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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2015 2:14:06 GMT
We have decided to get into beekeeping. I've got the time and really want to make the effort.
I've read a lot but outside of the hive my parents had when I was maybe 7 or 8 years of age I have 0 experience.
We've got all the gear, frames, bodies, etc and are starting 2 hives of "italian" bees this coming week. We are starting them by purchasing nucs (5 frame).
Basically the bees should be ready over the next few days and I am simply going to take the empty hive bodies to the location and we are adding in the nucs to my hive bodies then I am driving them home (30 miles) and putting them on their block foundations I have ready and waiting.
What should I expect in the process of going an picking them up and transporting them (in the back of a truck)? Any do's or don't here?
Should I use a follower board?
What feeder do any of you reccomend for a newbie like me to get?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2015 0:48:49 GMT
I open feed. A kitchen bowl with styrofoam peanuts floating on top of the sugar syrup works well here. I am not sure what the weather in your area is, but a screen over the entrance will keep the bees from flying out of the hive. I highly recommend ratchet strapping the lid, hive, and bottom board together. Lifting pissy bees out of the back of the truck is much easier when you aren't struggling to hold it all together. Or a bunch of gorilla tape. (This is not the time to use generic cheap duct tape.)
I have never used a follower board. No advice on that.
Beekeeping for dummies isn't a bad investment.
Have fun and post lots of questions
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 21, 2015 18:57:40 GMT
Hummmm. I'd set up the hives at their permanent location and bring the nucs to the hives to install. It seems like installing then moving them is confusing them twice over instead of just once....but that's just my thought/not professional advice! You'll soon learn that Every beek thinks differently anyway!!! ROFL. If you are doing that to get the nuc box back to the owner and get a deposit back,then I understand. A small drop of lemongrass oil(not more) on a cotton ball swiped in the back of the new hive will help calm them. When new bees are confused ,sometimes they abscond 'cause the queen gets mad and wants to leave as soon as she gets the chance,so every little trick helps. They do want Dark when first hived so if you have screened bottoms,make sure they are covered so there's no extra light on their drive. You may want to spray them with a Fine mist(as in FINE,not getting them all wet) of water or sugar water too,to give them something to do. Well, I have top bar hives, not langs so that's all I can think of that might apply. You've got a great adventure ahead! Best wishes! Everyone says to join a club or have a mentor but I was able to get going with books myself. All I did was read all the possibilities for situations that arose,chose what I thought would work best for Me, and asked questions online on a huge beekeeping forum. Things have worked out!
PS-unlike charmd 2 I don't recommend open feeding for new hives. It will attract every other colony in the area to robbing (their scout bees will find the food and bring in all their workers) and new hives are vulnerable to getting "overrun" IF there are large colonies within a few miles of you. The robbers would go for the food and then try to rob the small new hive colonies as well.........just sayin. I actually open feed too! but there are no hives within 10 miles of me(unless there are wild ones). I only see robbers here late in Fall when desperate bees are hustling,so that depends on your location.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2015 19:49:21 GMT
hobbitlady I too am the only beekeeper in a several mile radius. So open feeding was easiest for me. I didn't even consider starting a robbing environment. Entrance feeders are the second easiest. I used them my first season and was not fond of them. Any feeder will work. I also didn't have a mentor other than beekeeping forums and books.
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 21, 2015 21:06:35 GMT
charmd2 --- I agree on entrance feeders being easy. Some people say They cause robbing too but I put mine at one end,block off the middle of the entrance with a slat and leave an opening at the far end of the entrance. One of my hives I can use them and wish my other two didn't have holes on the sides.I'm a big experimenter and all 3 of my top bars are a little different. I'm into finding out what works best in the long run. I love hearing from others that "do it themselves"!!! even though it isn't "standard" for bee keeping....maybe Because it isn't standard! Best always to you! -hobby-
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2015 4:26:45 GMT
Thanks for the replies, both of you. I was starting to think that I was not going to get any.
