# BEEs



## Davarm

A while back the property behind mine sold and the man who bought it built a small house, planted an orchard and set up several hives of bees. 

I've been talking to him on and off for a while now and he happened to ask me if I knew where any wild bee hives were and it just so happens that I do. For the past 5 or 6 years a small hive has been in the old water meter housing where my great grandmothers house once stood and my dad(who owns the property now) said that he was welcome to come get it as long as he was going to tend it and not kill them off.

Looks like I'm going to see how it's done tomorrow around lunch time, I'm going to take him over and he's going to "catch" them. The hive is very gentle, you can walk right up to it and let them crawl on your hand without getting stung so the "relocation" should be uneventful but, who knows, it may get interesting! lol

My great grandmothers house has been gone for quite a few years but the meter is still there and "Pop" is worried that the water company may eventually come in and kill them off just to get access to and/or remove the meter so he's really happy that I found them a home.


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## *Andi

It is interesting to watch a bee keeper work a hive. Have fun.


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## goshengirl

I can't imagine how moving a hive is done - that would be so neat to see! And I bet you're right about the power company needing to kill them for access. It's so good they'll have a home rather than have that happen!


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## AdmiralD7S

Take pictures for us


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## AdmiralD7S

Double post


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## Grimm

When we lived in Bellflower a swarm moved through the neighborhood trying to find a place to set up shop. They settled in one of the fruit trees in the yard and I would sit under the tree to watch them. They were rather tame too. I was able to get within inches of the hive and even had a beard of bees a few times. I started planting flowering bushes for them so they'd stay. The owner moved back in at the end of the lease and sprayed the hive. Asshat!


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## Davarm

I learned something today!

As I said the hive was pretty tame, when we got there a few bees were buzzing around the opening to the meter and a some were flying around the lilac flowers that shaded the hive. My neighbor walked around, poked on the meter housing a few times and decided that he'd just open it without smoking them and without a bonnet, gloves or suit.

The little critters did swarm up some but didn't sting either of us. Me, being naive, only wore a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops but I was right at the hive with him and didn't have a problem.

My dads fears were valid about someone trying to kill the hive off, it appeared that motor oil had been poured around the meter in the past and part of the comb had been contaminated but the rest was apparently healthy. He vacuumed the bees up, got the queen and discarded the comb then put them all in an empty hive and took them home.

His opinion was that since the oil had been poured, the hive would likely have died out if left alone so MAYBE we saved a local hive of very docile bees. I think that experience may have moved me past my "fear" of what goes along with keeping bees and I may, with the neighbors help, try my hand at keeping them.

I did learn that not all bees are like kamikaze's out to drive away anything that comes near the hive and at least with these - you would have to try pretty hard to get them mad enough to attack and try to run you off.


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## shadowrider

There are many videos of swarm capture and hive removal on that big video web site. YOU know the one


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## crabapple

Most air moved by a portable vacuum goes thought a fan, therefore the blades of the fan would kill the bees, if you tried to vacuum them out of a wall or floor.
Someone here in S.C. has a way around the air flowing over the fan blades & uses this to collet bees that move into people homes. This man has more bee then he can keep up with & are selling them, just so he will not have to destroy them.


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## cowboyhermit

crabapple said:


> Most air moved by a portable vacuum goes thought a fan, therefore the blades of the fan would kill the bees, if you tried to vacuum them out of a wall or floor.
> Someone here in S.C. has a way around the air flowing over the fan blades & uses this to collet bees that move into people homes. This man has more bee then he can keep up with & are selling them, just so he will not have to destroy them.


You can buy a bee vacuum or make one. To make one you typically just add a secondary chamber with a very large screened surface inside, then connect the vacuum to that. This way the bees are not subject to the the same forces, I have seen it done with a large shop vac that was very restricted to lower the airflow but they are still going to get sucked against the filter imo.

Personally I don't really like to use anything like that but they do work.


