Whoops - what a bad mistake!!

[Pete Nicholson]

Hi all - just thought I should pass on a really bad error I made last night - and quickly rectified.
Story is this: I have just finished the last Apiguard treatment on my hives and took off the tin trays prior to starting the winter feed as the hives are quite light.
In my ignorance, as there was some Apiguard left on one tray, I though it would be a good idea to add this to the winter feed to give the bees the full treatment.
I would add that what was left was almost like a fine lattice work (held together by something like a spiders web though it clearly wasn't.
Well I boiled up my feed and added the extra (lattice) and instantly there was a very strong odour of Thymol (the main ingredient) OK I thought, this is what was left post treatment so there can't be much so it will be OK to add it.
WRONG!!! it would appear that the thymol is purely there to vapourise and when you take the remainder it is in the pure form and as such is extremely toxic to the bees.
As soon as I put the feeder on and loaded with the mixture several bees came up and were overcome by the feed. Luckily I stayed and watched what was happening so was able to quickly take the contents off and have ditched everything today.
The thymol had crystallised inside the feeder and I was amazed how much there was - sorted by multiple washings of boiling water but the feeder still smells quite strong. And SWMBO is very cross as the pan I boiled up the feed in still stinks of Thymol!!
From what I have seen, the bees take the sugar from the Apiguard but leave the thymol (hence the latticework. I maybe totally wrong but the purpose of this post is to make sure none of my fellow beekeepers make the mistake I did.
Hope this has been helpful.
P.

 

[Jimy Dee]

Pete - well done for posting your learning experience. Many would not be brave enough. There are those that seem to be very fast to criticise others and I believe it prevents some from posting their questions or mishaps.
We all learn from experience, and we also learn from the experiences of others. Thanks for the educational post.

 

[Pete Nicholson]

Thanks for your positive reply Jimy - I have been one of those in the past that have come under criticism from the 'experts' but I post as I do to help others who like me are on the continual learning curve. We will never know as much as our charges and will continue to hopefully learn from them.
P.

 

[Webby]

I agree, I read a lot of information on this forum. Many end up in arguments. It's good to learn so much and I applaud the people who aren't afraid to post about a mistake they made.
We all make them.

 

[Millet]

Hi all - just thought I should pass on a really bad error I made last night - and quickly rectified.
Story is this: I have just finished the last Apiguard treatment on my hives and took off the tin trays prior to starting the winter feed as the hives are quite light.
In my ignorance, as there was some Apiguard left on one tray, I though it would be a good idea to add this to the winter feed to give the bees the full treatment.
I would add that what was left was almost like a fine lattice work (held together by something like a spiders web though it clearly wasn't.
Well I boiled up my feed and added the extra (lattice) and instantly there was a very strong odour of Thymol (the main ingredient) OK I thought, this is what was left post treatment so there can't be much so it will be OK to add it.
WRONG!!! it would appear that the thymol is purely there to vapourise and when you take the remainder it is in the pure form and as such is extremely toxic to the bees.
As soon as I put the feeder on and loaded with the mixture several bees came up and were overcome by the feed. Luckily I stayed and watched what was happening so was able to quickly take the contents off and have ditched everything today.
The thymol had crystallised inside the feeder and I was amazed how much there was - sorted by multiple washings of boiling water but the feeder still smells quite strong. And SWMBO is very cross as the pan I boiled up the feed in still stinks of Thymol!!
From what I have seen, the bees take the sugar from the Apiguard but leave the thymol (hence the latticework. I maybe totally wrong but the purpose of this post is to make sure none of my fellow beekeepers make the mistake I did.
Hope this has been helpful.
P.

It will stink forever that is why i got in the bad books last year, on a positive note i have my own pans now.

 

[tonyofarr]

I agree, I read a lot of information on this forum. Many end up in arguments. It's good to learn so much and I applaud the people who aren't afraid to post about a mistake they made.
We all make them.

I have probably made every mistake in the book with my beekeeping, but I'm sure if I try hard enough I can make some new ones.

 

[Webby]

I have probably made every mistake in the book with my beekeeping, but I'm sure if I try hard enough I can make some new ones.

Yes I'm sure you will and everyone else will too. A man that never made a mistake never made anything.

 

[dpearce4]

I have probably made every mistake in the book with my beekeeping, but I'm sure if I try hard enough I can make some new ones.

I seem to be working on making some new mistakes to put in the books this last couple of years, as some on here can well testify lol.

 

[Tim.S]

We all make mistakes and probably learn more from them than anything else. On a side note my bee kit was banned from the kitchen years ago! I still use our bread knife for uncapping but I do get 'that' look when I take it!

 

[Erichalfbee]

On a side note my bee kit was banned from the kitchen years ago!

I think I have kit in every room in the house, bar the bathroom.

 

[dpearce4]

I think I have kit in every room in the house, bar the bathroom.

I think I even have some there lol. its where I hang my suit to dry after I wash it each week.

 

[Jimy Dee]

Dare I say it, even the oracles that throw stones with ease have f*"^ed it up many times, like everyone else.