Just like the two of you - I am "going it alone" in my learning. Sure, I have read a lot over the past 6-9 months but nothing beats hands on experience....I plan on obtaining that through on the job training...haha.
From your replies it appears I will not be "open feeding" because my closest neighbor has a hive (1/4 mile away). Thanks for the additional input as I never even considered the neighbor bees robbing.
My wife and kids (3) will be joining me in this quest to learn more about bees. Sure, I will be doing most of the work but we are going at this as a family. We go through a bit of honey around here. We use it as a sugar replacement in a lot of recipes, use it to sweeten our morning bowls of cereal and also enjoy it on toast and biscuits. Since we all enjoy it we thought it would be a cool family function to mess around with bees.
I have a technical degree and am an x-business owner, I pretty muched "checked out" from normal society 5 years back at the age of 40. I have all the time in the world available to learn and read about bees. I tend to over analyse things as from my aforementioned background there is always an answer. The problem is those "tidbits" of information that the books do not cover, that's the valuable stuff and the stuff that I like to seek out.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2015 13:30:30 GMT
We are here for you. we may not always agree, but you will get 2 opinions then. I promise to always be civil and may learn too
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 23, 2015 16:56:09 GMT
Hi oldhat For sure those bees will have you guessing or saying "What The!?!" from time to time(especially the First year!!!!),but they are SO fascinating to observe and learn from. Most bees are "nice" and you can sit right by the hive(out of their flight path tho-) and just listen and watch sometimes. It's very soothing! I was almost 60 when I started and wish I'd kept bees my whole life now. But I was busy self employed and moved around and then early-retired spent a couple of years reading and feeling like it "too much" to tackle. Then I started needing more and more honey because I started to eliminate white sugar from our lives in all my home cooking,and use honey for canning too....and summer sun tea,etc etc. Found the system I could handle alone and took off with it. Once I started I was "duck to water" and I've loved everything about it though. Hey, even stings are said to help a person's immune system! I only get one or two a year and never when I expect it but I Like to think of them that way instead of cussing.Ha. BTW I started with just One hive, but another common "rule"(?) is to start with two! That's so if something goes flooey with one colony you can usually "fix it" or keep going if you have a second. I almost lost my first hive my first winter ....it was a Very close call! Buying bees is getting too expensive for me and I decided to always have more after that! Also if your Italians die the first winter,try Carniolans...they are "said"(here we go again) to be more weatherwise. BUT it's good to get what other beeks in your area have good luck with as well! Best to ya! hobby
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2015 1:37:26 GMT
I want both your opinions on this:
My bees will be around 150 yards from my house. The reason they are this far away is because I have a rocky eroded area (flat rock with exposed bedrock) that is pretty much worthless when it comes to running any livestock or farming. So I fgiured the bees could have this area. It's mainly cedar and persimmon trees....and rock, rocks, rocks. I guess there is around 2 acres like this in that area across my creek from the house.
My question is, should I be concerned with animals like coons, possums, etc trying to get into my bees? Now I know bees can fend for themselves, but it was one thing I weighed when settling on a place for them. I kind of wanted them within ear shot and sight of my 2 dogs on the front porch, but then again I wanted them away from any place that I needed to mow or work close to.
I am hoping to get my bees this weekend, but we've got a bit of rain coming in for the next few days so who knows.
My wife and I keep about 4 acres in grass/dandelions/clover as a yard (More dandelions and clover than grass) and have actually wallowed the tractor around in areas back in the woods and ripped ground and planted wildflower seeds everywhere. Toss in the fact that I got tired of cutting grass on the side of our 1/4 mile driveway so I tilled it and put in wildflowers also. Toss in about 20 fruit trees also...so my bees should be happy. I am hoping that that they end up like my chickens...free ranging most of the time!
