Bees

greenm&m

A customer of mine has this old house close to his. My partner and I noticed earlier this year the bees and the honey dripping out between the boards. Well I had a call back there today. This time I asked him if he minded if I got some honey. He said get all you want. The bees have been bad this year. The windows are boarded up on the outside. He goes to show me what they look like on the inside.



He goes to tell me that he doesn't what the bees to stay cause they have gotten so bad. I told him the first real cold day I get I was comming for the honey.

Ok now the question. Any tips yall can give me?

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Richard

Holy Jesus

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Rich

tgeb

The bees are still there right?

I think they will "winter over" in place. I don't think they migrate when it is cold.

I have a neighbor that keeps honey bees I will ask him what the proper course of action would be. Might take me a few days.

Don't Kill em!

How far down in Va. are you? He might want the bees, and he knows how to get them to relocate.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

ProWallGuy

HOLY CRAP! I've never seen anything like that before.

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greenm&m

I am on the Va NC line. Yes the bees are still there. Back when I was there earlier this year the bees were terrible.

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Life Is Short Live It Well
Don't want to make a killin.......... just make a livin.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

CJKarl

Call your local Bee Keeper, He'll take the queen and split the honey with ya.

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tgeb

Well, I just got off the phone with my bee expert.

It is illegal to kill honey bees in Maryland! Virginia is likely the same.

You must proceed with caution!!

Honey bees that winter over will defend the honey in the hive with much greater ferocity, heading into winter, than they will in the summer months.

You may look at them and think there are docile because it is cold out but when disturbed they will come and get you.

What he recommends is that you contact the state Dept. of Agriculture and ask them for a list of state inspectors,(I guess BeeKeeper inspector) then contact the inspector for your area and have them get you in touch with someone who can help you with this.

This guy handles bees all the time and he said he would not move them till spring. The bees are just too aggressive. They are protecting the food stores that keep the colony alive through the winter.

He also stated that the africanised bees are this far north now and there is always a possibility that these are the African honey bees, and you don't want those guys after you.

Those are some real neat photos, Maybe you can sell tickets to the local schools to come and observe the bees.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

PipeGuy

Now that post is worth money-you may have just saved someone's arse.
Is this a great site or what?

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Teetorbilt

Can you turn off the heat in that room for a day or two? I don't know of any insects that can perform well when cold.

You do have to watch out for the africanized version, they have killed quite a few people.

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thom

Bees live in a ball, even if there are frames between. The inside of the ball is warm, they vibrate their wings to create the heat. They constantly move from the outside to the center and back so they can all stay alive and active.

The best time to remove the bees or the honey is when it's warm and the bees are foraging. They are much less aggressive and more than half of them are gone.

A single healthy hive will have 60,000 bees in it. probably less in the winter, but still a lot. When they become really aggressive they will burrow through your clothes. They find little gaps to get in.

Generally they go for your face. Mouth, eyes, nose, because they are attracted by the carbon dioxide you expell.

Most wild bees have died off over the past two decades as a result of mites (tiny insects that suck the life out of the bees). That's what makes them so valuable, though it is generally not a cash value. The real issue is we need them for polination. Local backyard vegetable gardens and fruit trees depend on them for polination. Kill off the bees and you loose a lot of other stuff in the bargain.

Good luck, and I am a hobby beekeeper.

greenm&m

Wow thanks guys for the posts. This is and old building and they use it for storage. I am thinking about doing this on a real real cold day. Doubt I am going to take all the honey just enough for me and my partner. Probley just rip a few boards down from the outside. He has had taken honey from there before but it has been a while.

__________________
Life Is Short Live It Well
Don't want to make a killin.......... just make a livin.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

tgeb

Like Thom stated the bees create their own warmth, My bee expert said the center of the hive can maintain 92 degrees in the middle of winter.

They can't fly very far...he said if it were say 20 degrees outside the bees may only be able to go 100 feet before freezing to death.

He said if a person went in to get the honey from them this time of year, with out protective clothing you might only get stung a couple hundred times, before you can get away, still enough to kill a person.

There are sure to be some beekeepers in that area, that will give this hive a look see.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

Crawdad

I helped my dad get some bees out of an outbuilding, years ago.
When we were done, he said, "Never again."
Much tougher than catching a wild swarm.

This is not the time of year to remove them, if you want them to survive.
Better to find someone who'll do it in the spring. If you can find a willing beekeeper, that is.

PressurePros

All I can thing about is Chris Farley in Tommy Boy jumping out of the car and screaming "Beeees! They're everywhere. They're ripping my flesh off! They're huge and they're sting crazy! Your firearms are useless against them!"

Interesting reading. We've come across small nests but never anything like that.

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Ken Fenner
Pressure Washing PA
Roof Cleaning Services PA

greenm&m

Damn funny movie

__________________
Life Is Short Live It Well
Don't want to make a killin.......... just make a livin.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Glasshousebltr

What a buzz.

Bob

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Bob

Gordo

I live near thr VA/NC border. Any hive I have seen the bees are lethargic this time of year. REAL slow.

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Looks like some pros were here.

john elliott

How were they when you went in and tried to take their honey, were they OK about that?

John

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Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

Gordo

I put some mojo on them.

Then I float like a butterfy and sting like a BEE.

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Looks like some pros were here.

greenm&m

I found these pictures that I took earlier this year

__________________
Life Is Short Live It Well
Don't want to make a killin.......... just make a livin.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.