Destroy a colony

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Frodesley

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I have a vicious colony which I have tried to requeen several times unsuccessfully .
I have been told that petrol works best.
What is the best method and can I reuse the frames, etc?
 
How many hives do you have? If you have more than one, kill the queen and unite.
Petrol is better off in a car.

I've heard this over and over again.
I wouldn't petrol a colony..

If you have more than one hive and you've tried numerous times to requeen, your best bet would be to shake them out or unite.
 
A question first;

Did you manage to re-queen yet the bees continued to be nasty?

If so, keep in mind that it will take about nine weeks for the former queen's prodigy to die out and you notice any difference.


If you wish to kill all, then I suggest copious warm (not hot as you don't want melted wax everywhere,)sudsy water (lots of washing up liquid, about half a mug full,) poured from the top. Easier to reuse everything after a fresh water light wash.

Shut the bees in the evening before doing this and keep the entrance closed until the deed is done.

If super honey is present then I suggest you use a clearing board and remove this first.

Petrol IMO is not a good option.
 
Lovely picture dani, is that you looking to dispatch the Queen?
That’s Stan. I’m filming. I have a video but it’s a bit blue!
He was much braver than me. He has leather gloves on under the marigolds and three layers under the suit.
Yes. We got her without having to look too hard. The inspection cloth was a bit redundant. Taking the top off even the bees in the supers poured out. They were ok as a nuc but just got worse and worse. Oh happy days!
 
That’s Stan. I’m filming. I have a video but it’s a bit blue!
He was much braver than me. He has leather gloves on under the marigolds and three layers under the suit.
Yes. We got her without having to look too hard. The inspection cloth was a bit redundant. Taking the top off even the bees in the supers poured out. They were ok as a nuc but just got worse and worse. Oh happy days!
Yes, strange bloodline that one the three other sisters that year were a joy (from the number 8 line if I recall) produces loads of prolific queens - gentle bees and superb honey gatherers, then, as a penance, every now and again you get a vicious kamikaze colony (got one here now, they managed by accident to come from an out apiary) it's only when I checked my notes I realised the bloodline, it's a shame as last year the queen and colony were fine, and in this year of precious little honey, I've had three supers off already and there's quite a few supers on her still.
 
Yes, strange bloodline that one the three other sisters that year were a joy (from the number 8 line if I recall) produces loads of prolific queens - gentle bees and superb honey gatherers, then, as a penance, every now and again you get a vicious kamikaze colony (got one here now, they managed by accident to come from an out apiary) it's only when I checked my notes I realised the bloodline, it's a shame as last year the queen and colony were fine, and in this year of precious little honey, I've had three supers off already and there's quite a few supers on her still.
Yes folks
They were Emyr’s bees! 😬
I wasn’t going to say 🤣
 
That’s Stan. I’m filming. I have a video but it’s a bit blue!
He was much braver than me. He has leather gloves on under the marigolds and three layers under the suit.
Yes. We got her without having to look too hard. The inspection cloth was a bit redundant. Taking the top off even the bees in the supers poured out. They were ok as a nuc but just got worse and worse. Oh happy days!
Oops!!! Apologies to your or Stan :laughing-smiley-004you can see that he had them stinging his hands fairish.
It's not nice when a colony is like this, I've had one this season on double brood it took me three attempts to find the Queen and then a further 6 weeks to settle down after dispatching the Queen..
This was one of the feral colonys I collected from thrift common can ypu remember me putting photos up on here.?
They were fine when I moved them but went rouge afterwards, it was ashame because the Queen was lovely and dark.
They have a darkish queen now one they raised them selves.
And have produced two good supers plus the two I took of after I moved them.

IMG_20200522_170305.jpg
 
Oops!!! Apologies to your or Stan :laughing-smiley-004you can see that he had them stinging his hands fairish.
It's not nice when a colony is like this, I've had one this season on double brood it took me three attempts to find the Queen and then a further 6 weeks to settle down after dispatching the Queen..
This was one of the feral colonys I collected from thrift common can ypu remember me putting photos up on here.?
They were fine when I moved them but went rouge afterwards, it was ashame because the Queen was lovely and dark.
They have a darkish queen now one they raised them selves.
And have produced two good supers plus the two I took of after I moved them.

