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Vandals sprayed RAID...can I salvage comb or equipment?

5K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  NorthernIllinoisPlumber 
#1 ·
Some creeps tore apart one of my hives and sprayed RAID in it. Bees are still there, some dead ones out front. I hope they make it, as they are still clustering. But will the RAID contaminate the boxes and frames if hit?
 
#2 ·
First, I hope you called the sheriff and filed a report. I am not sure what the active life is for these chemicals. It probably varies by active ingredient. I think I would try to move the bees to new equipment if you have it and wash/soak the old boxes. If you can smell insecticide on the frames I think I would pitch them. Wax absorbs a lot of chemicals so I would get rid of it.
 
#3 ·
Like hilreal said, call the sheriff or police. File a formal complaint so you have it on record in case of future incidents. I don't know what to tell you, hilreal pretty much covered what I'd say.

I do have a couple of questions...were the can(s?) of RAID left laying nearby? Were they empty or half full? Half full cans means to me the bees might have got some shots in...maybe. If they maybe got a few shots in then definitely ask around about anybody getting several bee stings recently...maybe even ask the local ER (you never know!). Is there a chance of fingerprints? Smooth cans are nice for fingerprints.

Best wishes, hope the colony pulls through!
Ed
 
#5 ·
Look on the ingredient label. Probably cypermethrin, which does not have a long half life.

If the bees are still alive, probably they will be fine as the active ingredient will only last a couple days at most, and if they are clustered, it will be gone before they contact it.

Do not allow the authorities to ignore this -- I'm quite certain $250 is well above the level at which vandalism mutates into criminal mischief, which is much more involved. If the guy at the desk won't do anything, find out who his boss is and keep going up until you get someone off their ass and at LEAST get fingerprints on file. Never too early to nip criminal activity in the bud.

Peter
 
#7 ·
Look on the ingredient label. Probably cypermethrin, which does not have a long half life.

If the bees are still alive, probably they will be fine as the active ingredient will only last a couple days at most, and if they are clustered, it will be gone before they contact it.
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Peter
This is what's confusing me...I just punched in Lake County, IL into NOAA's forecast and it says 65F-70F for the next few days and the lows at night above 50F.....the bees aren't going to stay in cluster at these temps are they? :s With an empty can of spray you gotta figure they emptied it in the hive...I'd be swapping the bottom board/box out ASAP. I don't know what to tell ya about the frames/comb...it's gotta be compromised, too. Any bees coming and going will have to travel through the contaminated area.

Yes, I'd be the squeaky wheel with the sheriff department or whoever. How about calling your state agricultural office and state apiary department. Squeak, squeak, squeak....

Ed
 
#6 ·
I would replace the bottom box and bottom board and put a box on top with drawn frames if you have them. Clean your contaminated box and bottom board with soapy water and reuse. Throw away the bottom frames. Did you find the queen?
 
#11 ·
I have to chime in/vent on this. It really makes me boil up to hear some idiots would do this! I have mutliple trails cameras for deer hunting and when I started beekeeping this past Spring I considered putting one up to see if critters or IDIOTS like these would tamper with my costly investment. I thought, naw, there are a lot of jerks out there but no one would really be a complete *****/IDIOT and mess with stinging insects!!! Well sorry to say, I think I will put up one of my cameras by me now, just in case. To all of you, consider looking at buying one of these. For about $150 you can get a motion trail camera that takes pictures and video with sound and the flash is black, so the morans(if they come back again) won't even know that they are going to get busted! You can also get a infrared flash(faint red flash) camera with video as well for about $80. Anyone interested in wanting more info. on these cameras, let me know. I have my eye on a few new models myself.

As for the cops, I agree with the comments about, your beekeeping is quite the investment. Make sure the cops realize this and push to get fairness!

As for the hives, in this case, it is probably better to be safe than sorry. I would replace anything that seems to have gotten the worst of it.

It wouldn't hurt to add a sign by your hives that read, This property protected by Smith&Wesson!:pk:
juzzerbee
 
#13 ·
Having retired from law enforcement after 24 years I can tell you that police or Sheriff's departments would not place this very high on the priority list without a little media attention. It's not that they don't care, it's the balancing act they have to deal with of investigating other more serious crimes such as murders, rapes, child abuse , etc.

Plumber, if you could contact local media for help in solving this I'm sure you would get a more positive response. Once it's out in the media, police start getting calls wanting to know if there are any leads which puts pressure of them to focus more on their investigation.

From my experience, I can tell you that your probably looking at teenage boys that live close by or a disgruntled neighbor who doesn't like your bees. There are probably fingerprints on the Raid can that could be easily lifted if it hasn't been contaminated by others handling it.
 
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