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Post by James on Mar 16, 2017 10:59:42 GMT -5
All my bees died. I ordered up 6 new packages. They will come in mid April.
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Post by binnylou on Mar 16, 2017 11:22:28 GMT -5
All my bees died. I ordered up 6 new packages. They will come in mid April. So what do you have to do with the hives before the new tenants arrive? do they need sanitized? steam cleaned? |
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Post by James on Mar 16, 2017 11:35:29 GMT -5
Nope, the new bees will clean house. The only time it is necessary to sanitize is if you have had foulbrood disease. Then all the frames must be burned. No way to sanitize them, and the boxes are cleaned with fire. I just take a gas torch and burn the boxes. Well you don't burn them up , but burn the crud off them. You apply enough heat to kill any germs.
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Post by James on Apr 15, 2017 12:44:26 GMT -5
Quote: "Why do so many worker bees exit the hive when the queen takes her virgin flight?"
Hard to say. I am only sure that you can't make a bee do a darned thing. They will do just as they please.
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canadiyank
Blooming
Central WA, Zone 6B
Posts: 125
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Post by canadiyank on Jun 16, 2017 23:38:05 GMT -5
Did this swarm/colony make it over winter?
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 17, 2017 8:35:13 GMT -5
Did this swarm/colony make it over winter? I am not sure which one this was but we did lose one of our three hives over the winter. However we have had SEVEN swarms this year! It has been unbelievable. We now have four hives and gave the additional swarms to a local commercial beekeeper. We were overwhelmed. Good to see you again canadiyank! |
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canadiyank
Blooming
Central WA, Zone 6B
Posts: 125
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Post by canadiyank on Jun 17, 2017 22:49:57 GMT -5
7 - holy cow! Thanks! I honestly forgot about this forum this year as it has been a NUTTY year (dh had surgery and I started a new job), and the other day I got a notification on an old thread that reminded me to come back.  |
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Post by James on Jun 18, 2017 10:51:46 GMT -5
Qupte: "However we have had SEVEN swarms this year!"
It is best to try to prevent swarming. Go out every ten days and tilt up the top box and look at the bottom of the frames. This is where the bees usually make swarm cells. You just knock off the swarm cells with the hive tool. If they are built up strong and needing room, put on a queen excluder and a honey super and let them make you some honey.
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Post by James on Jun 21, 2017 12:15:39 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the pics. Good job!
"I will NEVER be able to work with bees without a suit on."
I am with you. I am quite allergic to bee venom and if I get stung I pop two Benadryl tabs immediately. I always carry the Benadryl with me. If I am going to work bees, I put on the whole suit, coveralls, veil, gloves, gauntlets. It is my plan to avoid getting stung. Then yesterday, I had a garden hose running over by a tree and I went to move it to another spot and as I picked up the hose I felt a pain in my middle finger. I looked and there was a bee stinger stuck in my finger. I had not seen any bee, but apparently she was on the hose getting a drink and I put my hand on her. So I take my two pills and today, the finger is still a bit sore but it did not swell up too bad.
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Post by binnylou on Jun 21, 2017 12:54:44 GMT -5
Hubby got a wasp sting on the side of his face. He had a welt about the size of a vanilla wafer. I gave him some diluted lavender oil to rub on it, a benedryl, and an ice pack on it for about 20 minutes. The swelling was gone and no tenderness. I'm a real believer in lavender oil for stings and kitchen burns. I keep a rollerball bottle of it on the kitchen counter.
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 21, 2017 13:01:27 GMT -5
Hubby got a wasp sting on the side of his face. I have had both honey bee and wasp stings and the wasp stings always hurt worse especially on the face where there are lots of nerves. I got stung in my eyebrow by a wasp a couple or years ago and boy did that hurt! Yellow Jackets are a type of wasp and I think that their stings always really hurt. They are really mean buggers and will chase you. |
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Post by binnylou on Jun 21, 2017 13:13:59 GMT -5
When he got stung, he was on the mower, completely away from any buildings.
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Post by James on Sept 28, 2017 14:00:48 GMT -5
It has been said that if you got stung 70 times in one season you would become immune to the venom. I said, "NO Thanks"
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Post by martywny on Sept 29, 2017 9:03:45 GMT -5
Got my first bee sting the other day. I had some yellow jackets robbing the hive so I put a small screen over the opening after they all settled in for the evening. Next morning I moved the hive about 50 feet and started to take the screen off when they pushed it open and started pouring out like some sci-fi movie. I backed off to watch the show and that's when she stung me. I figured it was a good time to go jogging before the others got a whiff of "let's sting Marty" pheromone. Came back later suited up and installed a robber screen.
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Post by James on Oct 18, 2017 12:05:40 GMT -5
Here it is mid October. Still nice weather here, though cool. No snow yet. The bees have been able to come out and fly. No blossoms for them to work though. I put in entrance blocks to reduce the entrance to a space 3 inches by 3/8 inch. So no mouse can sneak in. I also drill a 5/8 inch hole in the top box just above the handhold. This is in case the lower entrance gets plugged up with snow.
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