[Michael Georgia]

I use Oxalic Acid vapor, I have zero issues with mites.

[Michael Georgia]

Awesome combination

Thorny buganvillia
&
Honey Bees that need to be rescued

[Michael Georgia]

I was successful getting this one into my hive boxes.

Taken care of !

One down

[Michael Georgia]

I am near by today

If you are available I will come put them in one of my deep hive boxes and clear out your Water Meter box, for free (since today I don’t have to make a special trip).

You can text me or call me @ 8one8 two09 49six7

I need your address and a time here early before they start foraging

[Michael Georgia]

How many “Volunteer” situations/opportunities require the pain of being stung (multiple times), or require an investment of equipment (such as a specialized Bee vac and Bee Suit clothing ?

Like I said a Swarm collection is easy, a hive cut out is not easy.

[Michael Georgia]

Chelsea

You may want to do some maintenance to your forum area

It seems as though some bots have figured out how to post. Stu needs to be purged and removed

[Michael Georgia]

My bees abandoned the hive before I could deal with the yellow jackets.

I wonder if the bees left because of the yellow jackets ?

[Michael Georgia]

Did you get your water meter hive taken care of ?

[Michael Georgia]

Well if you need help

Most of us here are willing to come help, but if it turns out to be a cut out it might cost something. If it’s just a swarm willing to just jump from the water meter box into a nicer hive box it probably won’t cost anything.

BTW I wonder how the Water Company has been reading your meter to create a bill to charge you ?

My phone number is 8one8 Two09 49Six7
My name is Mike

[Michael Georgia]

I have contacted him, and I am going to go pick them up tonite.

[Michael Georgia]

Swarms are generally queens and her attending bees looking for a new place to setup a home/hive, or a Queen maybe out on a mating flight, who knows ?

A swarm results most often because there can be only one Queen per Hive (home). Hives sometimes produce extra queens, as a way of expanding the population of bees beyond just there own hive. Queens will also abandon a hive if there own hive has become over ridden with parasites like mites of hive Beatles or wax moth etc. or the Queen May be out on a mating flight, nature’s way of introducing varied genetics.

What Swarms are looking for are hollows, where they can set up a hive. They like box shaped cavities that are about 5 gallons in volume, your water meter box is a little smaller than they prefer. Generally they prefer to be up off the ground, in a hollow of a tree or in the wall space of a house between the 16 inch studs and between the drywall of the inside and the facia of the outside, but beggars can’t be choosy sometimes.

Removing your bees, if they are just a swarm is relatively easy. It could be as easy as setting a bee hive box with drawn out wax comb and bee larvae already to be taken over and attended to and they just won’t be able to resist and they are convinced to abandon the poorer choice for a hive that is/was your water meter box.

But if they already have produced comb, and the Queen has already began to lay her eggs in the comb that is inside of you water meter box, convincing them to abandon that comb and larvae will prove to be a bit more difficult and involved. Cutting out the comb that they have already invested much of their resources and effort into, and transplanting their wild comb into a man made and provided hive box will hopefully and in most cases convince them, but how to do that when the bees instinct is to protect their resources and investment. Getting stung (multiple times) is a much more likely wager.

[Michael Georgia]

Julia

A swarm ?

Or

An established hive ? With drawn comb, brood comb, honey comb ? That is by definition a cut out, and potential damage caused in cutting out the comb and sealing up the entrance. This becomes a job, and has liability from the home owner against the do gooder beekeeper potentially.

Be careful what you are getting yourselves into.

Make it very clear to the wonderful nice homeowner as to who is going to be in charge of repairing damage done to her house as a result of the bees taking up residence and the beekeeper having to gain access in order to evict the bees and collect the bees and the comb and relocate the bees and prevent more bees from just coming back.

[Michael Georgia]

How long have they been going in and out of the water meter ?

Months ? Weeks ? Days ?

Free if it’s a swarm looking for a place to live. No comb, no hive as of yet.

If they are established and setting up home with comb that needs to be cut out it’s a lot more involved.

[Michael Georgia]

Well so am I to now infer that I am not generous enough for you (Marie) ?

I am though glad that you found a generous beekeeper, who is teaching you rather than giving you …..

It’s all about the bees, and I hope that you are as generous to your beekeeper friend as he is to you.

Live well and prosper.

All is right in he univers.

[Michael Georgia]

How you can “get” a swarm from someone else ?

Do you mean “buy” a captured swarm, or “get one” for free and without having to go out and help capture the swarm ?

Wouldn’t you rather learn how to capture a swarm and be a team mate in capturing a swarm ?

And if you can buy bees for $150, isn’t the experience and learning how worth at least $150 ?

Teach a man to fish vs give a man a fish ?

[Author]

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