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## crabapple

cowboyhermit said:


> You can buy a bee vacuum or make one. To make one you typically just add a secondary chamber with a very large screened surface inside, then connect the vacuum to that. This way the bees are not subject to the the same forces, I have seen it done with a large shop vac that was very restricted to lower the airflow but they are still going to get sucked against the filter imo.
> 
> Personally I don't really like to use anything like that but they do work.


The bee keeper said he dose not like them ether, but it is better then killing the bee with poisons, so he use them to remove the bees from walls.


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## Davarm

crabapple said:


> Most air moved by a portable vacuum goes thought a fan, therefore the blades of the fan would kill the bees, if you tried to vacuum them out of a wall or floor.
> Someone here in S.C. has a way around the air flowing over the fan blades & uses this to collet bees that move into people homes. This man has more bee then he can keep up with & are selling them, just so he will not have to destroy them.


His bee-vacuum was one designed for the purpose, no harm to the little critters except mabe a little motion sickness.


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## Grimm

Is your neighbor going to raise this hive/colony for honey?


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## Davarm

His first goal is to get it healthy first and then if the bees are good producers he'll harvest honey, if not he's just going to keep them as polinators.

Bees are kinda rare around here so regardless of what he does with them, its a no loose situation.


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## hashbrown

Davarm said:


> His bee-vacuum was one designed for the purpose, no harm to the little critters except mabe a little motion sickness.


I guess I prefer to find the queen and let the rest of the bees follow, but I'm old and it has worked forever. Most of the bee trees I find don't have a 120 volt outlet close. Not being a jerk just sayin.......


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## crabapple

hashbrown said:


> I guess I prefer to find the queen and let the rest of the bees follow, but I'm old and it has worked forever. Most of the bee trees I find don't have a 120 volt outlet close. Not being a jerk just sayin.......[/QUOTE
> 
> In floors & walls most people have120 & 220 volt outlets.
> Not being a jerk just saying............................


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## hashbrown

crabapple said:


> hashbrown said:
> 
> 
> 
> I guess I prefer to find the queen and let the rest of the bees follow, but I'm old and it has worked forever. Most of the bee trees I find don't have a 120 volt outlet close. Not being a jerk just sayin.......[/QUOTE
> 
> In floors & walls most people have120 & 220 volt outlets.
> Not being a jerk just saying............................
> 
> 
> 
> Caught these a couple of weeks ago in a floor old school. I just do it like my Grandpa taught me. Not that new ways are wrong just not right for me. I always feel close to the old man catchin bees he was a big part of my life. So I will catch bees till the day I die the way I was taught.
Click to expand...


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## Davarm

hashbrown said:


> I guess I prefer to find the queen and let the rest of the bees follow, but I'm old and it has worked forever. Most of the bee trees I find don't have a 120 volt outlet close. Not being a jerk just sayin.......


I loaded my generator up in his truck before we headed over to get them.

Always be prepared!


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## PrepN4Good

My first colony swarmed & fortunately ended up on a fence post just a few feet away. I called my bee-mentor, who came over & literally scooped them into a cardboard shoe box (with the queen) & emptied them into an empty hive.

I no long keep bees. They do not like me, nor do any stinging insects (ants, mosquitos, deer flies, etc.)


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## Davarm

I saw the guy out at his hives this evening, another one was set up, so went to see what he had going on.

He'd gone to the other side of Dallas and gotten another wild hive, he said these were a bit more agressive and had several stings to show for it and said the hive was huge. It had been in someones back yard under the eves of a house. Said he got a bucket full of honey and comb from it and he gave me salad bowl full to take home and it sure is good.

I'm gonna tell him the next time he goes after a hive to give me a yell and I'll go watch, who knows - I may learn someting(else).


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## Grimm

This is the hive I was talking about. This was the first day I saw them.


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## hashbrown

This is a swarm I caught early this spring that has made a hell of a good hive. I catch several swarms every year and usually give them to people that are interested in bee keeping. I set them up and help them through the process of raising bees. I only keep 4 good hives, that's enough to produce more than my family needs.


