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Author Topic: Worth it?  (Read 3763 times)

Offline SystemShark

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Worth it?
« on: June 16, 2008, 04:02:13 pm »
I got a call from a lady about 45mins or so from me. From what she tells me she has some honey bees built up into an unsealed gasline that runs into her house. Apparently theres a hole/cavity from where the line runs from her house to her porch where the grill is and thats where the bees are at. She was upfront about spraying them with some kind of raid. She says they don't seem to be going in and out of the hole anymore and just collecting outside of it.

I'm not sure if the queen is in there but if she's not will the raid contaminated bees hurt anything if I combine them with some other hives? I'm not even sure I want to get involved yet; there will probably be some cutting of drywall involved at the very least to see if there is any comb build up inside the walls. I'm guessing the bees don't want to go back in because of the spray on the outside (she said she didn't spray inside the hole).

Any suggestions? Would you get involved? :p

Offline Keith13

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2008, 04:53:03 pm »
I would not anytime someone says they sprayed a little it normally translates to half a can of poison. some of the others that do cutouts normally might be able to help you more but I would not waste my time with a poisoned hive

Offline MollySuesHoney

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2008, 05:48:58 pm »
Whenever I do a cutout where the bees have been sprayed I am very clear that the bees will most likely be dead after it is all over.  I've only had one sprayed colony make it.  I also use equipment that I only use for working on situations like this.  I'm paranoid about cross over contamination.  If I read this right the gas line is merely a byway for the bees into a void.  If they are just in the line itself then they are most likely not honey bees.
Lawrence Underwood

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Offline SystemShark

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2008, 08:02:07 pm »
I dont think they are in the line itself, just like.. around it. The hole is around the pipe (and leads into the walls).

I think the poision factor makes it a no go anyway. Its over an hour away too >< I'll get an update from her in a few days; my guess is they will all be dead soon anyway. If they get strong again at some point and need to be removed I'll plan a trip.

Thanks for the quick responses! You all are the best.

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2008, 08:51:57 pm »
I wouldn't mess with them right now, but if they are still there and working in a few weeks and they don't spray no more then it might be worth it.
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Offline Moonshae

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #5 on: June 16, 2008, 10:17:55 pm »
Sprayed bees...probably not worth the bother. If she's willing to pay you a fair amount, go for it, but don't think doing it for free is going to get you worthwhile free bees. And I agree, don't contaminate your equipment...don't even wear your usual bee suit/gloves. It's not worth transferring that crap to your strong hives and hurting them.
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Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2008, 10:59:03 pm »
presume bees die and go from there. I have done a few like this, but reluctantly and always for a fee.
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Offline SystemShark

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2008, 08:21:32 am »
Figure I would update this. I finally made my way over to this nice lady's house about an hour from where I live. I brought my borrowed sawzall, a crude beevac, and the whole sha-bang. Thinking I would have to do a cut out. It turns out (after I tore up the vynl overhang) that the were no bees in the area discussed above. It looks like what happened was a swarm landed under her deck (about 10-12 feet up) NEXT to this hole. Which would have been a perfect cavity for their hive (perfect for them, not for her).

She did end up spraying and from the pics she showed me it killed off maybe 1/4 of the swarm. The rest of the gals, including the queen, started building up outside the hole, under the deck, in the swarm ball. They were there for 2 weeks and already had comb built up about the size of my hand. I cut the comb out with my hive tool and dropped it into the swarm box. After a few mins they started fanning and 15-20mins later, and a few brushes, I got the majority of them in the box.

Got them home about an hour later and immediately put them in a hive. This morning I go to check on them and a bunch of them..maybe half a fists worth, were up underneath the overhang of my porch. Similar to how they were setup underneath her deck. A good bit of them are in the hive and I saw some fanning when I put them in there last night, guessing the queen is in there, tho I have not yet seen her.

I left the hive top open a crack and I'll give them another look this afternoon but I'm just wondering if anyone has advice to share.. is there something I can do to encourage the bees to stay in the hive instead of clinging to the overhang 8 feet above it ?:p

Offline Robo

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2008, 09:13:42 am »
Was there any brood in the comb you cut out?  I would think that after 2 weeks they would have built more comb than a fist size.  I have seen swarms build that in a matter of an hour.
Of course no telling how the spray effected them,  but if there was no brood after two weeks, I would say they are queenless.    If there was brood, find the queen.  Either cage her, confine her to comb with hardware cloth, or put an excluder on top of the bottom board until she starts laying.

Unfortunately it sounds like they are queenless to me.   

This is a good example why one shouldn't bother with bees that have been sprayed.

Best of luck

rob....
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Offline SystemShark

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2008, 03:13:00 pm »
I did not see any brood in the comb; there is a good chance its queenless then. I have not spotted her yet..

why all the fanning though? When I put the swarm box down there were a good 3-5 bees on the edge fanning like they've done in the past when the queen is inside. So far that has been my only clue that there might be a queen.

The majority of the bees have left my hive and are clinging to the overhang above my porch; similarly to what they were doing at the lady's house. I could try and combine them with another hive, but if they are fubared because of the spray I don't think I'll risk it. Maybe give them a few days to see what happens and then dump them in the woods or something.

Thanks for the response; I was hoping for a happy ending to make the trip worth it (i did get a very nice donation) but I really wanted the bees :))

Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2008, 04:14:11 pm »
I would look for queen up in the eaves. the fanning is bees looking for the queen, trying to lure her back into hive is my guess. Look in the eaves for queen, she may be there.
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Offline Robo

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Re: Worth it?
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2008, 05:09:51 pm »
I'd try given them a frame of brood and eggs and see if they build queen cells.   My money is still on them being queen-less and at this point even IF there was a queen,  what good is she if they where under the lady's porch for 2 weeks and she didn't lay any brood?

Put them back in the box with a queen excluder above the bottom board and a frame of brood/eggs and see what happens.....
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



 

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