Honey Bee Help!

[silvergirl]

Wasn't sure where to put this but,

I'm just back from work to discover the bedroom full of hundreds of Honey Bees :yikes: .
They seem to be coming in and out around the window frame which is in a very poor state of repair.

So what do I do? the kids keep running around screaming 'Beeeeeeee'

If I phone environmental health they will gas the poor things I feel bad enough squashing them, but I don't want them living in my bedroom!

Anyone any Idea where I can get a crash course in beekeeping and a hive in the next day or so.

(I don't ask much )

Any other suggestions greatfully recieved.

 

[Tadpole]

Wasn't sure where to put this but,

I'm just back from work to discover the bedroom full of hundreds of Honey Bees :yikes: .
They seem to be coming in and out around the window frame which is in a very poor state of repair.

So what do I do? the kids keep running around screaming 'Beeeeeeee'

If I phone environmental health they will gas the poor things I feel bad enough squashing them, but I don't want them living in my bedroom!

Anyone any Idea where I can get a crash course in beekeeping and a hive in the next day or so.

(I don't ask much )

Any other suggestions greatfully recieved.

Contact your local bee keeping society they might come and help remove the swarm for you.

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Bosun]

Try this site for your closest beekeeper: http://www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk/

IHTH

 

[silvergirl]

Hmm.

Tried the link. they don't sound too hopeful about how easy it would be to extract them.

 

[Don Redondo]

it's very early for a swarm, but it's possible it's a wild colony that's been displaced. My dad's way of getting hold of a colony like this was to put a strwaw skep with a couple of combs in it over the bees, or as close a spossible, Chances are that if they like the offering they'll move in.

 

[davef]

if you call your local police station they have a list of local groups who will try and gather the swarm/colony (Bee Armed Response! ). In the mean time leave the door shut and keep out of the room and they shouldn't bother you.

Its early for swarms but the weather has been unusually warm and one of our hives was right on the verge of swarming when we (and the whole of the rest of our bee society!) did our first full inspection of the hives. So your new guests could be an early swarm... if the cluster is about the size of a football then it could be a full swarm.

keep us posted on how you get on

Dave

 

[silvergirl]

My problem is that when I got back for work they wern't just a tight clump of bees, they were a confussed mass of flying buzzing things. A tight clump I could maybe have dealt with.

It only looked like a couple of thousand, but they have been going in and out of the gaps in the window frames all day. I suspect they may already have found a spot they like(in the walls), but I've managed to get someone to come out and have a look tommorow, but he doesn't sound hopeful at extracting them. Pity I quite fancy beekeeping.

By the way does any one know if Honey bees are now legaly protected?

 

[davef]

If they're honey bees then they're not protected but can be difficult to destroy cos they tend to get grumpy when disturbed. check with your local environmental health people - they used to do it for free but they may charge you to deal with them!

If you are interested then speak to the people coming over tomorrow, our local group run a 'bee bank' and match new beekeepers to swarms as they become available. they'll also provide loads of help and advice to get you started.

Dave

 

[davef]

Ta very much

we now have a rogue swarm in our loft!

hopefully trying to gather it on Friday - of course the little darlings picked the most awkward corner of the roof space to go into. Deep joy.

 

[silvergirl]

Ta very much

we now have a rogue swarm in our loft!

hopefully trying to gather it on Friday - of course the little darlings picked the most awkward corner of the roof space to go into. Deep joy.

Oh dear, hope I haven't jinxed you

Our bees have settled down to a point behind the wall just above the skirting board in the bedroom. Getting them out doesn't look like an option. They are still buzzing furiously even now.

I've been offered a spare hive and a hands on session with an existing hive, but the guy who came round seemed to think it would make more sense to try and kill this lot off, which I'm a bit disappointed about. But the only way to physically get at them is likely to be through knocking down part of the wall.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Mike Ameling]

Here in the States, a lot of hives have been disappearing. The bees just leave, and are never found again. This, combined with a disease going around, have been really hurting the bees - or "white man flies" as the Indians called them.

One researcher did try a simple experiment. He put a fully charged and turned on cell phone next to an active hive - no calls were made to the phone. In a couple days, all the bees left - and none ever returned. They theorize that the radio emissions from the cell phone cause problems for the bees, and they leave for "better territory".

So, try your own experiment using that piece of mdern "idiot ear jewelry".

To remove a swarm, you have to get the queen to move to a new place, or catch her and move her to a waiting hive very close by - then let the rest of the bees follow her. Getting that queen out of a wall usually means cutting open the wall. That's why the usual solution is to gas the bees.