Well I got a bit long winded there, so let me ask again:
Am I crazy for putting them this far from the house? I am in the process of building a new shed/ chicken coop combo and a smokehouse, so I am gonna build a bee shed and put it back by my bees to store any and all gear in so access to gear is not going to be a problem. (I have a neighbor with a saw mill so I consistently have "not so perfect" lumber land in my lap at a good price if not free. Guess I have given him $250 for 4 pickup truck loads of 2x4's and 2x6's over the past year).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2015 1:49:53 GMT
That isn't that far from the house. As long as you can carry supers easily. I get coons and skunks right up on the front porch so proximity to the house is null. Put a few tack strips at the hive enterance if it really worries you. They won't stand on nails scratching for bees long. I really wouldn't worry though especially with dogs around
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 24, 2015 2:38:57 GMT
Your place sounds like bee (and people) heaven! No,Not crazy to have them far away (some beeks have hives on other people's properties a mile away) but bees do tend to ignore mowing and working etc. DH weed whacks around our fruit trees when they are full of bees flowering and no bee has ever even landed on him. My hives are 20 feet from the open carport (NOT facing it tho-)and no bee has ever gone in there when we unload groceries or put the dogs in back of the truck,etc. They are busy in their own world....usually "on a mission"! They don't usually care about humans unless we mess with their home. Yes,in your somewhat wild setting for them,there might be night raiding varmints that climb your hives. Only bears usually do deadly damage though. Ordinarily calm bees will get loud and come out to greet you if they've had a night visitor....or Cover your suit when you open the hive. That is not normal.Usually just a few guards would land on you at first...then maybe more if you are pulling frames. It's best not to inspect them or take honey until they calm down(give them 3 or 4 days). Look for telltail scratch marks on the wood if you suspect they've been bothered...but not much you can do in a woodland setting. OH! Make sure their entrances face the morning sun and are not blocked by tree shade in the morning. The light coming in their door gets them going early and we want that!
When you get them,since they are far away, you really ought to walk out there Often for a few weeks and find out what their "normal" temperment is. I can get 3 feet from my hives,with no suit, before a guard will fly around me,and "warn me" instead of just ignoring me.Guard bees don't sting at first they just bump you or buzz threatening-like.
Did you know that bees move/vibrate so fast they don't notice us if we move real slow? Always mosey when doing your bee work. Don't swing tools around or bang the hive with a knee or anything fast. One of my only stings was when I couldn't get a cabbage chopped off in a nearby raised bed.I was yanking it and took a fast chop at the stalk again right when a bee was headed home to the hive 10 feet away.She thought I was up to no good and nailed my arm. 100% my fault,that one. I knew better but got mad at a cabbage and "forgot" where I was!HAHAHA. NOTE: The best thing to do in advance for predators (and storm damage),is get a couple of ground screws (ooops-good luck in those rocks;I've got that here too) for 2 sides and strap down each hive with a ratchet strap or something. This helps with high wind/snow drift too. When you get to adding supers or double your brood boxes and the hives are taller it's just smart. Just remember to take them off Gently when you are going to work the hive and don't bang around.
