Beginners !!! Wasp management

[Somerford]

Dear New Beeks

Heads up. You may be in your first or second year, with a Nuc or a small colony, or a couple of colonies for that matter

Wasps are already starting to make their presence known and felt in areas.

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN ?!?!??

1. Immediately close up your entrances to a couple of bee-widths. Even if you have a wooden entrance block, buy a 50p yellow car wash sponge from B&Q, cut it in half long ways and again and push this in to the entrance hole to fill 75% of the entrance clear.

2. WBC Owners - now is the time to reverse an entrance block to completely closed one side and wasp entrance the other side. If you have an open mesh floor then you can block 2 of the 4 holes with sponge too. Also don't forget the conical bee escapes in the roof as wasps can and do get into your hives that way

3. Nucs are the most vulnerable. If you can, reduce the entrance to a bees width and also place a tile or slate leaning against the front to deflect the wasps

4. WASP BANE. So this isn't the cheapest way - you can buy them online for about £18, or more from reputable bee suppliers, but they WORK. Follow the instructions and install one per Apiary.

5. Hornet traps also work. Cheap ones from Thornes are good

6. Use gaffer/duck tape to seal up supers and any side entrances in old wooden hives else the yellow B@57@rds will find a way in

7. Destroy any wasp nests found within 500m with ant powder - it works the same way as wasp nest destroyer and is a third of the price

I'm posting this as there is nothing worse than colonies being destroyed by wasps and we all want our colonies to thrive.

Don't delay, treat for wasps TODAY !

Please bump this post !!

KR and happy Wasp hunting

Somerford

 

[Millet]

Good shout, i destroyed a wasp nest that was around 15yrds from my hives last week, i don't like doing it and i would have left them do there thing if i was not keeping a watchful eye on Nuc's,.
For the stronger colonies wasps are easily managed by making a tunnel entrance or by using underfloor entrances which can easily be reduced down if wasps become a nuisance.
Them waspbane traps are lethal at catching wasps and for the past three years i have one near my hives when the wasps start sugar feeding.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Also
Check out the beekeeping link on www.waspbane.com

 

[BenLatimer]

Dear New Beeks

Heads up. You may be in your first or second year, with a Nuc or a small colony, or a couple of colonies for that matter

Wasps are already starting to make their presence known and felt in areas.

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN ?!?!??

1. Immediately close up your entrances to a couple of bee-widths. Even if you have a wooden entrance block, buy a 50p yellow car wash sponge from B&Q, cut it in half long ways and again and push this in to the entrance hole to fill 75% of the entrance clear.

2. WBC Owners - now is the time to reverse an entrance block to completely closed one side and wasp entrance the other side. If you have an open mesh floor then you can block 2 of the 4 holes with sponge too. Also don't forget the conical bee escapes in the roof as wasps can and do get into your hives that way

3. Nucs are the most vulnerable. If you can, reduce the entrance to a bees width and also place a tile or slate leaning against the front to deflect the wasps

4. WASP BANE. So this isn't the cheapest way - you can buy them online for about £18, or more from reputable bee suppliers, but they WORK. Follow the instructions and install one per Apiary.

5. Hornet traps also work. Cheap ones from Thornes are good

6. Use gaffer/duck tape to seal up supers and any side entrances in old wooden hives else the yellow B@57@rds will find a way in

7. Destroy any wasp nests found within 500m with ant powder - it works the same way as wasp nest destroyer and is a third of the price

I'm posting this as there is nothing worse than colonies being destroyed by wasps and we all want our colonies to thrive.

Don't delay, treat for wasps TODAY !

Please bump this post !!

KR and happy Wasp hunting

Somerford

I have a smallish colony and an entrance block with a medium and small entrance. On medium at the moment, should I go small? I have seen wasps around the hive in last few days...

 

[Somerford]

Small Ben. 1.5 bee width

 

[Millet]

I have a smallish colony and an entrance block with a medium and small entrance. On medium at the moment, should I go small? I have seen wasps around the hive in last few days...

A reduced entrance does not always help, due to how narrow a standard entrance block is allows wasps to go in and instantly up out of harms way, a tunnel entrance stops that happening as the wasps have to run through many bees before than go up, usually resulting in the wasps being quickly deterred, i use 100mm blocks but if i see any problems a shim of wood can be slid in to half the width of the entrance making it nae on impossible for anything to sneak in undetected.
Here is a link from last year post 6.


https://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38107&highlight=Tunnel+entrance

 

[Somerford]

great link there Millet

KR

S

 

[colinc]

I use deep entrance blocks like Millets post above too. Quick and simple and cheap to make from any offcut wood.


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[Somerford]

Well - a couple of weeks since I placed the WaspBanes in place long with some more bottle traps

WaspBanes filling up very quickly - buy yours guys as they really work.....!

KR

Somerford

 

[Swift Nick]

Well - a couple of weeks since I placed the WaspBanes in place long with some more bottle traps

WaspBanes filling up very quickly - buy yours guys as they really work.....!

KR

Somerford

I put a Waspbane in yesterday evening, waiting to see how it does.

 

[colinc]

Mine is sat waiting to be deployed too. Wet and grotty here.
Are you using fruit juice and water mix or lager?


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[Somerford]

I put in 200g sugar, 100g old honey, water and 'Rubicon' mango juice from the supermarket and then add the activator (yeast)

works very very well

Don't delay - wasps fly in colder and wetter weather !

KR

S

 

[colinc]

I know the instructions say add honey but wary of attracting bees. Have you had that issue with your mix?, there does seem to be a lot of latitude in the instructions for what you fill it with.


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[Somerford]

no issues at all

 

[colinc]

no issues at all

Thanks. Will load it up soon.


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[Wingy]

Saw the first wasp in front of my hive today, it was trying to take an already dead bee but struggled to lift it off the floor, probably due to the weight of my boot on top of it lol.
Wasp traps out tomorrow
Wingy

 

[colinc]

Saw the first wasp in front of my hive today, it was trying to take an already dead bee but struggled to lift it off the floor, probably due to the weight of my boot on top of it lol.

Wasp traps out tomorrow

Wingy

Ha ha your mistake was stepping on the bee, stepping on the wasp works better, less tug of war.


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[Erichalfbee]

I know the instructions say add honey but wary of attracting bees. Have you had that issue with your mix?, there does seem to be a lot of latitude in the instructions for what you fill it with.


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Honey for me too.
Friends and kids are forever giving me gifts of honey. Some of it is atrocious so it goes in the traps.

 

[colinc]

Honey for me too.

Friends and kids are forever giving me gifts of honey. Some of it is atrocious so it goes in the traps.

Best gift for a bee keeper, a nice jar of EU and Non EU blended honey. You lucky person. Ha ha ha


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[Millet]

I know the instructions say add honey but wary of attracting bees. Have you had that issue with your mix?, there does seem to be a lot of latitude in the instructions for what you fill it with.


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I put honey in the wasp trap 2yrs ago and it kept catching bees, i had to empty it and hose it out, larger and strawberry jam is bee safe.