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Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 8:11:53 PM   
DarkSteven


Posts: 28072
Joined: 5/2/2008
Status: offline 		I've started a new hobby a few months ago. Beekeeping.

It's something I've always wanted to do, and they're fascinating little creatures. I've got two hives now, and I'm learning how to check up on them, how to recognize when they're placid, and when they're pissed off, etc. I've read, I've attended meetings with experienced beekeepers, and I've got a mentor.

The weekend of the 31st, I'll have a new challenge. I'll be doing an extraction. That's when a beekeeper tears into a structure with bees, and removed the bees and the comb. It's supposed to be hard as hell. It's a coworker's house, and the main colony is 20 feet off the ground. There's also a small second colony under a soffit.

I've got a lot of things going for me. I'll be working on a scaffold, not a ladder. My mentor has looked at the job and given me advice. And I'll have access to his bee vac and smoker if I need it. And I don't have to put anything back - the my coworker and her husband have decided to re-side the house. So I'll just pry off boards until I've exposed the hives, collect the bees and comb, and then let the carpenters pout things back.

Here are the steps I plan to take:

1. Put on bee suit, and get on scaffold, with two 5 gallon buckets, a can of Kilz, and a knife or hive tool. Have two hive bodies as well, with open frames with no foundation in them, so I can insert comb in directly.

2. Go to the larger colony, the one 20 feet off the ground. (Did I mention I have a fear of heights? I suspect it won't be serious on a scaffold.) Rip off boards with a pry bar, until the entire colony is exposed.

3. Possibly smoke the colony. (This makes the bees gorge themselves on honey. Makes them more docile and makes cleanup afterward easier.) Possibly just suck them up with a bee vacuum. One way or another, get them off the honeycomb.

4. Tear out the honeycomb and drop it in one of the 5 gallon buckets. Tear out old, empty comb and drop it in the other bucket. Removing honeycomb and old comb will expose the brood comb.

5. The brood comb is comb containing bee eggs. Remove it carefully, cutting it to fit the open frames, and secure them in place with rubber bands. Put the filled frames in the hive body. Keep an eye out for the queen.

6. When I see the queen, gently trap her in a queen cell and make sure it's kept in the hive body, somewhere out of the sun so she doesn't fry.

7. With the queen rehoused, the rest of the bees should gather around her. Keep removing comb and place it into frames, or in the buckets, depending on what kind of comb it is.

8. Cut out the last of the comb. Paint the place where the comb used to be, with Kilz, to kill the bee scent, so no future bees colonize the same area.

9. Repeat the above for the second colony. It should take less time, because it's smaller and because I will have some experience.

10. Seal off the bucket with honey in it.

11. Put the hives in my car and drive home with them.

I'm nuts for doing this so early, but the experience will be priceless. And I'll get two small hives from it, which I will combine with my two existing hives and make them stronger. I should get a huge amount of beeswax from this as well, and perhaps some honey (although I will need to return almost all of it to the bees).

Should be fun!







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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 8:23:41 PM   
littlewonder


Posts: 15659
Status: offline 		eeerr....you said you might get some honey from it. Aren't you afraid of the Killz having been sprayed on it? I don't think I'd wanna eat it after it's been sprayed with poison.

Wouldn't the Killz also cause issues for the recolonizing a hive? I mean this sounds like part of the whole bees dying off problem.

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 8:27:43 PM   
blacksword404


Posts: 2068
Joined: 1/4/2008
Status: offline 		That does sound interesting. Once I retire I plan on going into metals and sword making. Better than fishing.

Have fun with the bees.

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 8:37:16 PM   
tj444


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quote:

ORIGINAL: littlewonder

eeerr....you said you might get some honey from it. Aren't you afraid of the Killz having been sprayed on it? I don't think I'd wanna eat it after it's been sprayed with poison.

Wouldn't the Killz also cause issues for the recolonizing a hive? I mean this sounds like part of the whole bees dying off problem.

he is using the Kilz (that's a paint?) after he has removed the comb (& honey), not before.. and it sounds like yes, the kilz is to keep the bees from going back there, he wants them to follow the Queen into the new hive and come home with him.. at least that's what I got outta what he said..

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 8:45:48 PM   
tj444


Posts: 7574
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline 		I was wondering how you were doing with that.. I read an article recently about how some store bought honey has no pollen in it.. apparently some cheap honey (from China and other countries) is filtered to remove pollen so that some honey companies can mix it into their honey so they can sell it cheaper and/or make a higher profit.. The Honey Investigators can tell where honey is made by analyzing the pollen in it.. and what plants, shrubs etc the honey was made from..

anyway, I read that article and thought about you and your new hobby.. good luck with it (maybe you should have someone video you in action!).. just out of curiousity.. have you been stung by any of your bees so far???