See! I'm long winded too! I love to write about the things I've read and learned about bees!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2015 12:53:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2015 13:15:12 GMT
Yes, my place is people, animals, critters, and insect heaven. My closest gas station is around 8-9 miles away and that's the 1st sign of anything "commercial" that one comes to. I think if you went a mile in any direction you'd be hard pressed to find over 5-6 "neighbors". I truly live in the sticks. Kids have a 1:40 minute bus ride to school. The tack strip idea is something I will consider. I will like wise consider anchoring the boxes down for winds, however we get very little if any snow or heavy winds here in my part of Tenn (south of Nashville by 35 miles or so). Another reason I picked the spot is because it is an east facing bank. I spent around 4 hours with a chainsaw clearing "the perfect spot" of scrub brush and cedars to give my future bees the best possible spot to thrive from. My father and I found a hive in a 150 year old oak when I was 7-8 years old or so in Ohio (Where I was raised). He kept the bees going for about 5-6 years. We had around 5 acres of wooded grass and it was my responsibility growing up to mow (Old gravely walk behind and a push mower). The old gravely could hardly keep a baffle on the muffler, so it was a bit loud. There usually ended up being a strip of grass about 50 ft long and 15ft wide in front of our bees. About every 3rd time mowing I'd simply line up the gravely, put it in gear and let it go by itself and then run around the back of the bee box and catch it on the other side (would let it go perpendicular to the front of the box). Maybe our bees being feral were a bit more aggressive, but that is my memory of bees. I spoke with the bee guy last night around 9:30. I am going to go and pick up my bees on either Saturday or Sunday as they are ready. He urged me to bring the entire family (I have 3 kids, ages 10,11, and 15) and he said he'd spend some time with the 5 of us and answer any questions and have us all work with the bees. He also said that anytime I want to come visit that he will show me whatever I need to know. Seems like a nice enough guy. I've been to 17 different countries ( Mainly as a combat soldier) so I tend to enjoy the story of folks from different walks of life. Here is a video he put together if you feel like watching and commenting. It's a good link and I'd never post anything as spam or a bad link, so please trust me here. You can simply copy and paste into your browser. He does bees as a "full time job", so there is no doubt he knows what he is doing or at least should know with 60+ hives. vimeo.com/21766917Now one thing I am leery of, is that he pretty much urged me to bring my entire family. I was going to go pick them up in my pickup truck I use around the property. It's a 1986 Toyota and I was gonna toss the bees in the back. Well since he seemed so pleased and excited to know that I was somewhat of a homesteader and had kids, he seemed over joyed that I bring the kids. I told him that for all of us to be able to come that I had to bring our SUV and had no trunk or bed to put them in. He assured me that he would set it up where no bee would bother us in the vehicle. Me, I am not so sure as I;d hate to get in a fender bender and have 2 nucs of bees with me....your thoughts? I think I may have the family follow me in the SUV and I will make the 40 mile trip in the old toyota truck...is just not worth the risk in "worse case scenario"....your opinion?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2015 15:24:24 GMT
My internet is on the phone, so videos are out. I transport bees in the hatchback of my Subaru all the time. I have only rarely had an escapee bee and that is easily solved by rolling down a window. This is one of those "your call" moments. Take two vehicles if you are really worried. Yes, it is a bit more gas. But, it will ease your anxiety and still allow the family to be involved and ask questions. @oldhat the best memories are the simplest ones sometimes, this is something the kids may remember forever
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 24, 2015 19:18:12 GMT
Hi oldhat! Ibrahim is Excellent!!! Great little vid. What a fearless guy. There is no need for stings at all;like he said he doesn't suit up and it's just defensive when he messes with their hive but basically they are friendly and have no intent to hurt anyone.To me he seems like a near perfect person to get local answers from....20 years is a good long time of experience and he radiates the love of what he's doing. I wish I had someone like him nearby!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2015 19:19:08 GMT
Getting ready to head to Ibrahim's place shortly. Mixed up some syrup. Decided that we were going to take a single vehicle as after hearing from Ibrahim and you two I am pretty comfortable in having them in the vehicle with us.