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## smaj100

I have a newbie bee question. I've ordered a nuc of italian bees from a apiary in GA, due here in NW TN May 6th. My question is this kit a good basic starter kit. I'm sure there will be more stuff to get and we'll need but we wanted something basic.

http://www.ruralking.com/lrg-bckyrd-kit-w-suit-and-glve.html


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## bbqjoe

Bugs and bees seem to have a cycle around here, and it changes every year with something being more, and something being less predominant.

This year so far, bees seem to be way down, and wasps are pretty high.
Houseflies are also making an early showing.

The very worst of all critters in the desert isn't the snakes or the scorpions, it's a critter we call the Hualapai tiger. It's also known as the cone nose bug.

Nastiest little bastards on the planet.


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## smaj100

AdmiralD7S said:


> Smaj, I may have bad news for you...
> 
> There are many Amish/Mennonite communities in Ohio/Pennsylvania/Kentucky/etc that raise queens/nucs, but that don't treat for parasites. Most of them sell to Georgia redistributors before parasite problems become noticeable, and the end buyer gets shafted. You may want to ask your apiary where they get their bees. If they say they raise the bees themselves, verify they treat for parasites.
> 
> On the kit, it will work, but it's very expensive. My parents got 2 full hives, their PPE, and a smoker thing from a shop in ?Mason?, Ohio...all for around $350. The shop appears to be reputable as that's where most all members of the Montgomery County Beekeepers Cult (or whatever their name is  ) get all their things. I can get more info on it from my parents if you'd like me to.


Admiral thanks. I'll try to get in touch with the apiary if they dont treat for parasites what can I do? The order was placed a while back due to everyone running out of stock early each season. And yes a different store or site with a basic kit like this cheaper would suit me just fine.


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## Cotton

smaj100 said:


> Admiral thanks. I'll try to get in touch with the apiary if they dont treat for parasites what can I do? The order was placed a while back due to everyone running out of stock early each season. And yes a different store or site with a basic kit like this cheaper would suit me just fine.


Don't get spooked, there are lots of family apiary's in north GA that produce their own queens and packages for sale and have done so for decades. Those in south GA feed the produce business there and in FL. They need 1000's of queens and get them any where they can. Your redistributor should be able to give the contact info you seek.


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## Cotton

I had 4 good hives going into the winter but it was a very dry fall, pollen shortages. I had a very bad winter health wise. 2 colonies abandoned their hives at the end of November. There was minor wax moth damage in one and minor hive beetle damage in the other, not enough for either to abandon the hive. I still don’t know why they abandoned their hives, they took everything with them, even the honey.

In February we had a cold snap, two nights of temps in the 20’s. I lost one of my remaining hives. The numbers were low, my fault.
My last hive was really strong when I opened it last week. It had two hive supers packed with brood and a honey super already full. I had to open it because it swarmed.

The swarm landed on my elderberry bushes I’ve spent 2 years getting to grow. I wasn’t about to cut down my best elderberry bush!

The swarm was low, about 6ft off the ground. I set a new hive on a barrel underneath it and with my hands pulled the bulk of the swarm into the hive. I used a bee brush to get the rest.

After an hour they were still bundled between the 5 new frames I’d put in the hive. This told me the queen was in the new hive. Whether or not she was injured? I hope not. After an hour I put in a frame of honey and put on an inner cover.

After dark I put on a top cover and sealed the entrance then moved the hive to a hive stand 4ft away. The next morning I got some pollen patty from my uncle. I opened the old hive first. I killed 9 queen cells on the upper body. I also removed a frame of open brood being careful to remove all the bees.

I put the frame of brood in the swarm hive along with two clean frames of pulled wax I’d stored over winter in the freezer. I’d given the swarm every reason to stay at this point. Even if their queen was injured by me they could raise a new one from the open brood. There was also capped brood and honey on that frame, a quick boost of numbers not that they needed any. It was a big swarm, a least 8lbs of bees. When I opened it the next morning to put in the frame of open brood the inner cover was stuck. Over night they had pulled wax everywhere. One piece was over 4 inches long hanging down from the inner cover.

