Well I'm out of business

crane · March 17, 2015, 12:42:13 AM

Went out the other morning and found all my bees dead.
We had a stretch of warm weather and then a sudden freeze for a long night and most of the next day. I am not sure if that is what got em by freezing to death, or what. Maybe they broke cluster and started to get ready for spring. I don't know

I noticed that the fellow next door (he just bought the property)had put out a lot of ant poison powder. I'm thinking that might have done the deed as well. It certainly didn't help.
Oh well so much for this year. Maybe I'll get more next year. Not sure, It's been 3 years now and I am pretty disappointed right now...

hjon71 · March 17, 2015, 01:50:03 AM

Sorry to hear that. I'm curious, do you monitor or treat for pests?

Michael Bush · March 17, 2015, 08:44:34 AM

Any kind of pesticide powder is bad news for bees if it gets on anything blooming. It will jump to the bees statically charged bodies and get gathered as pollen...

crane · March 17, 2015, 05:39:23 PM

Hjon Other than screened bottom boards and full sun on my hives, I haven't had much need for mite or SHB. Had really good luck for 3 years. never lost a hive untill now. Kinda at a loss.
Michael, Bees had feed (sugar syrup) and seemed to be disease free. Death apparently came quick as they were all in groups like handsfull. There are no flowers or pollen recources next door just the ant killer spread on the ground around ant beds. Mostly weeds.
Oh well... Wait till next year...

rookie2531 · March 17, 2015, 08:23:33 PM

What are you doing with the comb? I have heard that many treatment free beeks do well the first couple years then crash. I wouldn't rule that out. I would at least try one package since it shouldn't take long to get hopping again since you have comb. Assuming there is no poison in them.

sc-bee · March 18, 2015, 05:24:15 PM

Quote from: crane on March 17, 2015, 12:42:13 AM
Went out the other morning and found all my bees dead.
We had a stretch of warm weather and then a sudden freeze for a long night and most of the next day. I am not sure if that is what got em by freezing to death, or what. Maybe they broke cluster and started to get ready for spring.

One long night and most of the next day.... not hardly cause IMHO

GLOCK · March 18, 2015, 07:50:56 PM

Quote from: crane on March 17, 2015, 05:39:23 PM
Hjon Other than screened bottom boards and full sun on my hives, I haven't had much need for mite or SHB. Had really good luck for 3 years. never lost a hive untill now. Kinda at a loss.
Michael, Bees had feed (sugar syrup) and seemed to be disease free. Death apparently came quick as they were all in groups like handsfull. There are no flowers or pollen recources next door just the ant killer spread on the ground around ant beds. Mostly weeds.
Oh well... Wait till next year...

Mites can really kick in on year 3.

capt44 · March 18, 2015, 09:09:45 PM

I had a friend that put out Andro Ant Killer around his house about 3 yrs ago and it killed every bee he had.
It has a sweetner that actually attracted the bees.

Dallasbeek · March 18, 2015, 09:56:20 PM

Capt44, you shouldn't be bothered by imported fire ants. They sometimes get a little north of the Red River into Oklahoma, but a hard winter there kills them off. Regardless, could they have been taking it because the corn meal that's used as a carrier looks like pollen?

Big box stores will sell anything they can, like Weed and Feed, which is worthless -- when it's time to put down pre-emergent herbicide, it's too early to fertilze and when it's time to fertilize, it's too late to put down pre-emergent herbicide, but they scare people into buying it and sell tons of it. Here in my area, it's best to use straight nitrogen, without phosphorous and potassium, but it's hard to find straight nitrogen, so people are paying for stuff that does no good and they're selling tons of it.

OldMech · March 20, 2015, 12:11:43 PM

two to three years is the average survival of feral hives in this area then they die without treatments.
This time of year, the bees REALLY go for anything powdery.. sawdust, bird seed fines, Grain dust from the horse buckets, pollen substitutes OR pesticide dust.. if they found that dust, they would have gone berserk to bring it back to the hive. This time of year 7 and other insecticides that are applied in powder form can and will wreak havoc....

Dallasbeek · March 20, 2015, 12:27:15 PM

I've read that AHBs are quick to swarm or abscond if there are problems in the hive. Maybe that's the good thing about them and if they were not so mean (defensive, actally) they'd be a desirable breed insofar as survival of honey bees goes -- ignoring how it would inconvenience beekeepers.

tjc1 · March 21, 2015, 11:45:36 AM

Exactly my experience - three great years and then 100% losses this winter... I have treated with MAQS only, and the FDA lab found nosema in two of the three hives. A real bummer, but I'm trying again - hopefully, what I've learned will help me and the bees the next time around.