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Author Topic: Why is honey so sticky?  (Read 6077 times)

Offline Understudy

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Why is honey so sticky?
« on: February 04, 2007, 12:39:16 am »

Well I did another cut out. As with everything you always learn something new.
I had a few issues with this one. First I thought it was going to be a small
hive. The owner said the bees had only been there for a few months. Also I was
hoping the sophet was plywood. That certainly ain't what reality threw at me.

While at the South Florida Fair this is one of the extractions I was given. It
was a home owned by an older gentleman who was retired. I went out about two
weeks ago and did a quick survey. The bees were in his sophet. The sophet is
where the roof overhangs the outside walls of the house. The gentleman said the
bees moved in about three months ago. I would assume that the hive wasn't very
large also sophets tend to have wood trusses that would limit the amount of
available space. I keep making these assumptions I am going to end falling down
a bottomless hole.

The sophets in Florida are generally stucco on wire mesh. Cutting this stuff
sucks.Also because this gentleman lived more than 20 miles away I wanted to use
the bee vac to help expedite matters and because I was limited on space in the
car. I know Michael doesn't like bee vacs and I certainly understand why. After
this one I may need to modify my bee vac.

Here is your material list for the sophet removal:
1. Sawzall corded , the cordless one will not last long enough.
2. Extension cord for the above item.
3. Bee Vac with Shop Vac.
4. Smoker and fuel for it.
5. Serrated knives, my favorite is a small pumpkin carver because it fits into
small spaces.
6. Veil
7. Camera, you want pictures
8. Bee brush
9. Screwdriver for prying stucco. Prybar will work also.
10. Big tupperware/rubbermade container.
11. A bucket with water or a hose.
12. Marble / tile cutting blades for sawzall. I recommend you have at least
four. you will burn through them.
13. Drill with large masonry bit.
14. Flashlight to look into dark corners.
15. Queen cage just in case.
16. Safety googles and breathing mask  <--edited to add. 2/4/07

Please note when doing a sophet removal you will cut comb and it is unlikely you
will ever spot the queen.

I had planned on getting the bees into the bucket and combining them with the
hive I had gotten from the compost bin extraction via the newspaper method.

I drilled a hole into the sophet killed a bee with the drill bit. i took the
sawzall and the special blade and cut a small opening around 10"x10" and
immediately realized I was in trouble. This was going to be a big one and had
been there for a while. Nothing I could do now but cut a bigger hole.and another
and another. Bees would die as they tried to attack my sawzall. The reciprocating
blade would kill them. However they almost managed to win when a few flew into
the motor brushes and started to smoke the motor. A very nasty smell. By the
time I was done my hole was over 6 feet long to expose 5 feet
of comb. Somehow I suspect this hive had been there for more than three months.

I started cutting the outer comb which was honey comb. Now please understand I am
working on a ladder under this. As I am cutting the comb honey is dripping on
everything. I watched it smoke and burn as it hit my smoker. Tools are now
getting dirty and sticky. Honey and dirt combine to make a very nasty glue.

Now also after a certain time I had removed my veil and just left on my baseball
cap. Honey soaked through that to make my hair a sticky mess. I gave my shampoo
bottle a very dirty look when I noticed it had honey and fruit in it. I continued to remove honey comb. Probably 40lbs/18 KG of it of which I am sure I ended up wearing half of it.

I would vacuum up the bees as I went along. Lots of bees. The one great thing about this is there was lots of brood frames and they would be a perfect fit for a medium frame. So I am moving along cutting and vacuuming. The bee vac I designed is a double 5 gallon bucket that connects to a shop vac. Well the 5 gallon bucket is full. Crap. Now my bee fatality rate is going to go through the roof.  Fortunately I am pretty close to done. I check through the rest of the bees and see if I spot the queen. I don't see her.

The tupperware container is heavy and the bee vac is full and I have blown leaves sticking to me. I use the hose to clean up as much as I can. I clean up tools and pack everything in. I head home and move the brood frames into the the empty mediums. I place a newspaper on top of the compost bin hive. I place the brood frames and an empty medium on top. I empty the bucket of bees and place the top entrance on. Bees are going everywhere and I suspect the mortality rate is going to be outrageous but I will give it time.

I spent enough time in the shower that the hot water started to run out but my hair no longer looks like a bad mohawk.

Pictures can be seen here:
http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=72

Updates to follow.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
« Last Edit: February 04, 2007, 10:09:58 am by Understudy »
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Offline Jacmar

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2007, 01:26:32 am »
Brendhan,

Fantastic looking job, I know you say you didn't see the queen earlier but did you find her later by any chance? How long did it take you from start to finish?