Fingers crossed, maybe I now have two hives!


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## smaj100

well the hive is ready just waiting on the bee's. tracking says tomm. so excited. How long should i leave just the 2 brrod boxes on? will i get any honey this year at all? when should I put on the honey super on? Also my kit came with an in hive bar feeder, do i put it in the top box for easier access to fill, how long do i leave it in?


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## tmttactical

Caribou said:


> I would remove the top box for now and put the feeder in on one side. When you have about six frames full of bees add the other two frames and remove the feeder. A few days later add the second box.
> 
> The bees need to be warm enough to make wax. Don't make them warm up too much space at any one time. As the hive grows give them more space.
> 
> I am still feeding my bees as there is nothing here yet for them in the way of nectar. Once the bees start finding nectar they should lose interest in your sugar water. I add a teaspoon or three of vinegar to my bee water to keep mold down.
> 
> Here is a good video on hiving bees. It will load a little slowly and will be a green tile video at first but cleans up. sometimes it clears up when I click on it. There are four videos, pick the one(s) you are interested in.
> 
> https://www.alaskawildflowerhoney.com/videos/


Great video's, now I have some idea of what you bee keepers are talking about.

Thanks Caribou.


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## Flight1630

Something else to consider is a Slovenian bee house. 
http://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/the-slovenian-beehive-arrives-in-the-us/


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## smaj100

Well the bee's arrived with only a handful of dead in the bottom of the box. I installed them in their new hive. I did the set the shipping box in the hive method of release instead of shaking them out so i'll go down and open it up this evening after work and check to see that they all vacated and how the queen is doing. Hopefully everyone is out of the box and it can be removed and the frames put back in. I'll also check on the frame feeder and see how they are doing with their syrup. Some of the pics were far away my camera lady didnt have any gear on and doesn't like the bees.


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## tmttactical

I have question for the Bee folks. Why white suits? Is there some advantage to wearing white verses some other color? I also notice the hives are white to start with, again is there an advantage over another color? 

Inquiring minds want to know? :scratch


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## tmttactical

AdmiralD7S said:


> According to the Great Google, a common explanation (though likely a myth) is bees mistake dark things for bears, raccoons, etc (i.e., predators). Second explanation is that bees sting dark things because they think they're eyes and that's how they get rid of predators. The most likely reason (and the only one I see with any science to it) is....heat managenent! Something about fat guys in a minimally-breatheable suit out in the hot sun all day...


Thanks Admiral. I appreciate the info. My mind works in funny ways sometimes, always see Bee keepers in white, so naturally had to ask.

I am going to find the scope thread and ask you some more questions, I don't want to hijack this thread.

Again, Thanks.


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## HardCider

I see hives painted in all different colors as well. I painted mine with marine spar varnish cause it's so durable and I like the look of natural wood.


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## smaj100

i've got a question? the outside of my hive is crawling with ants. is this any cause for concern, how do i get rid of them? how long before I should see larvae and stuff in the hive? The hive is a little over 1 week old, they have already begun putting honeycomb on the plastic foundations and filling it with pollen stuff. New bee keeper trying to make sure I take care of my bee's. I opened the hive to refill the inhive feeder with syrup.


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## HardCider

I just set up 2 hives a couple of days ago. I am using a feeder inside an empty super on top of the inner cover. I'm seeing a few ants as well so today a dumped a strong salt solution all around the stands to make it as inhospitable for ants and small hive beetle larva as possible and also to kill the grass around the stands so I don't have to use herbicides or a weedwhacker. I'll let you know how it works in a couple of days.


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## HardCider

I dumped a strong salt solution and a half a bag of cheap solar salt around my hives. It has not only killed the grass without used herbicides under my bee hives but my ant problem appears to have disappeared as well. That worked better than expected


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## tmttactical

Question, once a hive is established, what happens if it is abandoned by the people tending it? i was wondering if you could establish hives and let them go wild? Yes, I know, I have a strange mind.  Lizards are funny folks. :wave:


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## musketjim

Bees would be an amazing hobby to try but I have to many irons in the fire at any one time. I have friend who raises bees and I would like to check it out sometime.


