Mouse problems

[Acebird]

Any suggestions on getting mice out of a hive in the winter assuming the bees are not all dead. Looks like I got the mouse guards on too late this year.

[JRG13]

i'd throw some mouse bait in the hive, might die in there though, but it might exit as most baits make them thirsty and they'll look for water.

[wildbranch2007]

It's going to be warm Sunday, if its not windy, open the hive up and take the nest out, put the mouse guard back on.

[Acebird]

It's going to be warm Sunday, if its not windy, open the hive up and take the nest out, put the mouse guard back on.

They keep promising warm weather but it never gets as warm as they say it does, at least here anyway. Is it more likely the mouse will be in the bottom box which should be empty? With four medium boxes high where would you split the hive or do you think I can take one box off at a time without killing the bees?

[toekneepea]

Do you have a queen excluder that you could insert between the box with the bees, and the box with the mouse? That will limit it's movements and you could remove that box while you deal with the mouse...

TP

[Acebird]

I have a QE but I don't know where the mouse is. Even if I put the excluder on top of the first box I have to take the other boxes off to get the excluder in and take the boxes off to get the mouse out.
I am thinking of just yanking the boxes off and it is what it is. The bees could be all dead anyway. I am seeing a lot of dead bees in the snow and there is no sign of a live one. It might be too cold today. It is hanging around 35 and it is raining.

[windfall]

How do you know the mouse is in there?
Is there enough moisture in the hive for a trapped mouse to survive???...obviously plenty of food.

[BeeCurious]

Does removing the mouse fit in with the "non intervention beekeeping" philosophy? If so,
could you please explain the intricacies of non-intervention beekeeping.

[beemandan]

Ace...in my experience the mice are always in the bottom. They're just looking for shelter and don't really much want to cluster with your bees. If it's warm enough for your bees to be flying, it is warm enough to open the hive. By the time you get near the mouse, it'll run out the entrance and you can put the mouseguard on and clean out its nest. It has probably made a mess.

[tommyt]

Please take a video when doing this

[Acebird]

I just pulled the covers and took off the first box of all three hives and there are bees in every one. Whoo hoo, I was afraid that they were all dead, not yet anyway.

How do you know the mouse is in there?

I have SBB that are full open and I saw a lot of mouse poop in the trays below. No mouse poop today after cleaning trays yesterday. Barely any mites too. So the mice must have died in the hive or the mice were visiting the trays underneath the hive and leaving droppings while eating stuff that fell from the hive.

Tommy I had my wife ready with the camera but when I saw the bees I didn't go any farther. It is only 45 degrees today and tomorrow it is suppose to rain. That is why I took a shot at it today.

could you please explain the intricacies of non-intervention beekeeping.

BeeC for you the intricacies of non-intrevention beekeeping means I do what I feel like when I feel like it. I think last year in April you told me they were just a stack of boxes so that's the way I treat them. For everyone else it means I avoid upsetting the interior of the hive if at all possible except in the spring time when some form of manipulation is necessary to avoid swarms.

[windfall]

...or the middle of january to see if they are still alive?

[BeeCurious]

BeeC for you the intricacies of non-intrevention beekeeping means I do what I feel like when I feel like it. I think last year in April you told me they were just a stack of boxes

Not exactly... You were not sure that you had queens in your various splits but you considered them all as "hives". It was a matter of terminology. You can refresh your memory:

Acebird,

On April 13th you had one hive. You took it apart, you now have three boxes with possibly bees in all three.

A box with some bees in it is not automatically considered a hive.

When is it considered a hive?

White woodenware stacked up on stands could be identified as "beehives" by people driving by in a car. In the context of this forum, I believe most beekeepers would consider a hive to be a well populated queenright colony inhabiting full sized woodenware.

Your additional boxes wouldn't qualify as nucs until you have laying queens and different stages of brood. So if they have not attained the qualities of nucs, they certainly aren't "hives".

If there are viable q-cells you might call them mating nucs. If that's not the case, I would suggest that what you have is closer to being stacks of woodenware, than "hives".

[Acebird]

How long do stacks of woodenware have bees in it in upstate NY before they are considered hives?

[BeeCurious]

Never mind.

[squarepeg]

technically speaking, 'hive' refers to the structure that houses the cavity in which the bees live,

and the bees inside are referred to as a 'colony'.

not that it really matters that much.

[jdmidwest]

Dang, no video!

[BeeCurious]

technically speaking, 'hive' refers to the structure that houses the cavity in which the bees live,

and the bees inside are referred to as a 'colony'.

not that it really matters that much.

OK, and if there is no queen, is it a "colony"?

[squarepeg]

OK, and if there is no queen, is it a "colony"?

maybe a queenless colony?