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I have a vicious colony which I have tried to requeen several times unsuccessfully .
I have been told that petrol works best.
What is the best method and can I reuse the frames, etc?
washing up liquid and water is the best if you are going to use the frames again.
once you have killed the hive you can steam out the frames and reuse.
take the cover board off and replace with a bee tight screen such as a travel screen.
replace the roof and go back after all the bees have stopped flying.
seal up the entrance and remove the roof. pour in a bucket full of the mix making sure you cover all of the frames.
The bees will die very quickly. Then leave over night, in the morning, clean up and remove hive.
 
It is a shame to kill bees especially when they are already under threat, could you try a totally different distant out apiary? sometimes different forage can help ....
 
Sometimes it is the only option and I have done the deed when all else has failed. 3 or 4 gallons of warm soapy water is quick and leaves the equipment reusable. The detergent needs to be of the heavy degreaser kind or you end up with clean angry bees!
 
Sometimes it is the only option and I have done the deed when all else has failed. 3 or 4 gallons of warm soapy water is quick and leaves the equipment reusable. The detergent needs to be of the heavy degreaser kind or you end up with clean angry bees!
:icon_204-2::icon_204-2:
 
I have a vicious colony which I have tried to requeen several times unsuccessfully .
I have been told that petrol works best.
What is the best method and can I reuse the frames, etc?
Your failed introductions may be because of the method you have used. If you want to introduce a new queen to address bad temper after removing the old queen or when you are introducing a queen of a different strain, such as a yellow queen into a dark colony, you want to be in control of the time at which that queen is released. It's no good just letting the bees get on with it, which can be a bit hit and miss. There is a good description of the use of an observation board on the Dave Cushman website. Follow the links to Queen Introduction then go to the Knight/Taber/Dews method. Also click on “Observation Board” in the text for further information. The reports therein from beekeepers of greater experience than most on this forum show this to be as near as dammit 100% effective. There is no need to destroy a colony. Every one should be recoverable as long as you have the confidence to go in, find the old queen and remove her. There are techniques to help there which you will also find on the same website. This observation board technique may take a long time. The last time I used it, it was 7 days before I was able to release the queen into the colony. Some report it has taken longer. The queen will still get fed by the workers even if they still want to kill her. It's also an interesting program to watch -better than the telly. As for the timing of the change in temper of the colony (referred to in other parts of the thread), this is likely to occur from almost immediately after introduction or up to 6 weeks or so after, gradually improving as older bees die off. This could be due to the bad temper being a reaction to the queen pheromones present in the hive at the time or may be due to a genetic effect passed on to the queen's progeny. My own experience shows this to be an almost immediately noticeable effect, improving as time goes on, even with colonies which I have had in the past which I have thought were best suited for use of the military
 
Your failed introductions may be because of the method you have used. If you want to introduce a new queen to address bad temper after removing the old queen or when you are introducing a queen of a different strain, such as a yellow queen into a dark colony, you want to be in control of the time at which that queen is released. It's no good just letting the bees get on with it, which can be a bit hit and miss. There is a good description of the use of an observation board on the Dave Cushman website. Follow the links to Queen Introduction then go to the Knight/Taber/Dews method. Also click on “Observation Board” in the text for further information. The reports therein from beekeepers of greater experience than most on this forum show this to be as near as dammit 100% effective. There is no need to destroy a colony. Every one should be recoverable as long as you have the confidence to go in, find the old queen and remove her. There are techniques to help there which you will also find on the same website. This observation board technique may take a long time. The last time I used it, it was 7 days before I was able to release the queen into the colony. Some report it has taken longer. The queen will still get fed by the workers even if they still want to kill her. It's also an interesting program to watch -better than the telly. As for the timing of the change in temper of the colony (referred to in other parts of the thread), this is likely to occur from almost immediately after introduction or up to 6 weeks or so after, gradually improving as older bees die off. This could be due to the bad temper being a reaction to the queen pheromones present in the hive at the time or may be due to a genetic effect passed on to the queen's progeny. My own experience shows this to be an almost immediately noticeable effect, improving as time goes on, even with colonies which I have had in the past which I have thought were best suited for use of the military
It's all well and good giving this advice but we don't know how much confidence or experience the op has.
If I was new to requeening and I'm not that experienced my self your advice would have me:willy_nilly:
 
... you want to be in control of the time at which that queen is released. It's no good just letting the bees get on with it, which can be a bit hit and miss. There is a good description of the use of an observation board on the Dave Cushman website. Follow the links to Queen Introduction then go to the Knight/Taber/Dews method. ...
Introducing a new queen to a large colony is difficult (unless, perhaps, if you do so immediately after removing the original queen). The description you refer to also cautions against trying to introduce a queen into a large colony, and that it should be used with a nucleus.
 

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