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 9:33:56 PM   
TheHeretic


Posts: 19100
Joined: 3/25/2007
From: California, USA
Status: offline 		I'm just curious, Steve. Why you are using the big one for the initial experience? Won't any silly first-timer mistake you might make (and we all make those) have more significant consequences with the bigger hive?

And yes. Absolutely. Good luck!



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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 9:37:10 PM   
Hillwilliam


Posts: 19394
Joined: 8/27/2008
Status: offline 		Steve. do you need a good mead recipe?

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 9:52:56 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		Although I love honey, I am deathly allergic to bee stings, actually bees, wasps, hornets, etc.

Add to that I live in an area where there have been hives of Africanized bees found.

I will give you a call should any bees decide to move into accommodation on either of my properties.

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 9:56:46 PM   
PyrotheClown


Posts: 1950
Joined: 5/18/2009
Status: offline 		Seriously, if you start produce'n, ill buy bees wax and honey off ya

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 10:07:04 PM   
metamorfosis


Posts: 1132
Status: offline 		Good luck.

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/22/2013 11:19:17 PM   
ChatteParfaitt


Posts: 6562
Joined: 3/22/2011
From: The t'aint of the Midwest -- Indiana
Status: offline 		I love fresh honey.

I know of someone who learned beekeeper through an extraction. The beekeeper who showed up to do the job was on two crutches b/c he broke both his legs failing off a ladder. During his last job he got in the middle of a wasp/bee war (if I'm remembering right?). Evidently that's ugly.

But don't let this deter you.

You definitely want to smoke the bees. MJ works very well for this.

Please tell me you are not doing this alone.

Best of luck.









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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 2:00:57 AM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline 		You will succeed!

And do tell your bees to avoid pesticides.

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"You are sweet, kind, and ever so smart, Rule. You ALWAYS stretch my mind and make me think further than I might have on my own" - Duskypearls

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 2:51:25 AM   
MariaB


Posts: 2969
Joined: 4/3/2007
Status: offline 		Good luck with this Stephen. It sounds difficult but very rewarding.

Interestingly in this part of France and Italy, when a relative is buried they can put a bee hive on the outside wall of the cemetery and plant flowering plants rather than put cut flowers on the grave. Its a way of keeping life going and I think its a lovely idea.

I get anaphylaxis shock from wasp stings and have to carry an epipen. I don't think I have ever been stung by a bee but I wouldn't want to risk it.

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 5:59:02 AM   
DarkSteven


Posts: 28072
Joined: 5/2/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

he is using the Kilz (that's a paint?) after he has removed the comb (& honey), not before..



Yup. Kilz is a paint, one that's airtight when dry so it will block previous smells.
quote:



and it sounds like yes, the kilz is to keep the bees from going back there, he wants them to follow the Queen into the new hive and come home with him.. at least that's what I got outta what he said..


Nope. Bees will settle where previous bees have been. If I don't paint, then next year, the same site will be targeted by other homeless bees looking for a place to settle.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

I was wondering how you were doing with that.. I read an article recently about how some store bought honey has no pollen in it.. apparently some cheap honey (from China and other countries) is filtered to remove pollen so that some honey companies can mix it into their honey so they can sell it cheaper and/or make a higher profit.. The Honey Investigators can tell where honey is made by analyzing the pollen in it.. and what plants, shrubs etc the honey was made from..

anyway, I read that article and thought about you and your new hobby.. good luck with it (maybe you should have someone video you in action!).. just out of curiousity.. have you been stung by any of your bees so far???


Nope. Worse. Much worse. Many overseas companies doctor up corn syrup to look like honey. Much cheaper. It's sold in all supermarkets as being the real thing. I suggest buying locally produced or at least US-produced honey at all times.

And, yes, I've been stung a couple of times.


quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

I'm just curious, Steve. Why you are using the big one for the initial experience? Won't any silly first-timer mistake you might make (and we all make those) have more significant consequences with the bigger hive?



I'm not sure how to answer that. I just want to have the big job under my belt.

The consequences shouldn't be that great. I doubt that either hive would survive on its own, so even if I lose the queens, that'll be taken care of once I combine the hives.


quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

Steve. do you need a good mead recipe?


I don't drink, but thanks.

quote:

ORIGINAL: PyrotheClown

Seriously, if you start produce'n, ill buy bees wax and honey off ya


No honey this year, maybe next. But I should get a ton of wax from this and from a friend who has three abandoned hives.

quote:

ORIGINAL: metamorfosis

Good luck.


Thanks, Pam!


quote:

ORIGINAL: ChatteParfaitt

I love fresh honey.

I know of someone who learned beekeeper through an extraction. The beekeeper who showed up to do the job was on two crutches b/c he broke both his legs failing off a ladder. During his last job he got in the middle of a wasp/bee war (if I'm remembering right?). Evidently that's ugly.

