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Post by James on Nov 23, 2018 12:32:49 GMT -5
Three cats hanging out here. They are outside cats, they have the run of the place and outbuildings, but do not come in the house. I took them to the vet for shots and neutering. I feed them some dry catfood. They really help to keep the rodent population in check.
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Post by Mumsey on Nov 24, 2018 4:26:09 GMT -5
James, Do the cats bother the beehives?
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Post by James on Jan 9, 2019 16:09:43 GMT -5
Just got my new beekeeping license, so I am a licensed beekeeper for another year.
Cats do not bother the beehives.
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Post by James on Jan 13, 2019 16:38:30 GMT -5
The skunks will come scratch on the beehive until the bees come out to fight, then sit there and eat bees.
I put a number 3 foot trap in front of the hive to discourage the skunk. The trap is hooked to a 12 foot 2x4. If I happen to catch a skunk, I lead him across the road and dump him in the ditch. After the skunk is drowned I can remove it from the trap and go reset the trap. Ya never want to shoot a skunk on your property. As they die they spray that stinky stuff all over. It takes about 2 weeks for the odors to leave.
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Post by davidjp on Jan 13, 2019 16:50:34 GMT -5
Just got my new beekeeping license, so I am a licensed beekeeper for another year. so do they come round and inspect your hives at some point or is ot more to inform you of a local pesticide spray
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Post by James on Feb 4, 2019 17:13:48 GMT -5
"so do they come round and inspect your hives at some point"
It has been a rare occasion to have anyone come to inspect the hives.
Our County has a Bee Inspector. You can request him to come inspect your hives to look for problems if you wish.
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Feb 4, 2019 18:06:09 GMT -5
James , are the bees for your garden, or will you be renting them out to commercial farms for pollination of their fields?
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Post by tom 🕊 on Mar 15, 2019 14:37:21 GMT -5
Went over to a redbud to sample the flowers, and it was covered with different kinds of bees -- some much larger than others. "Examples of native bees that gather nectar from redbud flowers and in the process serve as pollinators include: carpenter bees, bumble bees, mason bees, Halictid bees, blueberry bees, and many others." www.shannontrimboli.com/redbuds/
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Post by James on Mar 19, 2019 10:30:47 GMT -5
"I have a problem...the pup chases the bees that are cleaning up in the garden."
Aw, don't worry about that. The pup is not likely to hurt the bees, and if he does he will likely get stung. That will get his attention.
In a strong colony of bees there is likely close to 80,000 bees. New bees are hatching out right along. Older bees are dying. The life of a worker bee in the summer is rather short. They work themselves to death. Winter bees are different, they may live through winter to fly again come spring. Getting bees through winter in cold country is hit and miss. Sometimes they make it, sometimes they don't. We will find out come April.
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Post by James on Mar 19, 2019 10:39:37 GMT -5
"James , are the bees for your garden, or will you be renting them out to commercial farms for pollination of their fields? "
My bees stay here at home. Some beekeepers with more bees may haul a truckload of beehives to California for the almond bloom. After the almonds are done blooming there is nothing for the bees so they are hauled back to Utah. They are all built up strong and the clover is just coming into bloom so the bees can make honey.
Of course the bees fly where they will. You can't make a bee do a darned thing. A honey bee may fly up to 2 miles looking for its needs. A two mile radius puts a lot of acres under the bees path. They will fly as far as necessary to find what they need, but they will be more successful if their needs are close at hand.
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Post by James on Mar 21, 2019 15:55:13 GMT -5
None of my bees made winter this year. All dead.
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Post by martywny on Mar 22, 2019 9:49:53 GMT -5
None of my bees made winter this year. All dead. James, I am really sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I like so many others know exactly how that feels.
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Post by deckman22 on Mar 22, 2019 12:45:09 GMT -5
That's a bummer James. Now what, go buy more bees somewhere? Here it would never be a problem we have so many.
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Post by James on Apr 16, 2019 13:17:05 GMT -5
" And, frankly, I'd rather her not get stung."
Aw, don't worry about the pup. Even if she gets stung, she will get over it.
The bees out working your flowers are gathering nectar and pollen. They are not in defense of anything and are not likely to sting anything. Bees at home around the beehive are a different thing. They are defending their home and you don't want to mess with the hive unless you want a bunch of mad bees all over you.
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Post by Mumsey on May 5, 2019 5:27:33 GMT -5
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