Bees come in 6tomorrow.

[shaper]

In March I joined the local bee keepers club. bought everything I was told I would need, and more. Four people promised me they would have bees for my two new hives. They didn't come through. Today the local feed store called and asked if I could use two packages of bees. I have to be there by 8:00 am tomorrow. This is going to be a adventure for me as I haven't worked bees before. I've watched several of the utube videos and have convinced myself I cad do it without freaking out when a thousand bees try to eat my hand off, or something else important.
I have one 8 board hive and one 10 board. I placed them 55 feet apart as I was told not to try installing the bees when the two hives are close together. They said all of the bees would go to just one of the hives.
Anyway, I am enjoying this. It is something I have wanted to do for many years.

[Eddie17]

Hope for the best!!!
I am allergic to bee stings!

[ohnomrbillk]

I'm wishing you the best

it's on my short list to have a hive or two.

[dpoe001]

I grew up with bee hives in back of our property.I Pushed mowed around them ,watched my dad lift tops off pull out frames and examine and never get stung.my dad still has three hives, my brother who hadn't got stung in over twenty years found out he is allergic Now he wears veil and gloves.

[muddcatt54]

My grandpa was country bee inspector for 33 years no telling how long he had bees. I lived with grams and grandpa when I was a kid my cousins lived next door and we used to raid the honey house. Occasionally those were some good times

[Eddie17]

Last year pulled the pool cleaning pole out form under the deck of our above ground pool. Yellow jackets nest disturbed, stung multiple times, acute reaction, $900.00 hospital bill ! I hate bees!

[Blammer]

I have bees and let me tell you a good trick to getting them into the new hive.

Get a spray bottle with sugar water in it, 1 to 1 ratio.

Spray down the bees really good BEFORE you open the box to dump them into the hive.

Spray several of the hive frames down, the starter foundation, with sugar water really good. This will give them a reason to stay.

Make sure you have two frames MISSING, this is where you pour the bees. Then put the lid on it quickly, you can later come back and add the two frames. IF you don't want to come back later, just slide the frames in slowly and the bees will move out of the way, then put the lid on.

take the queen cell put it between two frames, make sure the other bees can get to the sugar plug to eat it out and release the queen.

take the package of bees, and DROP it so all the bees drop to the bottom of the box, then quickly pour them out! (make sure the opening is loose BEFORE you do this)

Now pour all the bees over top of the queen and onto the sugar frames, Be quick and shake and pound the box to get them out.

Put lid on and DO NOT come back for two days! if you come back sooner they will ATTACK you. :)

Entrance feeder is nice or baggie feeder on the top to start off with the first day or so.

Suit up well, plan your moves and what you'll do when the bees are out.

When the bees come out if you don't have a plan you will feel overwhelmed and forget what to do then the bees get mad and sting more and then all chaos begins. :)

A skilled person can get a new package installed in about 5 min. A rookie can do it with a plan in about 15. Sooner the better!

You don't even need any smoke, just use the spray bottle of sugar water, it'll give them something to do and feed them too.

[Blammer]

Here a decent video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbaL-I-HRPg

[woodbutcher]

:grin: Hi shaper.Good luck,and good eating.A dc friend in Fl had about 10k hives when we moved to Tn in 85.He surely had some primo honey.YUMMY.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[TreeKiller]

If you get the hives at 8AM put them in a cool place 60 to 70F with no sun on them. You can spray the screen with the sugar syrup durning the day. The hives do not need to be that far apart. In fact they can be next to each other. Install them as close to dark as possable to reduce drifting. Be sure to remove the plug from the candy on the queen cage but not the candy. Find an old piece of plywood for a temporary hive cover and cut a hole in it for a quart jar lid. If you do not have a feeder lid drill lots of 1/6 holes in a can lid to feed them. I would put a pt. of 1 to 1 syrup on after the inatall making sure that the queen cage is not under the hole in case of a leak. Check in 2 days with a little smoke to see if they have released the queen. If so close it up and feed feed feed. If not released and they are not biting the wire on the cage ot trying to sting the queen you can direct release or use a nail and out a small hole through the candy. If you direct release and the queen fly's away stand in the same spot for 5 min and she usually comes back to the hive.

