What can I do with nasty but prolific hives?

[Millet]

With the last lot i had i used to have to leave my suit and protective clothing on for around 15mins while smoking myself around 50 yards away till the bees decided to give in following me, even if the dogs where in the garden while i was messing on with the hive they would get stung also and they where nowhere near me, the horses in the fields where not safe, to say i am glad to see the back of them is a understatement.

 

[fatshark]

7 stings per hive per visit is not an angry hive.

Some perspective please.

Whilst I understand you may think that is a lot believe me and I am not exaggerating when I say several hundred stings is an angry hive.

If 7 is not acceptable to you then possibly a re think on beekeeping is required.

PH

Not sure what others think, but 7 is not acceptable to me.

I agree it's not an angry hive, but it's sure as heck not one i'd be keeping the queen from, rearing from, or allowing to produce drones.

 

[Poly Hive]

"I agree it's not an angry hive, but it's sure as heck not one i'd be keeping the queen from, rearing from, or allowing to produce drones."

None of which was suggested.

I'm interested in how you would go about preventing drones?

7 stings in the over all situation is nothing.

If people are aiming at having bees that never sting then I am not for that at all.

PH

 

[Beefriendly]

Not sure what others think, but 7 is not acceptable to me.

Nor to me.
The aspiration is only to be stung when I make a mistake, like crushing an unseen bee under the lugs of a frame etc. Bees with attitude are not welcome in my little operation...
Yet despite my best efforts I can and do, end up with an occasional hive from hell!
And this is where I have a dilemma....if using nitrile gloves it hurts dealing with them, but I can wear a couple of pairs and rip the top ones off to get rid of stings pouring out alarm pheromone and resort to second uncontaminated pair underneath ....but far less painful if I use thick rawhide gloves; but the unseen and unfelt stings accumulating on them means the level of alarm pheromones is simply rising all the time leading to heightened attacks.
Has anyone found any substances that neutralize the alarm pheromones?

 

[fatshark]

I'd just fork out the drone pupae.

I've never worn leather gauntlets. I only use nitriles or Marigolds, or the two together for what I'd consider a hot hive. I've therefore no idea how to mask the alarm pheromone really effectively.

I do sometimes give my gloved hands a few puffs of smoke (away from the hive) but I'm not sure it's very effective at masking things.

I suspect air freshener would work ... as some advocate for uniting colonies. It certainly pongs a bit.

 

[For want of a better word]

Has anyone found any substances that neutralize the alarm pheromones?

I rinse my hands / sometimes gloves( nitrile) and the hive tool between colonies in a tub of dilute washing soda/ bleach solution.... bio security plus removes propollis.... possibly not for everyone, but I have thick skin.
Possibly also removes bee scent?
Has been said that rosemary water calms the bees... probably best not to aggravate the poor girlies in the first place!

Cheers

 

[pargyle]

I rinse my hands / sometimes gloves( nitrile) and the hive tool between colonies in a tub of dilute washing soda/ bleach solution.... bio security plus removes propollis.... possibly not for everyone, but I have thick skin.
Possibly also removes bee scent?
Has been said that rosemary water calms the bees... probably best not to aggravate the poor girlies in the first place!

Cheers

Olbas oil - a few drops rubbed on the nitriles once you have got them on makes all the difference - marigolds with nitriles over the top will prevent most stings getting through but I've found that with a few drops of Olbas oil and a single pair of nitriles I rarely get stung.

 

[Beefriendly]

I suspect air freshener would work ... as some advocate for uniting colonies. It certainly pongs a bit.

Air freshener (at least the brands I use) seems to works for amalgamations but not for calming attacking bees. It disrupts them briefly as any aerosol probably would but they return with intent. I tried using it as a smoke substitute as well...but no joy there either.
I'm impressed at your pain tolerance if you only use nitryls with "hot" hives....

 

[Beefriendly]

but I've found that with a few drops of Olbas oil and a single pair of nitriles I rarely get stung.

Something worth trying, the problem is under normal circumstances I don't use it on nitriles and rarely get stung either. It's just the hive from hell that creates the stinging issue, not an everyday event.

 

[fatshark]

Air freshener (at least the brands I use) seems to works for amalgamations but not for calming attacking bees. It disrupts them briefly as any aerosol probably would but they return with intent. I tried using it as a smoke substitute as well...but no joy there either.
I'm impressed at your pain tolerance if you only use nitryls with "hot" hives....

Thanks for the air freshener tip (that it doesn't work ... one less thing to attempt).

Nitriles + Marigolds for lively hives. I don't even own leather gauntlets and so have never used them. The hands are relatively impervious to stings - particularly through the double gloves. The forearms less so ... if the colony is truly rabid I'll wear two beesuits and a fleece underneath.

Q. Are those wild bees?
A. Wild? They're livid!

 

[Beefriendly]

Thanks for the air freshener tip (that it doesn't work ... one less thing to attempt

I,d be tempeted to try it anyway. It simply didn't work for my wild bees, your may react differently. Or different scented ones may produce different effects. I've not given up on finding a "calmer", just out of vicious bees at the moment.

 

[john t]

if you have a truly nasty hive it really becomes a pain in every sense,

i have had colony's that would attack me as i approached the hive 20 meters away, when sited in an oil seed rape field, they would be bouncing off my hat, they were exceptionally productive filling a super in a few days, but after i moved them to my home location i knew they had to be sorted out,

i split the colony into 3 leaving the queen in one hive and the other two having most of the fresh brood combs and some fresh foundation,and sited a few meters away, after about 10 days i inspected them, to determine which one had the queen and if the other 2 had queen cells, the queen was culled and i transferred a comb with a queen cell into the hive that was now queen less, sprayed the bees with sugar syrup to confuse them, so now i had 3 hives with queen cells, i left them for a few weeks and all 3 turned out to be reasonably productive and easy to handle,

 

[Bakerbee]

I shall be doing that as soon as my two buckfast queens are ready in may.

 

[enrico]

The difficulty I find with nasty hives is trying to close them up again. They boil out and the more you squash the more they boil out. I always carry a tin of fabi spray which is sold by thornes etc.. the bees hate it but a spray across the top sends them scurrying down for long enough to close the hive. There is about a minute or so before they will come out of the entrance instead but it is a lifesaver when the stings are outweighing the pleasure and you just want a cup of tea! Keep it with you for emergencies but don't use it instead of smoke.
E

 

[Swarm]

A water sprayer is a handy tool.