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## HardCider

tmttactical said:


> Question, once a hive is established, what happens if it is abandoned by the people tending it? i was wondering if you could establish hives and let them go wild? Yes, I know, I have a strange mind.  Lizards are funny folks. :wave:


Just saw a video of a couple bee keepers opening hives that were unattended for 12 years. They were full of bees and honey but the hives were rotten and falling apart.


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## tmttactical

Caribou said:


> Bees live in the wild. Bees do well in spite of beekeepers rather than because of us. The trick to beekeeping is to figure out how to help them do what they do naturally.
> 
> Bees will outgrow your hive and half will move on to a new hive of their own choosing if you are not there to enlarge the hive or induce a false swarm and move some to another hive of your own.





Hardcider said:


> Just saw a video of a couple bee keepers opening hives that were unattended for 12 years. They were full of bees and honey but the hives were rotten and falling apart.


Thanks for the answers. I was hoping it might be possible to abandon a hive for a few years if needed and not injure or lose the hive. Since the "Tin Hat House" project is a multi-generational project, there could be a time where no family members resided and the hives would have to survive on their own. Real good news for starting and small bee farm on the property.

Next question, can the hive be made out of materials that are more durable than wood? Steel, plastic, etc.

Thanks for the info, as always greatly appreciated.


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## tmttactical

Caribou said:


> There are a couple of brands of hives made from high density foam. If you paint these to protect them from the sun I would expect them to last a long time.
> 
> There is also plastic foundation available. Foundation is what the bees build their comb on.
> 
> I would want at least two hives in case something happens to one. I would want to work these hives for a year or two to get comfortable with beekeeping and to slowly enlarge the hive.
> 
> I would be careful about placement of the hive. Things like skunks and bears are very interested in your hive. A chain link fence works. Ants and mice are also a concern.


I am thinking of multiple hives about 100 yards apart in a large 200 yard square, about 8 hives. The bees are for blackberry, citrus trees and maybe a few apple tree pollination and of course honey. I don't think the "THH" project is going to be located close to bear county but skunks maybe a problem. Fencing is cheap insurance. Thanks for the info. I expect multiple family members will be trained to deal with the Bee's but at some point it may be abandoned for a time, if family members off to higher ed or pursuing a oceanic career. :rofl:


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## tmttactical

AdmiralD7S said:


> Why spread them out? The hives should get along just fine side-by-side.





Caribou said:


> What he said.
> 
> If they are real close paint them different colors to make it easier for them to get back to the right home. The bees will travel easily three miles and seven if they need to. I'd pick a convenient spot, set up a little bee yard or even a bee house. Here is what I want.


Don't want all the eggs (honey bee's) in one basket. Predators (two and four legged will need to move around property line to collect all the honey. Also it is a visual deterrent to folks. How many people want to walk near a bee hive? 

After watching the video, I may re-think the process. Maybe combine both concepts, Just place at the two midpoints of the property line. I really do not want all the hives in one spot. Murphy's law, put them in one spot, that is where the sink hole appears.  Call it redundancy, just in case that Big Azz Bear does show up. :club: Paranoid can be a good thing. :tinfoilhat:


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## RedBeard

Anyone running top bar hives? I switched 3 years ago and love them. They do really well here in New England.


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## tmttactical

Caribou said:


> What he said.
> 
> If they are real close paint them different colors to make it easier for them to get back to the right home. The bees will travel easily three miles and seven if they need to. I'd pick a convenient spot, set up a little bee yard or even a bee house. Here is what I want.


Caribou, I really liked this type of Bee Hive setup. I have a strange question. Does loud noises (think gun shots) bother the bees? I know, why would somebody decide to shoot next to the hives? I do have some logic to my madness but I don't know the answer to my question. This is an issue of design and location about where to locate the Bee House.


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## tmttactical

Caribou said:


> I run a lawn mower less than two feet from my hives without seemingly any problem.