[Iowa Fox]

Last year pulled the pool cleaning pole out form under the deck of our above ground pool. Yellow jackets nest disturbed, stung multiple times, acute reaction, $900.00 hospital bill ! I hate bees!

Yellow Jackets are just plain MEAN. I got into a bunch here a couple of years ago and they really worked me over. Those stings really hurt. I had a hard time getting rid of them, over a three or four day period I poured gasoline, diesel fuel, wasp & Hornet killer, and all sorts of chemicals down their hole before I got rid of them. Honey bees around here are pretty gentle.

[MaryB]

I had a friend who panicked around honey bees. I finally told her to stand still, I came over and brushed the bee away with a gentle shooing motion. One landed on me and was walking around and she was all amazed. With no chance of African bees in MN all we have are super gentle honey bees.

[Taylor]

My neighbor have a hive/swarm you can have.It's in a tree in his backyard.

[cold1]

I got my first hive in march and the first package of bees in april. Easy installing the package,I did it just like the brushymountain vid on you tube (just like Blammer described). I just picked up another hive yesterday and my NUC will be in in a week or two. So far it has been fun and the kids enjoy it too.

Here is a little vid of me and the kids installing our first package of bees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9-516OL8mU

[shaper]

I was at the feed store bright and early this morning. Put cash on the counter and said I want two boxes of bees. When they brought them to me they were 5 board nucs not package bees. I put the hives 55 feet apart and installed the boards into my hives. One group was definitely not happy with what was going on. I gave them a couple of hours to settle down before checking on them. Both hives were active. Bees were coming in from all directions. So I guess I did alright. But I can see I'll be adding uppers soon.

[mozeppa]

bee careful.

[Blammer]

oh you got a nuc! Good deal! after installing them, feed and leave alone for a few days! let them get settled!

The more you disturb them the less time they have to make honey for the winter!

don't plan on robbing them this first year, get them strong enough to last the winter then next spring, you get good honey!

[Blammer]

Nuc's are usually WAY more expensive than that! good snag!

[pressonregardless]

Spend as much time as you can reading what this fellow says about caring for bees - http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm - Need to get a couple entrance reducers on those hives if your going to feed them so they don't get robbed.

[xbeeman412]

Holler at Me if I can be of any help (started beekeeping in the 50s) any time. Phone number is 409-789-2839

We are moving our nucs tonight to the best yard. Tallow has just started to drop with the nectar. China tallow is our honey crop here in Tx.

[MUSTANG]

Thought we would start a hive this year at the Kalispell house, but still too many improvements, honey do's, rock removal, and garden planting items on the list so it'll have to wait until next year. Driving to town this morning, saw one of the neighbors moving about 25 hives to a pasture so must be the time of year to get the bees situated to collect pollen.

[shaper]

Checked the hives this morning to find I have ants in one of the hives. I used the best ant killer on the market to kill all ants I can see. Windex. Of course I didn't spray it in the hive or any place the bees might get in it. Just on the ground and the cinder blocks the hive is setting on. All ants that came out of the hive or near it, I smashed with my finger.

[snowwolfe]

Topic has me interested in bee keeping after we get settled in our new property next spring. How well would bee's flourish in mainly a forest environment? There are dog wood, fruit trees, some wild flowers and a few cleared areas within a mile of where the hive would be.

[shaper]

Bees will forage more than 5 miles one way. I would say you are in good location. There are are a lot of bee keepers on this site that live in Tenn, hook up with some of them and do your reading before you start buying.

[dakotashooter2]

Several of my hunting spots have commercial hives nearby. I used to steer clear but now walk right next to them and have never had a problem. You don't want to be behind a commercial truck when they are moving hives. Think bug on the windshield times 1000.......................

[Blammer]

Snowwolf, Honeybees will forage 5-10 miles from the hive, depending on the surrounding flora and fauna. I'd say you would have a decent place.

