New to bees - Yorkshire

[Gilberdyke John]

My friend with a hive nearby told me they have just had two small colonies decimated by wasps. Another thing to keep me awake at night. I’ve reduced the entrance to t o bee spaces and they seem ok, plenty pollen coming in, steady activity and the wasps hanging around seem to be sent packing as soon as they get too close. There is another decapitated wasp infront of the hive.
Hopefully they are strong enough to keep them from too much destruction.
Ive dribbled a trail of syrup through the new feeder so the bees can investigate if they want to.
I’ll leave them to their own devices for a while.
I can’t afford another hive and bees just yet and it’s abit late in the year now, perhaps, so it’s all or nothing.
Gutted for my friend.

Courty

I was plagued with wasps last week. It prevented me from carrying out inspections. By watching diection of flights and carefully observing I found two nests within 50 yards of the apiary. A 15 gram pack of ficam W from ebay arrived Monday. Mix in 5 litres of water and spray in and around the wasp nest entrances. 36 hours later no wasps at either nest and there are no more than 5 or 6 wasps trying their luck at the hive entrances.
Theres a lot of the contents of the sprayer left if wasp activity returns. With hindsight i should have only mixed up half the quantity.

 

[Millet]

I was plagued with wasps last week. It prevented me from carrying out inspections. By watching diection of flights and carefully observing I found two nests within 50 yards of the apiary. A 15 gram pack of ficam W from ebay arrived Monday. Mix in 5 litres of water and spray in and around the wasp nest entrances. 36 hours later no wasps at either nest and there are no more than 5 or 6 wasps trying their luck at the hive entrances.
Theres a lot of the contents of the sprayer left if wasp activity returns. With hindsight i should have only mixed up half the quantity.

If you can find the nests and spray them with that stuff you have won the battle instantly as that stuff is lethal..i have a tub of it here for special occasions..

 

[Courty]

Wasp killer

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. Is there a chance that a wasp might bring some of it into my hive? I have to confess I avoid killing anything if possible, one of those beliefs that might not go too well with keeping any kind of creature.
I had a quick look in the hive before going away for a week, they had started to draw comb on the first inside new frame at the back but it was cross combed and filled with honey, only a couple of inches wide. I didn’t check the front comb because I didn’t want to disturb them too much in their first few days in the new hive. There looked to be a lot of bees though, and the two space entrance seemed to be doing its work, only one wasp had a look and gave up in quarter of an hour watching.
I’m enjoying my holiday but secretly itching to get back!

Courty