Crazy, aggressive bees - what to do?

[Lolly Bee]

Morning all, I'm really struggling with one of my three hives. The bees are bonkers, crazy aggressive. I've literally not been able to get in there for a month now. They were always a bit aggie but I could manage (just) now I simply can't get in there without being attacked. Last time I did get in the queen was there, laying and all was fine. There is no way I can pass these on to someone else, unless they have b***s of steel and don't mind being attacked and stung. What do I do?
All I can be thankful for is that the other two hives literally don't care when I turn up and talk to them telling them how clever and beautiful they are!

 

[Erichalfbee]

I guess your choices are requeen or euthanise
Make nuc up with a good mated queen. Wait till she has laid up a frame or so kill the nasty queen and unite.

 

[enrico]

Get a small colony going with a nice queen immediately adjacent to your nasty hive. Next time you go through them, in a bomb proof suit, kill the queen and immediately unite with the other colony. The only reason I suggest this is it sounds like you have no trouble seeing the queen. I tend to unite iffy queen's by this method on my first inspection in the spring when numbers are low and bees are not so defensive. Iffy queen's never improve

 

[blackcloud]

Requeening is a slow and painful way to achieve the same thing in many cases.

 

[Lolly Bee]

Get a small colony going with a nice queen immediately adjacent to your nasty hive. Next time you go through them, in a bomb proof suit, kill the queen and immediately unite with the other colony. The only reason I suggest this is it sounds like you have no trouble seeing the queen. I tend to unite iffy queen's by this method on my first inspection in the spring when numbers are low and bees are not so defensive. Iffy queen's never improve

So would I be right in thinking that you suggest letting them overwinter and then kill the queen? I have two unbelievably nice, gentle hives in the same apiary and so could unite. Any suggestions on a bomb proof suit other than about three layers of clothing?!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

would I be right in thinking that you suggest letting them overwinter and then kill the queen?

do it now - it's still the middle of summer

 

[Nannysbees]

So would I be right in thinking that you suggest letting them overwinter and then kill the queen? I have two unbelievably nice, gentle hives in the same apiary and so could unite. Any suggestions on a bomb proof suit other than about three layers of clothing?!

Maybe try and buy a queen

 

[Blunt Spike]

So would I be right in thinking that you suggest letting them overwinter and then kill the queen? I have two unbelievably nice, gentle hives in the same apiary and so could unite. Any suggestions on a bomb proof suit other than about three layers of clothing?!

There are plenty of sting(ish) proof suits. I say ish because they always find a spot like at the cuffs or in my Swienty breeze they find a spot under the arm where I must condense the width of the suit enough for them to manage to give me the occasional found you lol.
I wear wrist spats which prevent getting stung at the wrists.
I also think I get calmer bees in the breeze suit because they can't sting so don't send up the pheromones.
Ive started wearing surgical gloves which I think helps as I can feel what I'm doing better than when I wore thick leather gloves.... when I had to use them recently it felt like beekeeping in oven gloves! The increased feel and dexterity certainly help when trying to pick up the queen.
Maybe all of this is just coincidental... maybe I'm just learning to go slower and more carefully.

 

[enrico]

So would I be right in thinking that you suggest letting them overwinter and then kill the queen? I have two unbelievably nice, gentle hives in the same apiary and so could unite. Any suggestions on a bomb proof suit other than about three layers of clothing?!

No, sorry, I confused you. Just suggesting that if you think a queen is iffy then spring us the easiest time to deal with it, but.... You are past that point so you need to deal with them now if you can summon up the courage. Are you suggesting that they are still stinging you through three layers of clothing? If not the wear three layers and go into the hive in the knowledge that the cannot sting you so you are going to deal with them and not let them beat you back. Get help if you can, bleed off the flyers if you can move the hive. Be brave and go for it. Good luck.
If all else fails think about destruction as a last resort. Bad bees are no good to anyone

 

[Erichalfbee]

Jeans and a fleece top under your bee suit. Two pairs of gloves. Leather ones come in useful her but Stans got some chemical resistant ones on. Sleeves and ankles taped up.
Not pleasant

 

[Lolly Bee]

Jeans and a fleece top under your bee suit. Two pairs of gloves. Leather ones come in useful her but Stans got some chemical resistant ones on. Sleeves and ankles taped up.
Not pleasant

View attachment 37063

That looks much like me with my bees. I wear jeans, sweatshirt, two long armed nitrile gloves, cuffs and wellies. They still find somewhere though. Huge sigh. Will try again today to find and kill the queen and hope they breed a nice one. If not, that's it, I'm killing them off, if for no other reason than I can't risk anything happening to people living in the vicinity.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Will try again today to find and kill the queen and hope they breed a nice one.

They won't. The likelihood is they will be just as bad as ever

 

[Erichalfbee]

If not, that's it, I'm killing them off

Sometimes that's the only way. I've never killed a nasty colony but I have a sick one. It's not nice but there are ways of doing it quickly

 

[Lolly Bee]

They won't. The likelihood is they will be just as bad as ever

If that is the case then it is euthanasia as I can't risk them doing anything to the neighbours on whose land my hives are located. Unless anyone else has any bright ideas?

 

[drex]

Late evening or early morning ( no flying) I suggest you gently move the entire colony 6+ feet. Put another BB on original site.
Let them fly for a few hours. The flying bees, which are the ones attacking will have gone into the new box. You can then go through original box with less hassle, making it easier to find HM.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Unless anyone else has any bright ideas

Not really. You unite with an existing nice colony after killing the queen, unite with a colony you make headed but a nice queen as per @enrico or kill them.
It's ok finding the queen now but you'll have to have a plan as to what to do next. If you go that way the only option you have is to unite with one of your others
Personally I would try to re queen with a nuc and bought in mated queen

 

[enrico]

That looks much like me with my bees. I wear jeans, sweatshirt, two long armed nitrile gloves, cuffs and wellies. They still find somewhere though. Huge sigh. Will try again today to find and kill the queen and hope they breed a nice one. If not, that's it, I'm killing them off, if for no other reason than I can't risk anything happening to people living in the vicinity.

Whatever you do, if you kill the queen do NOT LET THAT HIVE MAKE A NEW ONE. The chances are the genes will be similar

 

[blackcloud]

And every day that goes by those drones will be getting the chance to perpetuate the behaviour in new feral queens .
Nursing colonies with illness ,bad behaviour and brood disorder is not doing the wild population any favours whatsoever.
Imho of course...

 

[fian]

Perhaps the first thing I would do would be to move the aggressive hive away from the rest and before checking I would put a feeder with food, I would also reduce the entrance to a minimum.
Three days later I proceed to open it to see if its aggressiveness has decreased and if everything is fine (laying, pollen and honey) and to rule out symptoms of diseases or infections (skipped laying, deformed wings, hairless bees, trembling bees, etc).
If I have not found anything that justifies the aggressiveness due to stress, then the queen is replaced. If there is a shortage of food or any symptom of disease, it would be treated to see if the reduction in stress is accompanied by a reduction in aggressiveness.

 

[Julian4983]

When it comes to requeening with a more docile queen, how long do folks suggest after killing the ‘old’ aggressive queen to introduce the new queen and what process? Thanks