The bees here LOVE tulip Poplar and red maple in the spring.

[Moonie]

As a mead maker I've wanted to keep bees for a long time, SWMBO is allergic, veto'ed the idea.

[BrentD]

I had a friend who panicked around honey bees. I finally told her to stand still, I came over and brushed the bee away with a gentle shooing motion. One landed on me and was walking around and she was all amazed. With no chance of African bees in MN all we have are super gentle honey bees.

You do know most packaged bees come from places like Southern California and the queens already mated for life - ie, they may already be africanized. :)

I don't believe it has ever happened to me, but I've had some mighty grumpy Russian bees for a while. ;)

[MaryB]

This was a wild hive in a falling down chicken coop that used to be on my lot. I got a little honey from it each year. Bees were tame, they would land on me and walk around then I would brush them away.

[mold maker]

I got the wax from three hives, that either froze out or got some kind of disease, this winter. The owner was afraid the wax might contain something harmful to new bees. He boiled the frames and scalded the hives.
I hated the loss of honey and bees, but the wax was welcome. Two of the empty hives are active again and they are hunting for a swarm to fill the other.

[hoosierlogger]

Cinnamon smeared on the inner cover will help combat the ant problem. You have to rub it in with your hands, not just sprinkle it around the edges.

[Blammer]

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Video/th_MyMovie.mp4 (http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Video/MyMovie.mp4)

some entertainment for you. :)

we are in a scaffold about 50 feet up in the air on the side of All Souls Episcopal church. :)

[BrentD]

Dang! Nothing pisses off a bee more than banging on her hive with a hammer and pry bar. Looks like you guys did pretty well though.

[Blammer]

LOL

just wait for the next vid I'll post. :)

[BrentD]

what were you washing down the inside with after removing the comb - and why ?

[Blammer]

that was not me, it was the church workers. They were using purple power to wash off as much of the comb residue and bee "smell" as possible before they put the wood structure back. I also suggested they fill the hollow with insulation or something that will not deteriorate as the bees may try to go there again.

Bees are 'scent' driven on many things. Smell of an old hive will lure new swarms back to the same place they were just removed from.

Washing it out is about the best you can do sometimes, especially if you can't paint it.

[ascast]

I am jealous

[birddog]

Bees of a different note. We ride our horses all year long and in the fall we contend with the groud bees or those you see around the pop cans and garbage cans. They are not a friendly sort so with that I am glad to repay the favor. In the fall when we ride the rest of the crew is squealing like fresh cut pigs when the bees swarm. I get off the horse and don the cans of hornet spray for a little one on one! It is a rather exilerateting experience to say the least. I have been stung close to 50 times in the last 3 years with very little side effects, other than sore spots the next day. So for me I look forward to battle once again this fall.
Charlie

[Blammer]

the ground bees you refer to are most likely yellow jackets. Go get em!

If you are in a honeybee swarm you can stand there in the middle and they will not bother you one bit, they bump into you, land then take off again.

Other types of bee swarms, I am unfamiliar with.

[pls1911]

Built 7 10 frame hives and installed 3 nucs last month. Placed two more hives baited out in the woods hoping by chance to snag a spring swarm too.
Anchored, tied, and donkey proofed, I hope to split the hives early enough to go into winter with6-8 hives, but no honey this season. Built parts
for several more hives from accumulated lumber... Easier storage, and no longer underfoot. Should end up with 12-14 hives next year.

[nagantguy]

We want bees badly on our place, have had a few deals fall through, two cause he lost lost of bees and another fella was gonna set up a few hives for me, talking about it at the feed store and such i heard from a few folks that they believed that the guy I was dealing with was stealing hives ; it put me on edge and I never followed through, same guy got busted later last spring for stealing farm equipment. Our neighbors just got some hives and I'm talking to the guy now about getting a few set up here. Good luck to you and keep us posted!

[Blammer]

You know, when you have bee hives you have to set out bear traps to keep them safe...