But don't let this deter you.

You definitely want to smoke the bees. MJ works very well for this.

Please tell me you are not doing this alone.

Best of luck.



Yeah, no way am I working 20 feet up, working with bees, on a ladder. A scaffold is the only way to go.

I'm not using MJ. It's expensive, I have no idea how it works on bees, I wouldn't want to work stoned, and I wouldn't want to get a rep as the stoner beekeeper.

Yep, I'm doing this alone. I'll learn a lot more that way. The only drawback is that I figure it'll take hours and I'll be wearing a bee suit in likely hot weather.

_____________________________

"You women....

The small-breasted ones want larger breasts. The large-breasted ones want smaller ones. The straight-haired ones curl their hair, and the curly-haired ones straighten theirs...

Quit fretting. We men love you."

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 6:04:43 AM   
ChatteParfaitt


Posts: 6562
Joined: 3/22/2011
From: The t'aint of the Midwest -- Indiana
Status: offline 		I'm under the impression that smoking the bees is mandatory, but it's been about 35 years.

I remember the smoking apparatus was contained --I'm not sure you'd get stoned, but I take your point. You don't want to be stoned and do this? Maybe a bad idea.

If you have to go it alone, slow and steady sounds good. So does a scaffold. Let us know how it turns out.





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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 6:05:52 AM   
theshytype


Posts: 1600
Status: offline 		That's an awesome hobby! I can see beekeeping as actually being relaxing, having to have keen concentration temporarily removing yourself from everything else.

I think it would be a great idea to have someone (brave enough) to record it and, of course, share it here!

I do have a question, though. I've always heard that its very difficult to find the queen. What if you don't find her? Or, is it almost always a given she'll be in the middle, very visible and accessible?

I hope everything goes well! Good luck!

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 6:13:57 AM   
DarkSteven


Posts: 28072
Joined: 5/2/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: theshytype

That's an awesome hobby! I can see beekeeping as actually being relaxing, having to have keen concentration temporarily removing yourself from everything else.

I think it would be a great idea to have someone (brave enough) to record it and, of course, share it here!

I do have a question, though. I've always heard that its very difficult to find the queen. What if you don't find her? Or, is it almost always a given she'll be in the middle, very visible and accessible?

I hope everything goes well! Good luck!


She's like a rock star, always mobbed by the others. I've heard that they face toward her, so I may be able to pick her off that way. It shouldn't be that difficult.

If I don't find her, then that just makes it imperative I combine hives so her colony gets a queen from the other colony.

_____________________________

"You women....

The small-breasted ones want larger breasts. The large-breasted ones want smaller ones. The straight-haired ones curl their hair, and the curly-haired ones straighten theirs...

Quit fretting. We men love you."

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 6:41:29 AM   
Duskypearls


Posts: 3561
Joined: 8/21/2011
Status: offline 		Steve, I think this is a remarkable, honorable undertaking, and agree, you will get incalculable experience/education for free. The word will likely get out you're the "bee whisperer, saver," and possibly get future calls for doing this again.

Try to stay cool, hydrated, have a friend or two with you (that are not allergic to bee stings), and maybe some Ben Gay for later...after having your arms up for so long you might need a good massage.

I'm impressed, and wish I could be there to watch. I'm crazy about bees, and realize our lives depend on them. What incredible critters.

ETA: Might it be worth contacting a bee pro, tell him your plan, and ask if he has any advice?

< Message edited by Duskypearls -- 8/23/2013 6:42:23 AM >

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 6:54:38 AM   
tj444


Posts: 7574
Joined: 3/7/2010
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quote:

ORIGINAL: DarkSteven
Nope. Worse. Much worse. Many overseas companies doctor up corn syrup to look like honey. Much cheaper. It's sold in all supermarkets as being the real thing. I suggest buying locally produced or at least US-produced honey at all times.


that does not surprise me.. there have been articles on "fake" food, and how hard it is for consumers to tell the real stuff from the fakes/lies..

The article on honey with no pollen lists some companies that do this, for anyone interested..

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/#.Uhdog74o7IU

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RE: Wish me luck. - 8/23/2013 6:56:16 AM   
MasterCaneman


Posts: 3842
Joined: 3/21/2013
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ChatteParfaitt

I'm under the impression that smoking the bees is mandatory, but it's been about 35 years.

I remember the smoking apparatus was contained --I'm not sure you'd get stoned, but I take your point. You don't want to be stoned and do this? Maybe a bad idea.

If you have to go it alone, slow and steady sounds good. So does a scaffold. Let us know how it turns out.





If it were me, I'd definitely have to be stoned to be messing with bees. Good luck, DS!

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