Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: RHBee on December 29, 2012, 04:55:41 pm
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I got told an interesting story by my father in law this past week, He said that when he was a kid his uncle kept bees. One day a hive swarmed and his uncle called the swarm back by beating on a #2 wash tub with a wooden stick.
The man is as country honest as anyone I have ever met. Rarely does he ever joke. He figures it's a waste of time. If this had come from anyone else I would cry BS. He is 78 yrs old and was raised in a very small town in NC.
Is there any possible way this actually works and if so how?
My first swarm got brought back with an AK-47. :-D
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actually works. any loud noise esp. in rithom works. beating a sweep, tub or bucket, 22pistol, truck hood
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My Grandpa used this tactic, he would give me a metal bucket and a stick, don't remember the outcome just the air full of bees. He was a 50 yr bee keeper and my hero so I am thinking it had some merit..dl
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Look up "tanging" bees.
http://digital.nls.uk/moir/tanging.html (http://digital.nls.uk/moir/tanging.html)
Type tanging in the search box at the top of this page and you get a lot of threads.
Here is one of them:
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,27392.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,27392.0.html)
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This is cool stuff. Looks like I get to add a drum to my tool set and retire the AK. If you drum on a hive will they come to it?
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My grandma would go out and beat on oil barrel or wash/dish pan to settle bees till grandpa came home. Plan on trying that if I have too this spring too. I was wondering how everyone does or has done with Queen Castles. I am thinking of building one to try this spring. I have so many folks asking me to put my bees near their houses just to be seen.
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Just keep in mind that bees cannot hear. They can FEEL vibrations if they are low enough and loud enough. I can't say it does or does not work, but my guess is IF it works it would be with low frequencies and very loud. Probably IF it works it's because it feels like thunder...
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actually works. any loud noise esp. in rithom works. beating a sweep, tub or bucket, 22pistol, truck hood
I do not know if "tanging" works but what do you have to loosen
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
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In most of the tanging stories you hear, it is about making swarms land after finding a hive in the act of swarming.
But fact is, most hives automatically land within eyesight of the original hive. So if you go out and bang on some pots, the bees were probably going to land very close to the apiary anyways.
This then allows the bees to send out scouts to look for a new location, before relocating.
I have tanged swarms that were then in the act of moving from the swarm cluster location, and they seem to have no response to tanging. It was if they knew where they were going, and no amount of tanging was going to stop them. I think barometric pressure and other factors cue bees as to a storm. And not some all of a sudden vibration thinking they are so easily fooled.
When 19 out of 20 swarms will land in and around the apiary regardless of whether I tang or not, I do not put much weight in tanging.
I know many are not going to question what their grandpappy stated. But beekeeping is full of questionable advice being passed down. From swarm control frames, cutting out swarm cells, to tanging.
But hey...if you enjoy banging on some pots and pans, I guess it does not hurt anything. But it certainly is not something that has been shown to do much except have a swarm land, which was going to happen anyways.
I guess telling new beekeepers if they see a hive swarming to run in and grab the pots and pans does have it's entertainment value. But they should also know that almost all swarms will land near their apiary anyways. But it's not the worst thing ever told to beekeepers. ;)
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Funniest story I heard about this topic was told to me by a good friend.
He told me of a mutual friend that upon seeing a swarm issue from a hive this person watched the swarm begin to fly off.
He was wearing only shorts at the time. So my friends description of a half naked man jumping onto a 4 wheeler pulling out a 22 pistol and chasing a bee swarm shooting into the air had me ready to pee myself laughing. Met this person a year later and now he is a great friend. So I'm not going to name him :-D :-D :-D
Bailey