i made them realy mad, need help

rgy · September 10, 2011, 02:31:01 PM

I wanted to get things started to winterise and do a powder sugar mite treatment today. How do you get the bees out from under the screened botom board and above the hive stand????

I tried to use my bee brush and rake them out!! Let's just say they don't like that at alll!!! I thought i had most out and put a sticky board in and a couple hundred bees got stuck. It was maddening.

I did the sugar treatment and did close off the front of one hive but I realy need to know how to get them out so I can treat the other hives and not get the crap stung out of me.

thanks bob

Kathyp · September 10, 2011, 02:56:50 PM

this is probably not the response you are looking for....but i wouldn't bother. if you want to PS the bees, just do the ones that are in the hive and don't worry about the others. wouldn't bother with a sticky board either, but that's up to you. do you know you have a mite problem?

BlueBee · September 10, 2011, 03:11:50 PM

Yep, had the exact same problem! They don't like the brush :-D

I used smoke, lots and lots of smoke. They fairly quickly abandoned the underside of the screen and flew into the air. I probably had 2000 bees under my screen. I think I got every last bee to leave with just smoke.

rgy · September 10, 2011, 04:10:32 PM

i'll try just smoke. I had to abandon the entire day after getting 3 stings. I am becomming allergic and now carry an eppi pen. took a big swing of benedryl and have been napping.

mikecva · September 10, 2011, 05:15:43 PM

With a bee brush you need to flick the bees off or else you will roll them, and they really do not like that.

I use the powered sugar (lightly) together with the sticky board but I do not close off the entrance. Also do not put the PS in the hive on a damp day as it will cake.

If you MUST remove the bees from under the hive, I would lightly spray them with 1:1 then put a sheet of news paper under the hive and with my hands, knock/pick the bees off the bottom and put them inside (the paper is to catch the falling bees if any.) Smoking the bees will drive them off but make sure it is a cool smoke, a hot smoke will also upset the bees.

My friend had a hive that had attacked him (because of what he did), and we put 1;1 in a top feeder in the hive and a wet sheet over the hive (with space above the ground) and left it there for two days. Everything went back to normal after that. -Mike

Michael Bush · September 10, 2011, 08:39:48 PM

>Yep, had the exact same problem! They don't like the brush

Brushing is all about surprise. As mikecva says, you flick. If you go slow they just hold on tighter. The easiest way to be bees of most things if they are sturdy enough is to slam them against something hard. It's all about the surprise.

Michael Bach · September 10, 2011, 10:16:42 PM

I had something similat today. I confused the heck out of the returning foragers with robber screens. They could not figure out how to get back in. They left ok but returning was impossible. They just collected under the SBB.

Removed the robber screen and smoked under the hive. Thay dropped and flew and just collected under again. So I got my leaf blower and gave them a quick shot and away they went. Slid in the ipm board and then there was a couple thousand bee log jam trying to get in the hive.

My wife though I was fricken nuts. I guess for that and other reasons that only a wife would understand.

BlueBee · September 10, 2011, 10:44:47 PM

I quit using robber screens last year. Sometime the cure is worse than the disease.....

Rgy, I didn't get a single sting smoking out those 2000 bees under the screen. Maybe all the smoke had them too confused to sting. I was suited up, but they didn't come after me.

rober · September 10, 2011, 10:50:56 PM

did your screen bottom bd. come with the signboard insert? lightly coat it with vaseline or oil & install it. leave it for 2 days & do a mite count & then decide whether or not you need to treat. if you have a high mite count i'd use apiguard.

rgy · September 11, 2011, 01:27:12 AM

the problem is where the mite count board/sticky paper goes is full of bees. Uner the screened bottom board and above the solid bottom hive stand. I was using the brush to pull them out of that area. Last year I did the powdered sugar and did not close up that bottom area and it leads to a lot of robbing and yellow jacket problems. I think if that area is not closed up than it is a mute point to PS as the bees just go down there and get the mites back on themselves. Please correct me if I am wrong.

my plan for tomorrow is to just go get the supers off and put feeders on and forget about any mite treatment on the 3 remaining hives.