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Author Topic: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California  (Read 6040 times)

Offline beequeen

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Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« on: March 27, 2008, 11:03:07 pm »
If anyone here (L.A. County) wants to lure a queen and her colony out of the vent for my stove (it's  a small area and the bees could probably easily be smoked out) and then take them home, they are welcome to have them.  :-D

Offline DayValleyDahlias

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2008, 12:27:44 am »
Kirk-o lives in LA...he might be interested!  Wish I was closer!

Offline beequeen

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2008, 12:30:04 am »
Gosh, I wish you were too. I really hate to have them destroyed, and I do think someone with a little experience might be able to lure them out pretty easily.

Offline beequeen

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2008, 01:27:54 am »
Now, is this true or not.... I was told by a pest removal company that beekeepers don't want these bees because they don't want to take swarms because of possible disease or killer bee interbreeding? They told me that the bees would just be destroyed anyway.... is that true?

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2008, 01:58:56 am »
no.  it is not true.  we have members here who live in AHB areas and catch swarms all the time.  he probably wanted your money.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline DayValleyDahlias

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2008, 11:33:43 am »
BeeQueen,

 Send a Private Message to Kirk-o...he might well take them or know of someone who will...As Kathy said,   Most be folk LOVE to catch swarms.  Have you called your local bee association/club?  How about if you call the local fire department?  They sometimes have a list of swarm catchers...Good luck...OR are you interested in keeping bees???  Free bees for you!

Offline beequeen

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2008, 08:39:40 pm »
Well, sadly... while I was at work today my husband called an exterminator I had spoken with and had them destroyed. According to the exterminator they were actually in the wall outside of the venting.... so, it's no wonder the fumes, smoke and fan weren't doing too much. The whole situation makes me feel very sad. The exterminator fixed the grating over the vent so they can't go in or out, and right now I have a slew of escapees sitting nearby not knowing what to do. I wish I could do something that might help these guys. I imagine they will die without their queen. I feel so sick and sad about this whole thing. My husband said he felt the same way, but he was worried that if we left them any longer, we would have to tear down part of the house (actually we still may have to do that) and that we didn't have the time for me to find a beekeeper....
 :'(

I'm so sorry. I really did try to save these bees. If there had been a bee supplies store (and I did look for one!) perhaps I could have lured them out into something and just given them to a beekeeper.... or just kept them....


Offline Kathyp

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2008, 08:58:14 pm »
don't beat yourself up about it.  sometimes there is no choice.  you did give it a try and that's what matters.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline beequeen

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2008, 11:06:32 pm »
I just spoke with my local beekeeper. He would have taken them. It's really sad seeing the little huddle of bees outside. He told me in a few days they will be upset because they can't get in their home and have no food. I know I shouldn't feel so bad about this, but the whole thing is really upsetting. My stove vent has aluminum on it so the poison can't get in and I can hear bees hitting against it. I feel like some sadistic torturer.

I wrote the beekeepers name and number in my phonebook so hopefully I can save other bees. I wish there was some way to get a bee "house" with a queen in it for these poor bees. But I've been told they are probably not even useful because of poison contamination. I feel like buying some bee equipment to have handy just in case something like this ever happens again (my neighbor had a swarm in her tree about a year ago so it could happen again).

Offline DayValleyDahlias

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2008, 11:15:06 pm »
Oh rats, thats sad... :'(

Glad you got the name of a beekeeper just in case it happens again...

Good on you for trying...

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2008, 11:47:19 pm »
Don't feel too awfully bad.... I had to wipe out a small colony of bees that moved into a box covering my water well electrical components. It was November and I couldn't think of anything else to do because I needed to get in there and repair stuff. That is when I decided to start keeping bees.

So I guess we are on the same page here. Chin up.
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Offline Angi_H

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2008, 02:30:28 am »
did they have comb and brood with honey stores? If they did the side of the house will need to be opened up and have that stuff removed. As in the hot LA summers the wax will start to melt with no bees to keep it vented and it will start leaking honey and it will slowly start leaking through the walls. And stain the walls. I wish your hubby could have waited. Because if it was an established hive it could have been removed with a cut out and then the repairs done later the the whole hive saved.  One day is not enough time to find a bee keeper to do these things. You need to give it some more time. As they might not have been able to come out that same day as well. As it is still moving time for bees into pollinating orchards and many are busy. I would make sure the comb gets removed from the wall though before it causes trouble. As it will need to be done anyway. And a pest guy should know better then to kill them and then just seal it up. The pest guys I work with always tell the home owner even though he sprays them and kills them the old comb and old bees will need to be removed and all of the old wax and honey removed.  Sorry but if I was 3 hrs closer I would have done it. But tell your hubby next time they will be fine till you can find someone.

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2008, 06:50:04 am »
They were only there for a day. While they probably did build some comb it wouldn't be much and probably only a few drops of stores would have been in there.
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Offline beequeen

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2008, 05:30:28 pm »
We will keep our eyes open for any problems with the walls. I kind of wonder if there has been bees living there in the past. It seems like an odd place for them to go and prior to all of this I did see wandering bees around.

This whole experience has certainly been a lesson. One thing I've learned is you have to question the honesty of exterminators, some will lie to get your business. Since I'm not getting any younger and I've always thought bees were interesting, why not learn more about them now. Even if I can't keep a hive in my yard, (the beekeeper I spoke with told that it could be a liability in my neighborhood), but maybe I can learn more about beekeeping anyway. Perhaps someday I will own a home with some space around it and I can have some almond trees and bees... what a nice dream!

Offline jimmyo

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2008, 09:53:17 pm »
Maybe your beekeeper would like to set a swarm trap somewhere nearby.  If one swam comes by others will too.  You could keep an eye on the trap for him and call him when the bees swarm into it. you get to save bees and he gets a free swarm.
Jim

Offline beequeen

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Re: Free Swarm! ~~Southern California
« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2008, 05:24:36 pm »
I may just get something like that myself. The beekeeper mentioned there's a beekeepers supply store in Los Angeles. I've googled it, copied out address, phone #, etc...., and I'm planning to take a drive over and check the place out (maybe they'll even have a cool beekeepers hat I like!).