be a problem.

 

[dboyd351]

Funny, I have never seen anyone else use shingles like that. Makes mowing the grass much easier too. I can run my lawn tractor right over the edge of the shingles and the bees rarely bother me.
But you are definitely right about keeping the hive beetle pupae from completing the life cycle.
It helps.

 

[pdqdl]

Probably keeps 'em warmer all year long, too.

 

[pdqdl]

One thing I would suggest for your daughters is join a beekeepers guild and try to go on hive inspections to lots of different hives. Every location has differences so you can learn alot quickly that way. Also get a mentor. Most beekeepers really want to help.

Got that covered. Good guy, does classes, seminars, work days (free labor on his hives but with educational guidance)

https://www.beeresq.com/

 

[sb47]

I would love to be able to save a hive and I don't like killing anything unnecessarily. However in this case it's my only choice.

 

[Oletrapper]

I'm pretty sure that article you cited is chocked full of bad information, especially those pictures.

Here's a better guide:

"Distinguishing an Africanized honey bee (also known as the "killer bee") from a European honey bee without DNA testing can be challenging but not impossible. Africanized honey bees are a more aggressive hybrid of African honey bees and European honey bees. Here are some characteristics that might help a normal person differentiate between the two:​

1. Aggressiveness: Africanized honey bees are known for being more aggressive and defensive compared to European honey bees. If you observe a group of bees displaying aggressive behavior, such as pursuing or stinging intruders in large numbers, it might indicate the presence of Africanized honey bees.
2. Nest Location: Africanized honey bees are more likely to build their nests in unusual or less protected locations. They may create nests in small cavities, abandoned vehicles, utility boxes, or other unconventional places.
3. Swarm Size: Africanized honey bee swarms are typically larger than European honey bee swarms. However, size alone may not be a reliable indicator.
4. Flight Pattern: Africanized honey bees tend to have a more erratic flight pattern compared to the more steady and predictable flight of European honey bees. However, this difference may be subtle and challenging to observe.
5. Physical Characteristics: Africanized honey bees and European honey bees look very similar, and visual identification can be challenging. However, Africanized bees are often slightly smaller than European honey bees, and their coloration can be slightly darker.

You are correct. I did not research the background on the writer of A-Z animals.com He is not an mellitologist as one might think. Just another blogger. I'll try to do better in the future. lmao OT

 

[JD Guy]

The pollinator program is a USDA program designed to pay famers to take land out of production and plant pollinators that will attract bees. It has been an epic failure here due to typical USDA micro-management.

The pics I will post are of 160 acres of prime land taken out of production..............you tell me.........

Wow, doesn’t look like much there for honey bees. Does look like pretty good cover for pheasant and quail though Is this part of the CRP program?