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Put a big sign on the roof of the unfriendly hive saying 'This Box contains valuable stuff' and let the idiots get on with it.

Yes, that's what I did- lots of struggling with gaffer tape in the darkness. It's when I did this that I discovered that one of my hives had a gap in the floor that the bees poured out of in response to having the entrance sealed up. It was this gang of hooligans that have been hanging around...

I have packed up my beekeeping and sold all of my kit which was collected yesterday. I have around 200 very angry and confused bees hanging around the empty apiary site. Any thoughts on how long it will take them to disperse?

All sold now- thanks to everyone who showed an interest. That's me done. Good luck to you all. May the weather be kind, the honey flow and your queens be plentiful.

Thanks for that positive intervention... I think I have a buyer now, so all's well. Will update if things don't work out.

Thank you everyone- you're all very kind and supportive. I won't forget the bees! But they have to go...

Thanks Hachi. Just recaptured a swarm so there are now 4 nucs available.

I am in my third season of beekeeping and have decided that I have given it a fair go, but it isn’t for me. It has become more of a chore than I hoped for, I think I am just not very good and my family need the garden back. As a result I am going to sell up. My colonies are in a bit of a state...

Another swarm just heading out- that's it for me. I'm really not enjoying it anymore... Neighbours running for cover, garden out of bounds for the 4th weekend running; sting on my neck has come up like a goitre.

Meetings tend to be too far away for me

I don't know any other beekeepers and don't have a mentor, so I really struggle through on my own. Right now I am feeling quite low and confused about what's happening. Mind you- your point about the honey is spot on...

I am seriously thinking about giving up. I'm in my third season and I really don't feel I am any good at this. 2 swarms today even though I've been trying to keep on top of inspections and now my collection has gone up to 6 colonies. Getting fed up with being stung... and I want to be able to go...

My hives are all named after their queens. My queens are named from A-Z using body parts and diseases as the source material. The two newest queens are Nipple and Orifice...

Hurts doesn't it?

Just done my second artificial swarm of the week, couldn't see the queen in the hive that was swarming, but that is most likely because none of my queens are marked and I am really terrible at spotting them. I do have a nagging suspicion that she may have already gone though. So now have 3 hives...

Originally Posted by Helen On my commute to work, I used to pass field after field after field of OSR in bloom at this time. This year, hardly any. The profit in it could have reduced at a guess? Where I am, they seem to be growing nothing but OSR. You can smell it in the air everywhere.

I wasn't planning to open the hives today as although sunny, it isn't that warm. A sixth sense prompted me to open up the most vigorous though as I felt it was time for another super to be added (OSR nearby) and just had the nagging sense that things might be a bit crowded in there. Sure enough...

I've just put up some screens in front of the hives to try and force them higher and take less interest in what is going on in the garden. Mrs Slangers was stung today and was not pleased.

:yeahthat:

Has anyone ever tried using floral scents as a calming measure? I was reading a paper in Nature which suggested that linalool switches off the brain response to stinging pheremones making bees less likely to attack.