Great looking pictures as you went along, now from the pictures it is time to really clean the tools. It looks like the sawzall took the worst of the punishment. I have to assume that your deal with the owner is that he reinstates the soffit, expanded metal mesh and plaster can be a devil of a job, I know from my days of construction.

Congratulations on a great looking removal.

Oh yes, only been there three months--right--

Jack
"The key to life is to Die Young at a very Old Age"

Offline mick

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2007, 03:58:53 am »
NIce job! great pics! you must have been a bucket of sweat after that one, you need one of those kids that hang around doing nothing to help ya.

Very interesting, when I heard the term "wire some comb" I always thought you sewed it to the top of the frame, so it hangs in the frame, couldnt work out why the wire wouldnt cut the comb and let it drop out.

Now I understand what wiring a frame of comb actually is! thanks matey!

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2007, 04:21:51 am »
I did a few of those and have decided I will not do any more. Those are the messiest ones.

I did a stucco wall using a side grinder. They make disk for masonry. It took a few disk to cut out an eight foot by eighteen inch slab. But it sure beat the prying and banging and knocking. The banging and knocking really makes them angry.
:rainbowflower:  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.   :rainbowflower:

 :jerry:

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     http://photobucket.com/albums/v225/Jerry-mac/

Offline Understudy

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2007, 10:30:16 am »
Jacmar:
Never found the queen.
And yes the deal with the owner was I make the holes not patch them.
Mick:
What I do is use rubber bands wrapped around the frames. The bees or myself will remove the bands once the bees have secured the comb to the frame.
Jerrymac:
I understand you not wanting to do anymore. I originally thought this one was going to be a small hive. I just no longer believe those bees were only there for three months.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Cindi

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2007, 11:03:08 am »
Brendhan.  Wow.  How did you take pics with such sticky fingers (LOL).  that was an amazing feat.  I don't want to ever cut up a building to catch a swarm, that is not my thing, maybe a tree or something like that.  My hat off to you for endeavouring such an event.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2007, 11:51:10 am »
so some of the compost bin bees stuck around?  you didn't get that queen, as i recall.  if you didn't get this one, will you requeen, or were there eggs in the brood comb that you'll let try to raise one?

that looked like a project.  don't know that i'd take one like that on!  :-) especially one over my head.  your arms must have hurt.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Understudy

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2007, 12:02:35 pm »
I am banking on the brood frames to get a new queen. A very risky move but I have three more cutouts to do. So I will either get lucky of have enough brood that a queen will come out of it.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Cindi

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2007, 04:52:55 pm »
Brendhan, still thinking about you and your conquest.  Man, I think that you have lots of guts to get in so deep with obviously something that is an incredible amount of work, and like Kathy said, you arms must have been killin' ya.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Understudy

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2007, 07:21:27 pm »
Jacmar:
Sorry I was little slow in responding. The job took about 5 hours.

Cindi:
You laugh but I have to get that stickyness off of the camera too.
My arms are not killing me, my legs are a little sore from having to stand on the ladder and do all this.

Stand by for another post on today's extraction. i think I will title it "No pay no stay."

I am going to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory now. I am going to drink lots of wine. So I may not post until tomorrow maybe the day after. Or I may post as soon as I get home which will make it very interesting to decipher. :)


Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Cindi

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2007, 09:08:31 pm »
Brendhan.  Right.  Good luck trying to type while you are having a little too much wine.  I have tried that many times and it takes about 5 minutes to even type a sentence.  So, let me know if you have found a magical way to type while under the influence.  Good luck.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2007, 02:45:04 pm »
i have printed off your list.  i'm doing that barn thing tomorrow.  i had to put it off because of the cold.....

thanks for posting your experiences.  there are a lot of things i wouldn't have thought of.

wish me luck  :-)  i'll post pics asap.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Kirk-o

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2007, 03:37:17 pm »
Have a good one
kirk-o
"It's not about Honey it's not about Money It's about SURVIVAL" Charles Martin Simmon

Offline Understudy

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2007, 05:49:18 pm »
i have printed off your list.  i'm doing that barn thing tomorrow.  i had to put it off because of the cold.....

thanks for posting your experiences.  there are a lot of things i wouldn't have thought of.

wish me luck  :-)  i'll post pics asap.
kathyp:

Add a paint scraper to that list. I forgot to mention it.

Good Luck!

Take lots of pictures.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Why is honey so sticky?
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2007, 06:22:06 pm »
Quote
Add a paint scraper to that list.

i actually thought of that myself and it's in the pile.  i had been doing some painting and thought "gee, i bet that would be handy when i get that hive"  :-)
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.