THanks for the words of wisdom and I will keep you two posted. If there are any more tidbits for that you'd like to add to help me out, then feel free to post them up for a newb.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2015 0:00:25 GMT
I most likely won't think of them until you ask questions. My brain forgets what it is like to be new. Keep us updated
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2015 0:51:46 GMT
Well that was a pleasant experience with Ibrahim, he sure is a gentle soul. We arrived at his place around 5:00, knocked on door and noone answered but we could hear a mower around back. Sure enough he was push mowing all around his 60 or 70 hives...I thought "wow, he's crazy". We simply took our boxes with 5 empty frames, picked 2 of his hives, cracked them open and took 5 frames from his. He had introduced queens into the hives 3-5 days ago. We identified the queens in each hive. He even showed us the new queen cells and removed them (they had already been killed). He even took a gob of royal honey and ate it to amuze my son. Eli (age 10). In the process we found an additional queen so he had my son grab it and put it in the little box. He had my son grab 2 additional bees and stick them in there. I thought Ibrahim was going to use the queen elsewhere but he insisted once we were done that we take the queen and let eli start his own hive. Eli was so amuzed by him eating the royal honey that he asked Ibrahim if he ate bees also. Ibrahim responded with "Yes, I'l show you" and he reached down grabbed a bee and popped it in his mouth. Eli started laughing and then Ibrahim opened his mouth and let the bee fly out. Was amusing. Now I do not know about you guys and your first experience, but I was a bit leery when we first got there and started cracking open hives. We wore no suit, gloves....nothing and we were never aggrevated by a single bee. Pretty amazing to tell you the truth. On the second hive we cracked open (after transferring 5 of his frames to my 1st box) we had a problem finding the queen. She was not in the 1st 5 frames but was off with 100 other bees in a nearly empty frame. I guess we looked over the 1st 5 frames for 15 mins trying to find her. We looked over those 5 frames several times. Once we decided to look in the other frames and finally dound her, he insisted that we go to a different hive as he did not eel comfortable with us taking that one and that we should choose another. So we did. Now mind you we have cracked open 3 of his hives and the only smoke we used was from him smoking a cigarette and blowing into the hives right after he first took the tops off. Guess he blew in 2 puffs on each hive. For transportation he simply took a hand stapler and stapled all the parts together on the outside of the box. Pretty nifty idea. On the entrance he grabbed a hand full of clover from his yard and plugged the small entrance hole...and off we went (After he and I discussed a bit of politics, he was curious being from the middle east of my views since I was a combat soldier). We got home around 6:00, placed the bees over in our location, pulled the clover from the entrance and let our bees get accustomed to their new home for the eve. Ibrahim informed that I should not need to feed the bees. He said that they will be fine as he rarely if ever feeds his bees....only in desperate/harsh times. I have included two pics, one is with my sone holding a frame of bees with Ibrahim and the second pic is of my son and our pup "freckles" after we placed the bees on our property. Was an absolutely fabulous experience today. I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Ibrahim today.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2015 1:39:00 GMT
I would guess your son will remember this day long in the future. I am so very glad this was a positive experience for all of you. This is what beekeeping should be.
Although I would not get away with simply blowing a bit of smoke. I have a really aggressive hive that only gets to remain that way be because it is a producer and I live in the middle of nowhere. Zero liability issues
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 26, 2015 2:20:59 GMT
Outstanding! You did it! So funny the first thing you saw was him acting the opposite of your long-ago mowing memories and his bees not caring!
What a wonderful tale to read today. Gives me a good feeling that you and your family had such a great experience. I'll say it again.....I sure wish that guy lived near me! A real live bee-guru,that one!!! I'd like to see someone pop a bee in their mouth myself!!! I don't even try to handle mine without full protection;although they are quite nice...I just Really don't like stings and I'm clumsy enough to hurt one and make them all mad!
Very calm people Can do as Ibrahim does,I've seen other vids of men and women like that working bees with no ill effects but never been in a bee yard in person. I'm sort of emotional/exuberant and don't trust my own self one bit (to not make a wrong move or sound when I'm pulling combs)!!!
Yes, with honey already in the nuc frames I understand not feeding.And with their rich new setting you described! I've always dumped package-bees that were shipped to me into an empty hive,so mine did need some food while they settled in and used that food to make their first combs.
Congrats again on your new adventure, to you and your son!!! -hobby-
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 3:06:20 GMT
Well today's task was to crack open the 2 hives and make sure my frames were OK after moving.
I told myself this morning that I was not going to use any protection when working with my bees....yeah right! I roll over to the hives around noon today with nothing but a hive tool and low and behold my bees are active....really active. Really active as in 100's if nto 1000's were doing either their orientiation flight or was just happy to have the sun shinning on them.
