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I had a colony in my backyard that was pretty much unworkable. They were stinging family members out in the front yard, and for the last couple of weeks we've been unable to use the backyard at all. We had to pick tomatoes from the garden wearing a veil.
I'm about to leave town for 6 weeks, so I needed to make a decision. I'd made one attempt to requeen this colony, two months back, but they were still ferocious and had grown into a big hive. We have small children in the neighborhood, and I had no place to move the hive, so I finally decided I'd have to kill it.
I wanted to use the dry ice method, so I got 3 pounds, sealed up the bottom vents, and went out to do the deed. I pried off the top cover, and bees boiled out in vast numbers, obscuring my veil and stinging my ankles, even though I was wearing a full suit. I lifted out a frame so I'd have room to put the dry ice in, and the situation got a whole lot worse. Several bees managed to get inside my veil, and stung me pretty good; one hit me right next to my eye. I dropped the ice in, sealed up the hive, and beat a hasty retreat. About 30 bees followed me into the house, which made for a lively time for everyone inside. I was not regarded as a hero.
Well, the CO2 killed some of the bees overnight, but there were still plenty this morning, so I got a clean garden sprayer, mixed up some Dawn dishwashing soap and water, and went out to finish the job. They still did their best to kill me, but I think I'm gradually getting the better of them.
My problem now is that there are a lot of partially filled combs of honey that have some soapy water on them. Can I give these to other hives without hurting the other hives, once the soap has dried? I guess I could rinse them off, too. Most of the honey is uncapped, but I hate to throw it away.
I'm about to leave town for 6 weeks, so I needed to make a decision. I'd made one attempt to requeen this colony, two months back, but they were still ferocious and had grown into a big hive. We have small children in the neighborhood, and I had no place to move the hive, so I finally decided I'd have to kill it.
I wanted to use the dry ice method, so I got 3 pounds, sealed up the bottom vents, and went out to do the deed. I pried off the top cover, and bees boiled out in vast numbers, obscuring my veil and stinging my ankles, even though I was wearing a full suit. I lifted out a frame so I'd have room to put the dry ice in, and the situation got a whole lot worse. Several bees managed to get inside my veil, and stung me pretty good; one hit me right next to my eye. I dropped the ice in, sealed up the hive, and beat a hasty retreat. About 30 bees followed me into the house, which made for a lively time for everyone inside. I was not regarded as a hero.
Well, the CO2 killed some of the bees overnight, but there were still plenty this morning, so I got a clean garden sprayer, mixed up some Dawn dishwashing soap and water, and went out to finish the job. They still did their best to kill me, but I think I'm gradually getting the better of them.
My problem now is that there are a lot of partially filled combs of honey that have some soapy water on them. Can I give these to other hives without hurting the other hives, once the soap has dried? I guess I could rinse them off, too. Most of the honey is uncapped, but I hate to throw it away.