Category: Bee Prevention

Hummingbird Feeder Bee "Swarms"

10/17/2024

Periods of flower "dearth" bring honeybees to hummingbird feeders. To move or remove the feeders do so at night (after dusk) when the honeybees go back to their colony. Honeybees can forage an average of three miles, sometimes more in extreme conditions. Honeybees at your hummingbird feeder does not mean you have a colony close by, though it is possible.

Try "bee proof" feeders and/or inserts like those in the affiliate links below. If the bees tongue can reach the syrup they will continue to come until the syrup is gone. You want to create a hummingbird feeder, not a bee feeder. Think how long the tongue of a hummingbird is. Also, please consider the hummingbirds need to migrate, so you might think of the time of year and if it is their natural time to leave. Pulling your feeder may prevent some unnecessary deaths if they get caught in freezing temperatures.

Notice no bees on my feeder! I have over 100 hives in a three mile radius!

Click on these links to purchase Feeder or inserts

The above affiliate links are to products we personally use in our apiary and on the homestead. "We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites."

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DIY Bee Removal?

9/25/2020

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"Can I lure the bees out of my wall by placing an empty hive next to it?"

Odds are very slim, in fact you may possibly be better off playing the lottery! You have an established hive in your wall, building, garage, hollow tree, irrigation water line box, or other inconvenient for you location. A very good question is how to economically and ethically move the hive to a new home. Many people like to hope that by putting an empty "bait" or "lure" hive next to the entrance of the established hive will make the current bees want to pack up their belongings and move to this new, fancy, upgraded, luxury home you made just for them. Here is why I have never heard of this working:

An established hive has a combination of brood in various stages, stores of pollen and honey. The queen's pheromone is throughout the hive. There is so much work for them to do. From raising the young that is in various ages, caring for the temperature, cleaning and making more comb, storing pollen, turning nectar into honey, guarding the hive, and much more. They depend on each other working together to make the hive function and thrive acting pretty much as a single organism.

You can place an empty hive nearby and you will likely see bees going in and out of it. Are they moving in? Most likely, no. They are searching for resources as they will salvage wax or honey out of your hive to take back to their own. IF a colony does move in, it is likely a swarm from another location and you will then have two hives!

They only way to remove the hive from the inconvenient location is to gently transfer the brood comb and queen and scrape out any signs of wax. Then seal it up to prevent any other bees from moving in. Once a hive has made a home others will choose to live in the same spot after they are gone if given the opportunity.

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Feral Beehive Prevention: Block Wall

1/13/2019

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This cinder block wall has many possible locations for a feral bee swarm to enter and start a hive. The holes in the mortared block go through to the hollow centers, and the cracked block on the top of the wall lends for access into one of the hollow voids. These locations are prime real estate for honeybees.

The Green marks the middle where a cinder block has a center cement divider, two hollow spots on each side of these dividers, stacked off-set gives a hollow center for the bees to grow up or down depending on where the hole is in the wall. When doing removals from block walls I have also seen where the center cement divider was chipped allowing for bees to crawl through to the next cavity and continue their growth. In one hive one side was honey storage the other side was brood. The red shows the possible area where the bees could make their home.

The best thing to do is to block these entrance access points before spring. If you have a cinder block wall or building, walk around and do an inspection. Patch any holes that are larger than the head of a pencil eraser that have access into the center void. This includes around pipes if it is a building. Do not use foam spray, bees can chew through it and it doesn't last very long in the elements. Choose to use a concrete patch. If you cannot get to it before spring a quick temporary solution is to stuff the holes with steel wool.

If you have never checked your wall before it may be possible you already have occupants that you didn't know about. If you do find a feral hive here is a contact list of local beekeepers: http://southernazbeekeepers.org/bee-removal/

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Hummingbird Feeder Bee "Swarms"

DIY Bee Removal?

Feral Beehive Prevention: Block Wall

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