With all this activity I thought "self you are a fool if you go without protective gear today" so off I went back to the house to grab gloves and a head net. BY the time I got back over there I'll admit that my anxiety was pretty high, so I decided to put on the gloves and head net and simply chill out with the bees for awhile. I simply plopped down on the ground between the two hives and watched the bees for 30 minutes or so. Bees were all around me, I was only challenged 3 times and I pretty much had my nose at the entrance when this happened.
I cracked open the 1st hive and removed the wax between the frames. Was pretty easy, no bees bothered or challenged me. I decided on the second hove that I'd get rid of the mask and gloves and give it a go. I am happy to report that I did not get stung and am now really comfortable with cracking open a hive with no protective gear at all on.
Buying these bees from Ibrahim was a good thing as I am thouroghly convinced that I must have the gentlest bees in the world.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 4:25:40 GMT
dupe
"
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 4:32:22 GMT
I wanted to add:
Talked to my mother today, asked her what she thought of the pictures I emailed to her with Eli holding the bees (same ones I posted here).
She said in response to the pictures:
"Why if your father was still around to see this he'd wet his pants just looking at the picture of Eli holding that frame of bees. Man was scared to death of bees. Can't believe the ones the two of you bought home when you were about Eli's age made it for 5 years. They pretty much fended for themselves out back because your father was scared to death of them."
Of course Mom and I are laughing like crazy while she is saying this...but...I told ya'll I was raised around some mean bees!
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Apr 28, 2015 9:18:57 GMT
I have been having so much fun reading this thread. "Someday", I will have bees. Until then, I am reading with avid interest, and learning, learning, learning!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 10:36:08 GMT
@oldhat please do not go in the hives without at least a facemask if the weather is changing. Storms bring out the worst in bees. other than that, keep up the great work
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 3:49:40 GMT
Well to keep you all updated and for you to share advice...I opened the hives today.
First off I had been pressure washing in tennis shoes and a shorts only. Decided to take a break (I was soaked). Walked over to check on hives and decided that since it had been a week or so since cracking them open that I would open them up. Now I have on no shirt, just shorts and tennis shoes....getting brave!
I crack open the two hives and both are building comb on the inner covers. I gently turned over the inner covers and put the comb part up to my lip and blew on the bees until they moved out of the way, I then removed the comb by hand. No stings....next time I guess I can try it in my birthday suite to really build up my confidence.
So why are they building comb here and what's the trick to keeping them from doing this besides for removing the comb all the time?
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Post by hobbitlady on May 8, 2015 5:02:16 GMT
Gee,did Ibrahim tell you to blow on bees??? As a general rule they hate human breath....smells like "predator" and often causes guards to sting! Gentle bees Indeed!(so far) Why is being "brave" so important to you? I'm concerned that one day something Other than you is going to have your bees Mad and you'll get a painful lesson with not one random sting but a whole lot at once! I met a woman this happened to who got 30 stings on her face and arms and was quite crippled for a week after 2 years with not one sting.She forgot they were wild and had the impression they LIKED her. At least you arn't silly like That, but you are taking chances.I know what you are doing is Fun but darn it all...I've heard too many stories.... I don't know about burr comb on covers since my hives are different, but I'm sure charmd2 will pitch in! You are doing So great and that makes me happy for you! PLEASE Forgive my warnings,I just can't help it!!! hobby
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 18:37:43 GMT
How much space is between the top bar and the cover? That is the only reason I can see for building burr comb. Too much bee space. In which case you will likely just have to keep scraping it. Unless they are out of room in the brood box and you need to add another box? You are more than welcome to email me pictures @ charlahinkle @ gmail.com without the spaces. A picture is worth a million words sometimes when trying to figure out what is going on.
