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Bees & Beekeeping

Honey Bee problem

15 years ago

Last year I had Honey Bees coming in and out of hole in siding of house----more activity as the season went on-------this season so far(May 9th)---NOTHING---did the hard winter kill the hive---can I close the hole up so other don't start a new one----I believe the hive is in the walls of my house---was worried if I closed it up early and if they were alive, they might find a away into house----------HELP!---thanks---ED

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Comments (6)

cpp6318
15 years ago
Rather than close the hole, make a cone out of window screen with a half inch opening at the tip and secure it over the hole. Make the base tight enough that bees can't crawl under it. If the hive survived, the forragers will be able to leave but not return. Eventually they will dissapate as they cannot survive without the returning foragers.
Later this summer, remove the cone for a month or so so that any bees in the area can enter and remove any leftover honey. By then swarm season should be over and you don't have to worry about them moving in.
This fall patch the hole.
Konrad___far_north
15 years ago
If you have no bees now then you guessed right....DEAD!
If you leave it, then a new swarm might find this new home during summer.
It would be best to open the wall and scrape everything out first before sealing tight,
there could be allot of dead bees with mold growing, you could harvest some honey for the effort.

Konrad
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Honey Bee article.
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No, but here's a link to The Week's recent article about bees. I have no doubt that the honey bee population is down, but I've seen quite a few in my garden this summer. Here is a link that might be useful: The Week
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My garden is quiet, too. I have always been proud in the amount of bees, wasps, hornets, butterfles, etc, attracted to my flower and vegetgable garden. (Even though I get stung). We are organic gardeners and I never spray pesticides. Last year we counted more than a dozen different species on my gooseneck loosetrife at the same time. This morning I saw one yellow jacket and one little white moth. I live next to a pond and I don't even have any dragon flies - in the past, there is almost always one perched on every fence post. I haven't even seen a hummingbird and I ususlly see those every day in the summer - dive bombing me if I get too close to the bee balm. We had several cases of EEE last year in our area and I know the towns sprayed last year and the state is offering free spraying for residents this year. Could this be killing off our beneficials too? I have a lot of melon plants waiting for pollenation and I especially miss my big bumble bee buddies. If you listen, you can hear them saying yum, yum yummm! in the hollyhocks. I am worried about the future. What can we do?
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Comments (3)
Larry, you can tell a yellow jacket from a honey bee by seeing if their abdomen has fuzz or not and by how they approach their "hive" entrance. The honey bee lands just before the entrance and walks in. The yellow jacket zig zags a bit, in the air, and then flies right in. George Tahlequah, OK
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I am not agreeing with a PBS show that I am watching
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Comments (6)
Yeah isn't it amazing the untruths that could so easily be eliminated if they just did a bit of research! Course then we have to worry about where they do their research. ;-) Bet it was a real trip! 66 days on the Mayflower with hives full of honey bees so they could turn up in the US. And the Jamestown ships voyages were even months longer. Wonder if honey bees got sea sick? Dave
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gonecrazy09
15 years ago
Need help getting rid of honey bees around my koi fish pond they are on the side of the waterfall and in green plant that sits in water. Daughter is 8 and loves to go near the pond dont want her getting stung, any ideas what I could do to get these pesty critters to go else where. Have to be careful what I use so I what harm my fish.
Konrad___far_north
15 years ago
Can you post a picture?
gonecrazy09
15 years ago
Can"t post photo on here but I could email it to ya, send email address..
russh_nepa
14 years ago
gonecrazy09,

The bees you see are probably foragers seeking water needed by the hive. Foragers are not generally aggressive, and there should be little danger. This would be like bees in flowers, or on clover in the lawn. If your daughter steps on, or grabs a bee she will get stung, otherwise I would not worry. You could try providing a bird bath or other source of water up high, try putting some sugar in it, but the bees may continue to prefer the pond.

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