Wasps

[CallumB]

A bit late for this year but for future reference what can I do to stop Wasps decimating my hives? This year I've lost 2 nucs and a strong double BB national. Completely robbed out and seemingly nothing I done helped like reducing the entrance removing nests and trapping literal thousands of Wasps.
I couldn't open and inspect my hives for more than a couple minutes before being swarmed by the horrible things seemingly making the problem worse.
I've never seen so many Wasps what can I do next year to try and prevent the same from happening?
Many thanks!

 

[user 819]

I have UFE's, in the main they seem to work except at one apiary where I have two colonies & a nuc.
Today to stop the heavy wasp activity even in the rain, I have resorted to standing some glass sheet in front which appears to be working. In particular the biggest double brood is the wasps main target, the colony is a pussy cat and do not seem to have any defensive trait.

 

[madasafish]

. Wasp traps..lots of them (mine have killed at least 1,000 wasps or double (no I don't count)
.Underfloor entrances (wasps like to fly/crawl straight into a hive - they can't easily with UFE)
. Narrow down entrances - even with UFEs..

Do ALL the above before wasps appear. Once they find their way in and tell other wasps, very difficult to stop

Make entrance difficult to use: lot of thin branches in front of entrances - cyprus is ideal.
Feed only in evenings - do not spill feed.


Move hives to another site..


I have found fondant instead of syrup makes no difference (others may disagree).
Strong hives - once breeched by wasps- may be lost unless you do something..

Weak hives should be united before wasp season..


Prevention is better than cure..
HTH

 

[The Poot]

A bit late for this year but for future reference what can I do to stop Wasps decimating my hives? This year I've lost 2 nucs and a strong double BB national. Completely robbed out and seemingly nothing I done helped like reducing the entrance removing nests and trapping literal thousands of Wasps.
I couldn't open and inspect my hives for more than a couple minutes before being swarmed by the horrible things seemingly making the problem worse.
I've never seen so many Wasps what can I do next year to try and prevent the same from happening?
Many thanks!

I had a big problem with wasps until I fitted tunnel entrances - as in the photos.
I also ended up hunting down two nests and destroyed them.

 

[gmonag]

How far away from the hives were the wasp nests and how did you find them?

 

[Murox]

I had a big problem with wasps until I fitted tunnel entrances - as in the photos.
I also ended up hunting down two nests and destroyed them.

Here's another variation of an underfloor tunnel entrance - created by another member of the forum.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Here's another variation of an underfloor tunnel entrance - created by another member of the forum.

It's not an underfloor entrance, it's just a bog standard front tunnel entrance.

 

[Murox]

It's not an underfloor entrance, it's just a bog standard front tunnel entrance.

Oops yes of course it is , my error.

 

[Ian123]

I have UFE's, in the main they seem to work except at one apiary where I have two colonies & a nuc.
Today to stop the heavy wasp activity even in the rain, I have resorted to standing some glass sheet in front which appears to be working. In particular the biggest double brood is the wasps main target, the colony is a pussy cat and do not seem to have any defensive trait.

Is your colony actually occupying both boxes I often find the bees have moved into the top box after the main flow. I’ll force them down to a single Box and reduce the entrance, centre the brood to the front door. A box full of bees that the wasps can’t sneak around the edges of the cluster is your best defence.

 

[The Poot]

How far away from the hives were the wasp nests and how did you find them?

Both were within 100 yards of the apiary. To find them I just kept searching on foot, nothing high tech, just eyeballs.
One was on a river bank just above the high water mark, one among some trees next to the village school running track.
Both were in the ground and enjoyed a good blast down the tunnel with my weed wand followed by foam wasp nest destroyer.

 

[masterBK]

IAN123 "I often find the bees have moved into the top box after the main flow"

I have been running my bees on double broods for decades and I find that in late august when I begin the varroa treatment most of the colonies have the majority (if not all) of their brood in the lower box (and thats where the Apitraz etc strips go and when I use MAQS they go in the bee space between the boxes). Having said that with the strength of heathly double brood colonies and narrow entrances wasps are never a problem. I use Apideas and they often get attacked so I tend to get all the queens in them mated and into full colonies before the wasp attack "season" starts.

 

[Ian123]

IAN123 "I often find the bees have moved into the top box after the main flow"

I have been running my bees on double broods for decades and I find that in late august when I begin the varroa treatment most of the colonies have the majority (if not all) of their brood in the lower box (and thats where the Apitraz etc strips go and when I use MAQS they go in the bee space between the boxes). Having said that with the strength of heathly double brood colonies and narrow entrances wasps are never a problem. I use Apideas and they often get attacked so I tend to get all the queens in them mated and into full colonies before the wasp attack "season" starts.

Lol fortunately I to have been running double broods for decades, and quite often triple. I’ve often found the bottom gets clogged with pollen during the main flow. Maybe it’s because your a master beekeeperAnd your bees better behaved. What I was trying to do though was find a reason for the OP who had a dbl brood chamber colony robbed out and really that should not happen!!

 

[Jules12]

Forget wasp traps. IMO they just attract wasps. As do falling apples or fruit. I make an robbing screen which doubles up to prevent robbing bees and wasps. Just a wooden frame (about 5" high width of hive x 1-1.5 " deep) with small gauge wire mesh screen on the front but an entrance for the bees at the side. Its works like magic. The wasps fly straight at the entrance behind the screen (they fly straight to the highest intensity smell of honey which is at the entrance hole) but bounce off the mesh. Busy today but when I get a chance I can send a photo. Or just check it out online doing a google search.

 

[robmort]

A robbing screen made out of a piece of clear plastic bottle cut in half and pinned over a narrow entrance to leave side entrances works well also.

 

[smok]

Here's another variation of an underfloor tunnel entrance - created by another member of the forum.

I use that this year on 10 hives,with one difference i only had 15cm wide wood planks(long tunel),
when wasps try in after about 40÷60sec
was evicted dead by bees

 

[OldFarm]

Every year wasps descend on my apiary, the first year was horrific. I keep entrances small, bee height and no more than 3" wide all year round. Screens over the front made no difference. Now as soon as they start sniffing around I put the wasp traps out and they leave the hives alone. This year it wasn't too bad, despite there being three large wasp nests close by. Maybe catching them early stopped them going back and telling their pals.

 

[Paddyg]

I had a bad attack on my weaker hive and tried tunnels, traps, screens all to no effect so moved the hive. Success. Also another hive is under a less strong attack so positioned two wasp traps about 3” forward of the entrance which was exactly a one bee size. No bigger. Seems to do the business. The traps are on ebay, yellow, with side entrances. They filled up very nicely with wasps. Attractant was water, salt, sugar and vinegar. About half full.

 

[RichardBeeW]

These have been discussed before (thanks everyone) but worked a treat for me on two nucs this year. I had already made them so the bees could use the end entrances of the trunking but someone pointed out an improvement would be to cut the sliding cover in the middle to also make an adjustable entrance when the nuc is busy with few wasps / robbers about. Another ‘improvement’ I’ll make is to drill a series of 3mm holes down into the trunking floor as, in driving rain, some pooling did occur there.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What are all those holes for in the roof!?

 

[robmort]

I've had a wasp nest 3 metres away from my hives this summer and only just noticed its entrance hidden behind compost bins, but only a few wasps entered the hives maybe thanks to small and tunnel entrances. I'm dealing with it now if a bit late.