I too think Ibrahim is making you brave. You will get pelted. It is a matter of time. I hope you aren't scared of stings. Don't be wearing a wedding ring when opening the hives smokeless. I have heard horror stories of rings having to be cut off due to swelling
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 18:40:58 GMT
On being brave:
Let me tell you another story about hornets:
I guess I was 6 years old, I was raised around a bunch of girls that were a few years older than me. Well we are at a friends house and there are 5 girls and me. They are "playing house" out by an old barn and they nominate me to be "the family dog", I mean there's a double dog box laying there (one you stick in the bed of the pickup truck). So I go in the dog box, they lock the outside and low and behold I am 2ft away from a hornets nest. Instead of unlocking the dog box and getting me out they all panic and run to the house to get our parents. House I guess was 100 yards away, so I'd say a good 2 minutes passed with me in the box with the hornets....struggling and getting stung. By the time my mom pulled me out she was stung 14 times. At the emergency room the official count I ended up with was 42 stings, one down my throat, one inside my ear and one was up my nose....other 39 stings were mainly on my face and arms, but a lot were up my pants and down my shirt.
So now you see the overcoming fear. Now I am not afraid of bees by any stretch of the imagination or hornets or yellow jackets (ground bees), but I have decided that I want to take care of my bees "naturally", handle them and deal with them with no smoke, hood, gloves or anything else to protect me. I feel that if these little guys will provide me with honey then I should be able to learn how to deal with them on a natural basis.
Now you may call me crazy, but I would call myself a "purist". Purist in a sense that there are ways to do things to make life easier and I choose the hard way and even playing field, a 'natural way" if you may. Like hunting, I am a fairly accomplished woodsman. I pretty much was raised as a modern day Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. By the time I was 12 I was taking the rifle and camping out for the weekend in the woods in a cavern/cave/oweverhang all by myself, could be as far as 5 miles from the house. I'd dig roots, kill game to eat, etc. Today, when it comes to game hunting I go at it the "purist" way - On the ground with a self made bow and arrow. I come up with a plan, I think I know where the deer are (within 40-50 yards maybe a mile or more away), I want to take that animal on it's terms and during it's natural existence/pattern. If I was walking through the woods to this spot and the mature buck of the area was standing in front of me I would not shoot him as I did not anticipate this event unfurling like this.
I want to try and be a purist with my bees. I guess you could sum it up like GMO foods and fertilizers. We all know that GMO seeds and fertilizer will let anyone grow a garden and produce yields. But there are a lot of "purist" out there that will put in the extra effort in raising heirloom, going no till and no fertilizer (or natural fertilizer) and grow their gardens. This is the "hard way", it's the way I like to do things. Doing things the hard way let's one become somewhat of an expert on the subject. This is what I want to do with my bees.
I figure with my bees I have to learn patience, slow movement, etc. If I am doing something wrong then I will get punished for it by a few stings. I will then chalk that up as a lesson in what went wrong and make adjustments and try to do it better the next.
Ibrahim did not teach me to blow on bees....I watched him gently blow on them to move them a half inch or so he could remove queen cells and burr comb in areas. It's not a hard blow, just a gentle little steady whisp of air - like a 13 year old boy blowing in a girls ear!
I've cracked my hives open two times now with no smoke and no hood or gloves on. I even pulled out frames to look to see if my queens were doing their jobs. I've still yet to get stung and only on a single occurrence have I made a bee mad...it did not like what I was doing so I just walked backwards real slow with the frame in my hand full of bees and the bee that was buzzing me left me alone once I was 6-8 ft away from the hive.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 18:59:13 GMT
Charmed, I walked back over yesterday and pulled the cover off again and checked, they were building the comb back. I will maybe take a pic this weekend and post it here. I did not clean it off the second time as I figured I'd start doing some research into "why" before I kept cracking it open and messing up my bees. I may walk over this eve and see what it looks like on one of the hives. I'll even check my cover....heck it may even be on upside down and if I close the gap (by flipping it over) then maybe that will fix it. I told ya'll I was a beginner, I may have the inner cover on upside down.
Plenty of room in the brood box, I still have 3 empty frames (with foundation) in there that they have yet to work on.
I'm learning though.
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