Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

I'm done with a hot hive(help)

3.2K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Michael Bush  
#1 ·
I've tried requeening and just picked up a sunkist queen dead balled from this hive I'm wanting to know how to kill these bees and save the comb I can put these hivebodys over two weak hives that has yet to build up comb but these ladys are going to go one way or the other.
 
#4 ·
If they balled her then you probably have a queen in the hive.

Safest way, if you have room: Take each hive body place it in a plastic trash bag. (the Contractors clean up bags from Lowes are as tough as steel) Seal it. Carfully so as not to tear the bag. place it in a freezer. Leave it for a week. Take them out, brush out the dead bees.
The new bees will clean them up. Just let them warm up before putting them on.
 
#5 ·
There must of been a queen I missed I have real problems seeing the queen I took them out of my uncles hive and transferred them to mine that was standing on a queen excluder over a empty hivebody and fumed them down after about 10 minutes I took off the empty hive and shook off the bees left on excluder about 20ft from hive.but I left uncles hive with bees all over the walls standing beside my new hive she was probobly in there.And crawled back to the new hive I cain't beleive I wasted a good queen here.
 
#7 ·
Oh yes there was plenty of brood nice pattern.It was kinda hard to see to good because I had a face full of real mad bees.What I'm needing to know is how to kill these adult bees and not harm the comb.The freezer one is a good ideal but my freezer is full of garden vegs.I'm thinking to stop everything up and let them cook for a day or so.
 
#8 ·
Move the whole hive more than 20 yards away. More's better. Then you can work the hive with a lot less angry bees around, that's assuming they are not africanised. You can put a weak hive there a couple of hours later to get boosted by the returning bees. Check the aggressive hive to see if there are eggs and young larvae. If so, there is a queen. You then have to either find and kill it, or kill the whole hive. If you just put them in a plastic bag they will suffocate. Don't leave it in the sun your combs might melt. If there is no queen or you find and kill it, just make sure there are no queen cells then unite the whole thing with a weak hive, come back & ask if you are going to do this so you can get good instructions to make sure it's done right & they don't kill the other queen.
 
#14 ·
I like oldtimers suggestion. You will have alot less angry bees since they will be back at their old location. Easier to find the queen and see eggs. I also like the idea of putting your weaker hive in the original location of the hot hive to shor it up.
Good luck and lets us know how it goes

And if you are truely bent on destroying the hive. Go a good ways away. Shake all the bees on the ground and then put the comb into the weaker hives to shore them up...as long as they have the bees to cover the frames. If you have a queen, some will stay in the pile. If you do not, they will make their way to a new hive.
 
#15 ·
I would love to divide the hive up but this is the only large hivebody that I've got .I use meduims in all my other hivebodys.And thinking about it I'm not really sure that I'm going to out n out kill them I'm going to fume them down to the bottom hivebody that has frames with wax starter strips and as I said take the hivebody with all the brood and comb and after cleaning all the bees off give it to a very weak hive that was giving to me.Put a reducer on the old hive and put the screened innercover and top on and leave them alone.Let them Root hog or die!
 
#18 ·
>I would love to divide the hive up but this is the only large hivebody that I've got .I use meduims in all my other hivebodys.

And a deep fits fine for these purposes in two mediums stacked up.

>And thinking about it I'm not really sure that I'm going to out n out kill them I'm going to fume them down to the bottom hivebody that has frames with wax starter strips and as I said take the hivebody with all the brood and comb and after cleaning all the bees off give it to a very weak hive that was giving to me.Put a reducer on the old hive and put the screened innercover and top on and leave them alone.Let them Root hog or die!

Then you'll still have mean bees...