Caribou,

Outstanding and thanks for the info. You just made my design problems a little bit easier. I am thinking about adding that Bee Hive House concept to the "Tin Hat House" property layout but I wanted to build the Hive House next to (within 20') of the long range shooting shed/room. This way I can share Solar Panels and power, plumbing, etc. and not be concerned about driving the Bees into a frenzy.

I love this site. So much knowledge and all free. What more could this penny pinching scrooge want?


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## RedBeard

So i don't lake treating my bees with chemicals. My first 3 years i lost my hives due to Varroa mites. I tried using confectionery sugar. That kinda helped but ended bad anyway. So after a bunch of research and talking to the guy who wrote "bee keeping for dummies" i switched to top bar hives. What i found is top bar hives force the be to draw out natural, 100 percent perfect cells. When in a standard hive they draw the cells off a sheet of foundation that try as we may isn't a perfect sized cell. With the top bar cells being 100 percent the bees work they are perfect in size and can actually help prevent the mites. Since switching 3 years ago i haven't had mites or a single hive swarm. Could be all chance and i have been lucky, but i think it's due to the top bar hive. They seem to love it and i believe it is more natural form of hive for them. The newest form of the top bar is the cathedral top bar. Im dieing to try one! Just thought i would share my results.


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## Pessimistic2

RedBeard said:


> So i don't lake treating my bees with chemicals. My first 3 years i lost my hives due to Varroa mites. I tried using confectionery sugar. That kinda helped but ended bad anyway. So after a bunch of research and talking to the guy who wrote "bee keeping for dummies" i switched to top bar hives. What i found is top bar hives force the be to draw out natural, 100 percent perfect cells. When in a standard hive they draw the cells off a sheet of foundation that try as we may isn't a perfect sized cell. With the top bar cells being 100 percent the bees work they are perfect in size and can actually help prevent the mites. Since switching 3 years ago i haven't had mites or a single hive swarm. Could be all chance and i have been lucky, but i think it's due to the top bar hive. They seem to love it and i believe it is more natural form of hive for them. The newest form of the top bar is the cathedral top bar. Im dieing to try one! Just thought i would share my results.


Been thinking about this for the BOl. 
1. Buying the hives is no problem.
2. WHERE/HOW do you get the BEES to occupy the hives??
3. What "maintenance" is required?

:scratch:scratch


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## Pessimistic2

Caribou said:


> Watch "Don the Fat Beeman" on YouTube. There is not so much to do but there is a lot to know. You can get your bees from Don. I would suggest that you join a local beekeeping club. Take their class and attend their meetings. There is probably someone at the club that sells bees locally.


Will do...Thanks! My thought is that while there might be "bees" in the valley, it wouldn't hurt to have an abundance of them! Just not sure if they could endure the winter?? :scratch


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## RedBeard

Pessimistic2 said:


> Will do...Thanks! My thought is that while there might be "bees" in the valley, it wouldn't hurt to have an abundance of them! Just not sure if they could endure the winter?? :scratch


What Caribo said is spot on. Find out who does there own queens locally. Local bees are the best in my opinion. Here in nh i can't get NC bees to winter. But my replacements are from vt so winter is the least if my concerns. Understanding bee behavior is the key to bee keeping in my book. Another good documentary to watch is called More than honey.


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## Pessimistic2

Caribou said:


> The cold doesn't kill the bees. The length of winter and getting wet does. I lost all my bees last winter (-30F) but my neighbor kept 60% to 70% of his hives. He is more knowledgeable.


Yeah, "Winter" is a big concern I have...not all that much snow, but months of fairly extreme cold. I'm up around the 4,000 - 5,000 ft level, and pretty constant wind, though most of it blows about 20-30 feet OVER the BOL for some reason. Makes landing the Jet Ranger a challenge sometimes, I can tell ya that!! Until you get down to about 15', yer gonna get kicked around a bit!!


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## crabapple

Pea gravel & salt works well too.


