I am dealing with the most aggressive, rotten bees that I have ever experienced. This older gentleman explained to me that he had a hive of bees in his back yard that had been there for 2 or 3 months. First off, the hive had been there for 2 or 3 YEARS, not months and there were grape vines and trees growing all around their hive that was in an industrial sized tire (18 wheel size). Well first off I bring an unexperience friend to assist in lifting. Before I even touch the tire-hive my friend and I already have at least 50 bees each bumping us. I get my smoker and smoke the snot out of them and proceed to try and move the tire. This tire must have been totally full of comb and packed with honey because it weighed over a hundred pounds, at least. Well right off the bat I get a bad vibe and I turn and tell my friend to go back to the truck, away from the hive. As I back off I become completely covered in bees looking for any chink in my armor and they found a few places. So after getting hit a number of times I make a hasty retreat for a regrouping and rethinking.
I return the next day with duck tape, a large plastic drop cloth, and a wet sheet. I first put all my armor on which includes a towel around my neck, duck tape on my ankles and on both the inside of my wrists and the outside of my gloves. I put the wet sheet on the front of the hive to slow the onslaught and employeed my friend to help flip the tire face down so I can put the wet sheet on the back side of the tire. After doing this we flip the tire a couple more times in order to put the hive on the plastic sheet. I then enshroud the tire in as many layers of plastic that I can and again make a hasty retreat. In this ordeal I get stung 4 times on the face due to a small tear in the topside of my veil.
I brought a much more experienced friend this time when I returned this morning with a large tarp. Once again the bees met me before I got out of the truck. I applied my armor again, this time fixing my veil. I placed this tarp over the wraped tire and begin to put soil all around the tire to make sure there is no exit hole. I then grap a water hose and wet the soil into mud so it will stay and also hit the beard that had regrouped.
I will let the sun and attrition kill the rest. I have never been met with so much resistance ever from any bees. I am no bee expert, but I feel assured that these are in fact Africans. My gloves were covered in stingers as was the rest of my suit. These bees would also not stop their attack no matter how far away from the hive I got. Their fury is unmatched in my experience with the species. I will only let my other bees scavange the tire when, and only when there are no more bees alive in this hive.
Have others here had many responses like mine? I would never have become a beekeeper if they were all like this.