Hope this helps.

Mike Ameling - who does not own a cell phone, and lives where there is no signal

 

[Tadpole]

Here in the States, a lot of hives have been disappearing. The bees just leave, and are never found again. This, combined with a disease going around, have been really hurting the bees - or "white man flies" as the Indians called them.

One researcher did try a simple experiment. He put a fully charged and turned on cell phone next to an active hive - no calls were made to the phone. In a couple days, all the bees left - and none ever returned. They theorize that the radio emissions from the cell phone cause problems for the bees, and they leave for "better territory".
no signal

Not that old myth again,
What is killing the bees are mites and associated diseases, some deaths due to unknown pathogenic disease and pesticide contamination or and poisoning. And of course neonicotinoids, a type of insecticide banned in France and Spain since it caused a mass die off of bees in the 1990’s it has been approve for use in the USA for the last six years, a time frame in which there has been a noticeable increase in bee colony desertions (Colony Collapse Disorder)
The myth was started when a groups of researchers set up a cordless phone base station next to a hive, notice it was a cordless phone base station which uses (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) DECT signals (1880-1900 MHz in Europe, 1920-1930MHz in the US) and is not the same frequencies that are for mobile phones. Global System for Mobile Communications GSM (for mobile phones) uses 900 MHz / 1800 MHz, in the USA they use a different set of frequencies, as 900 and 1800 MHz frequency were already in use.
Most mobile phones masts/tower use lot of different frequencies and equally they use a number of different modulation- and pulse-processes.

Recent research suggest that up to 40% of pollen tested, contains trace amounts of neonicotinoids, long known to effect memory and brain metabolism of bees, particularly the area of the brain that is used for making new memories, they leave the hive and forget how to get back.

 

[silvergirl]

Quite a few bees that made it into the house and I didn't manage to release have become less active then died. It has got me wondering whether or not they may have some sort of disease, but more likely they were just the older bees that used up all their energy trying to get out the house again?

Some hives not too far from here were apparently stolen a few weeks ago and I have heard rumors that some hives in Deeside have also been stolen. Why would anyone do this

The colony itself buzzed ferociously all night last night. I have wondered iif it would be possible just to annoy them out of their hiding place ( banging on the wall etc)

I really don't want to kill them as bees do seem to be getting less common for various reason. I think they are a vital part of the ecosystem (just not in my bedroom wall ) But I'm struggling to come up with any effective way to get them to move.

 

[WhichDoctor]

This is just off the top of my head (I don’t know anything about bees) but would one of those sonic vermin repellents work? I've seen some that are supposed to get rid of cockroaches as well as mice. Might be worth a try before the last resort.

I certainly wouldn't wont to kill them myself, there are hardly any honey bees round here and haven’t been for the last couple of years .

 

[Mike Ameling]

Not that old myth again,
What is killing the bees are mites and associated diseases, some deaths due to unknown pathogenic disease and pesticide contamination or and poisoning. And of course neonicotinoids, a type of insecticide banned in France and Spain since it caused a mass die off of bees in the 1990’s it has been approve for use in the USA for the last six years, a time frame in which there has been a noticeable increase in bee colony desertions (Colony Collapse Disorder)
The myth was started when a groups of researchers set up a cordless phone base station next to a hive, notice it was a cordless phone base station which uses (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) DECT signals (1880-1900 MHz in Europe, 1920-1930MHz in the US) and is not the same frequencies that are for mobile phones. Global System for Mobile Communications GSM (for mobile phones) uses 900 MHz / 1800 MHz, in the USA they use a different set of frequencies, as 900 and 1800 MHz frequency were already in use.
Most mobile phones masts/tower use lot of different frequencies and equally they use a number of different modulation- and pulse-processes.

Recent research suggest that up to 40% of pollen tested, contains trace amounts of neonicotinoids, long known to effect memory and brain metabolism of bees, particularly the area of the brain that is used for making new memories, they leave the hive and forget how to get back.

I was just relaying info from a Reuters article and a national back-to-the-land magazine article. The main part of the articles was the Disease going around. The cell phone part was a little side note, and supposedly causing some concern - and calls for more formal research.

Stolen hives near by would be a problem for any bees not in the hives when they were stolen. That's why moving hives must be done at just the right time of the year, and the day. But there are always some bees that aren't in a hive when it gets moved and end up "lost".

Just my humble thoughts to share.

Mike Ameling

 

[locum76]

we had to artificially swarm our bees at work recently (we've now got 7 hives instead of four ). all the hot weather, the dandelions and the oil seed rape has got them going nuts!