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## RedBeard

Pessimistic2 said:


> Yeah, "Winter" is a big concern I have...not all that much snow, but months of fairly extreme cold. I'm up around the 4,000 - 5,000 ft level, and pretty constant wind, though most of it blows about 20-30 feet OVER the BOL for some reason. Makes landing the Jet Ranger a challenge sometimes, I can tell ya that!! Until you get down to about 15', yer gonna get kicked around a bit!!


My dad had a jet ranger and a instrum with pontoons before that. Sold them... I miss them!


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## Pessimistic2

RedBeard said:


> My dad had a jet ranger and a instrum with pontoons before that. Sold them... I miss them!


I'll bet you do!! Handy to have, just cost a bundle to drive!! And maintain!

But ya can't beat 'em for getting in and out of otherwise inaccessible places. The only really bad thing about a small helicopter is the wind really plays hob with you. Not so bad in something larger like an H-47-D, but the smaller ones really get kicked around. My brother bought one of those little Rotorways a few years ago.....kept it for about 2 months, then sold it! Said it was a "Frickin' suicide machine!!" (And he's been flying for over 35 years...if HE says it's a "suicide machine," I sure as hell ain't taking one up!!)


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## RedBeard

Pessimistic2 said:


> I'll bet you do!! Handy to have, just cost a bundle to drive!! And maintain!
> 
> But ya can't beat 'em for getting in and out of otherwise inaccessible places. The only really bad thing about a small helicopter is the wind really plays hob with you. Not so bad in something larger like an H-47-D, but the smaller ones really get kicked around. My brother bought one of those little Rotorways a few years ago.....kept it for about 2 months, then sold it! Said it was a "Frickin' suicide machine!!" (And he's been flying for over 35 years...if HE says it's a "suicide machine," I sure as hell ain't taking one up!!)


Ya the instrum (that spelling could be wrong) was my favorite. Even thought the ranger was faster and could seat 5 the instrum had pontoons plus it reminded me of the chopper in the intro to the show m.a.s.h. Ya dad sold the last one because of the maintenance cost. Was gonna get a plane but never did, i think because he missed his chopper...


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## RedBeard

Yup im dumb. Enstrom f 28c just like the one with pontoons on this page:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enstrom_F-28


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## Pessimistic2

RedBeard said:


> Yup im dumb. Enstrom f 28c just like the one with pontoons on this page:
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enstrom_F-28


Figured you meant Enstrom...they are kinda cool! The Rotorway my brother had was one of these, but he didn't like it at all in ANY kind of wind!! And, boy, are we waaay off-topic!!!


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## RedBeard

Ya that looks small. Ya my a.d.d. Isn't helping the bee conversation. Sorry.


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## smaj100

Lol. I like all things helicopters so it's all good. 

back on topic though. How often do you open the hive and check on the bees? I've left them alone for over a month now. Since they went into the hive, I have opened it up 3 times, 1 to remove the shipping box and replace the frames where the box was, 2nd was to make sure the queen was out of her box and remove it, 3rd about a week or so later to refill the inhive feeder frame. Just want to make sure all is well but I don't want to disturb or hurt the hive with unneeded openings.


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## RedBeard

Found a mouse completely sealed in wax once.....


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## Pessimistic2

RedBeard said:


> Found a mouse completely sealed in wax once.....


Probably their way of isolating the garbage???? :scratch


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## RedBeard

Yup. I learned don't open the wax bombs


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## tmttactical

Caribou said:


> About once a week or so is good. If you go in more often they can blame the queen and kill her. You're looking for the queen. If you see eggs you know your queen is fine. You're looking to see if they are outgrowing the hive so you know when to add another box, and you are looking for swarm cells. You are also looking for beetles and other problems.


Two questions, Why would the Bees blame the Queen and kill her? What are 'Swarm Cells" and what do they look like? I did subscribe to the Bee channel you recommended, "Don the fat bee man" very informative but a gazzilion videos posted. I can get my forum questions answered fast here. I will keep watching all his videos until he stops posting or I have watched all of them, may take a while.


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