advice needed

[Amber Wallace]

Hi, I have a hive that has moved into the siding on the outside of our house. I would like to keep the bees. I have no experience with them, except that they have been in the house for the last 3 months with no problems. We found a bee remover who is willing to put the bees into a box for me. Would you suggest I do this? Or should I take classes, etc. and then try to get a hive at a later date?

[Karim Sahli]

Save the bees.
Get the equipment.
Read the book.
Get a mentor.

[Amber Wallace]

I think we’ve decided to let them save the bees, but relocate them. I found out that in Torrance you have to apply for a bee permit, then get permission from all of your neighbors before you can have them. Maybe at a later time I can be a bee mama 🙁 I’m raising monarch butterflies so that’ll keep me busy in the meantime.

[Fred Wendland]

New advice needed:
On the bottom of my hive I have a screen and a white plastic inspection board. During the hot weather should I leave the board out to help the hive ventilate? Or always keep it in.

I would need to leave it in some period of time to capture the droppings for inspection.

Thanks for any advice
Fred

[susan rudnicki]

HI, Fred—your “kit” as it sounds, came with a sticky bottom board marked with a grid design. The point of this is to assess varroa mite numbers when they drop off and get stuck in the sticky surface. But a bit of backing up here is required.
First, where do you live? Do you have a mentor helping you with the beekeeping adventure? Are the bees feral survivor stock from a swarm or cutout or are they package bees? In HoneyLove, we are mostly using feral bees which do not need monitoring for varroa as they are resistant and keep it in check. Package bees usually come from stock that has been treated with miticides and are dependent on this treatment to survive. (unless you deliberately ordered from a breeder with VSH bees)
Let us know the answers so we can help you further Susan, Moderator

[Fred Wendland]

Hi- The bees were purchased. They are VSH bees, Italian. I live on west side of LA. I don’t have a mentor. My bottom board is not sticky. Just plain white. Do I leave it in all the time?

[susan rudnicki]

Hi, Fred—thanks for the quick reply. The thing with beekeeping, which you may be finding out, is that a answer is not a rule. “It depends” is the answer, and this is something you learn as you gain the knowledge of the craft of beekeeping. You are dealing with living creatures and the ambient air temp. and humidity, the placement site (full sun, shade, part shade) the size of the colony and the hive boxes they are in, (TBH or Langstroth) the entrance configuration, etc.
So, the white plastic board is coated with oil when a mite drop count is being done. I do not do these things. I want the bees to take care of their health challenges without me dumping chemical treatments into the hive. If yours are VSH, they should not need to be treated or do counts.
I strongly urge you to get a mentor (and pay them for their time) as well as do some good reading. Have you read Michael Bush’s book “The Practical Beekeeper”? The whole thing is on-line, no purchase necessary. Also, Rob and Chelsea’s book. You will learn a lot faster and make fewer mistakes with the help of a mentor and constant education.

[Doris Wilson]

There is nothing to study with bee hiving. It is simple, they can live there own. The only thing you need to be aware is how to extract the honey and when.

[susan rudnicki]

Hello, Doris—I wondering why you make this statement “There is nothing to study with bee hiving. It is simple, they can live there own. The only thing you need to be aware is how to extract the honey and when.”
Firstly, HoneyLove is a educational organization, so why would we exist if keeping bees required no study? Taking honey from bees is the very last step of good husbandry and represents a bonus, not the “only” purpose of beekeeping. Certainly, if you are keeping bees in the urban environment where 99% of your neighbors are not beekeepers, your negligence of study and knowledge of bee biology and management may create a nuisance for others when bees swarm or get crowded, which can make them defensive.
Secondly, any bee club in any state would say the same thing I write above—we are NOT interested in facilitating uninformed bee management and beekeeping or in any way leading the public to think this attitude is one we endorse. This is the kind of statement “there is nothing to study…” that people who are against beekeeping will seize upon as evidence that bees should not be allowed in Los Angeles. Our club and many other people worked for FIVE long years to convince the Los Angeles city authorities that we would be responsible and careful. This resulted in the approval of the new LA City code allowing beekeeping of 2 hives per residential lot.
As a six year beekeeper myself, I can make a short list of the things that uneducated beeks will often miss and cause their colony to die or decline Queenless hive
Drone layer
Starving
Crowded conditions
Too much space
Swarm preparation
My guess is you are ignorant of all these issues as well. No knowledgable beek would make such a statement. Please be more thoughtful and helpful with remarks posted to this site. Thank you, the Forum Moderator

[susan rudnicki]

Hello, Doris—I wondering why you make this statement “There is nothing to study with bee hiving. It is simple, they can live there own. The only thing you need to be aware is how to extract the honey and when.”
Firstly, HoneyLove is a educational organization, so why would we exist if keeping bees required no study? Taking honey from bees is the very last step of good husbandry and represents a bonus, not the “only” purpose of beekeeping. Certainly, if you are keeping bees in the urban environment where 99% of your neighbors are not beekeepers, your negligence of study and knowledge of bee biology and management may create a nuisance for others when bees swarm or get crowded, which can make them defensive.
Secondly, any bee club in any state would say the same thing I write above—we are NOT interested in facilitating uninformed bee management and beekeeping or in any way leading the public to think this attitude is one we endorse. This is the kind of statement “there is nothing to study…” that people who are against beekeeping will seize upon as evidence that bees should not be allowed in Los Angeles. Our club and many other people worked for FIVE long years to convince the Los Angeles city authorities that we would be responsible and careful. This resulted in the approval of the new LA City code allowing beekeeping of 2 hives per residential lot.
As a six year beekeeper myself, I can make a short list of the things that uneducated beeks will often miss and cause their colony to die or decline Queenless hive
Drone layer
Starving
Crowded conditions
Too much space
Swarm preparation
My guess is you are ignorant of all these issues as well. No knowledgable beek would make such a statement. Please be more thoughtful and helpful with remarks posted to this site. Thank you, the Forum Moderator

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