Think I've found me swarm!

[mbc]

Expanding foam is good for blocking holes in trees ect.

And that sentance brings an orrible image to my mind

 

[Rob55]

Would it be a good idea to pour some sugar syrup into/around the hole to help them build some stores for the winter? Then attempt to get them out in the Spring?

 

[Luminos]

Might attract robbers?

 

[Chris Luck]

The best idea is to either leave them alone or kill them.

Chris

 

[alanf]

Then attempt to get them out in the Spring?

Have a look at this video as an illustration of the sort of operation involved in removing a complete colony from a tree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxFmxGKWcE8

Then consider if that's what you want.

Thanks to Frisbee for the video and posting it in a previous thread.

 

[itma]

Its quite extraordinary, the way that the Rules of Golf cover every eventuality ...

... and these bees would seem to be a very trivial 'feature' of the course compared to what some other courses are able to offer ...

Ask Linda #305-Dangerous animals

Linda,
We live on a beautiful golf course full of nature. It’s exciting to see the alligator on hole number 6 and the mating geese on hole 4. Its fun until our ball lands too close or near a fire ant hill. In friendly golf, I am the first to urge the player to take a free drop where they are comfortable playing and leave the ball to our wild friends. But in a competition, what is the official rule on this? Believe it or not, the geese can be just as vicious as an alligator when they have a mate nesting and they protect a very wide area around the nest.
Lulu


Dear Lulu,

Alligators and fire ants are considered dangerous under the Rules of Golf. Rattlesnakes and bees fall under the same heading. If your ball lands near any of these creatures, you are entitled to a free drop on the nearest spot that is no closer to the hole and out of danger. You do not have to retrieve your original ball – drop another and stay safe [Decision 1-4/10].

If your ball is in a hazard, your free drop must be in the same hazard, if possible, or in a nearby similar hazard that is no closer to the hole. If dropping the ball in the same hazard is not safe, and there is no option to drop in another hazard, you will have to drop a ball outside the hazard on the line-of-sight to the hole and add a one-stroke penalty to your score.

If your ball lands in a bird’s nest, or so close to it that you would not be able to swing without damaging it, the same relief procedures as described above apply [Decision 1-4/9].

The USGA does not consider geese to be dangerous, as they are neither poisonous nor life-threatening. If you choose not to play your ball, you must declare it unplayable, take a one-stroke penalty, and use one of the relief options in Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable).

Linda

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/ask-linda-305-dangerous-animals.html

 

[user 6228]

The bees are probably warmer in that tree than in a hive...
You could just put up a sign ... "Honey Bees in natural habitat study area, do not disturb."


if you were nearer I would be asking if I could do temperature data collection.


However,
get a sheet of correx from jewsons (£5) cut in half then rejoin side by side with the grain vertical using tape. Wrap the joined correx round the tree attach with nails rope etc...

 

[oliver90owner]

Sooner or later - probably later - the OP will realise that swarm prevention is the better option.

Leave them alone, full stop.

 

[Rob55]

Sooner or later - probably later - the OP will realise that swarm prevention is the better option.

Leave them alone, full stop.

No need to get on your high horse, it happened to one hive in my first year of beekeeping.

 

[nikca]

Quote:
Originally Posted by oliver90owner
Sooner or later - probably later - the OP will realise that swarm prevention is the better option.
Leave them alone, full stop.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob55 No need to get on your high horse, it happened to one hive in my first year of beekeeping.



Stable door and high horse springs to mind with both the swarm and asking O9O not to get on one...

I too have played on golf courses with the same and worse hazards. Put up a sign on the tee and maybe near the local rule on the notice board.. let them, Ahm, Be.

 

[mocko 10]

Do a trapout with mesh cone in spring plenty of advice on utube no need for a chainsaw.

 

[thorn]

Sooner or later - probably later - the OP will realise that swarm prevention is the better option.

Leave them alone,

RAB, are you able to say, hand on heart, that you've never failed to prevent a swarm?

 

[mbc]

never failed to prevent a swarm?

is that a tripple negative ?

 

[user 6228]

is that a tripple negative ?

The real positive is someone has bees in their real natural enviroment... hopefully by citing that the rules of golf allow for such hazards , they may remain (and their decendants) for a very long time.
They may even add lustre to the golf clubs reputation by demonstrating their bee friendly credentials!
get the local press to see how golfers and bees co-exist
Its a positive publicity opportunity for the golf club

 

[mbc]

The real positive is someone has bees in their real natural enviroment... hopefully by citing that the rules of golf allow for such hazards , they may remain (and their decendants) for a very long time.

Yup, it looks like a good bee tree to me

 

[Chris Luck]

Do a trapout with mesh cone in spring plenty of advice on utube no need for a chainsaw.

As I said, all you get are the foragers - you still have to kill the queen and remaining bees.

Chris

 

[Rob55]

Had my mentor up today. Plan is to leave them be and see if they get through the winter. In spring if they are still going strong, the best I can hope for is attracting a swarm to a nearby bait hive. He was truly amazed to see them working away busily in the natural habitat where they belong. Will be interesting to see how they get on.!

 

[itma]

Wouldn't the ideal time to do any trap-out be right after a swarm has departed?

 

[user 6228]

Had my mentor up today. Plan is to leave them be and see if they get through the winter. In spring if they are still going strong, the best I can hope for is attracting a swarm to a nearby bait hive. He was truly amazed to see them working away busily in the natural habitat where they belong. Will be interesting to see how they get on.!

By spring you could have that eco friendly PR campaign ready and all of the committee on side to let the bees stay for good. Fingers crossed!

 

[oliver90owner]

are you able to say, hand on heart, that you've never failed to prevent a swarm?

'Course not! I just accept it and carry on in life - worrying about a colony deep inside a tree, particularly at this time of the year, is futile.

Yes, swarm prevention is a far better option than taking up time looking for ways to get it back (if it was that swarm) from deep inside a tree in late October.

Cross your bridges when you get to them. It may be dead by spring. Plan ahead and improved swarm prevention next year is the way ahead - if that colony becomes a dead-out over winter another swarm is likely to follow into the same place.

Come back to reality, please!