Author Topic: My First Ever Disaster  (Read 3004 times)

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Offline The15thMember

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My First Ever Disaster
« on: September 17, 2022, 05:33:22 pm »
I was chased out of the apiary by an angry hive for the first time today, and I also hurt my back lifting a box, two things that were probably inevitable at some point, and both on the same day.  I have a hive that has been getting testier and testier as the fall is coming on.  They were due for an inspection today, so I opened them up.  It was hairy right from the get-go, lots of flying bees, and they were not very responsive to my smoking.  Then I tried to lift a box that I thought I had cracked well enough, but I hadn't.  The box wasn't very heavy, but I just wasn't prepared for it to resist me as much as it did, and something popped in my back.  It hurt in this dull, internal way, and I felt like I couldn't move. 

I tend to get light-headed, and I felt a wave come over me, so I took my water bottle and went and sat down away from the hives for a minute until I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore.  I had left the hive open of course, and by the time I got back up to the apiary there were a LOT of bees in the air.  I managed to get one box inspected, but I was having to move so gingerly because of my back that I couldn't do anything efficiently, and there were hundreds of bees in the air, pinging off my veil and biting and stinging the wrists of my suit, and I realized this was not going to work. 

I was worried about lifting the boxes to get the hive back together, and I thought about getting my sister, who was up in the woods cutting branches for her goats, to help me, but I realized this situation would only worsen in the time it would take her to get suited up, and no one but me was going to be able to do this without getting stung like crazy.  So, being careful of my back, but not of killing bees, I got the hive back together, and then walked through the underbrush to try and get the bees off my suit enough to get my stuff out of the apiary.  Then I walked around in front of the garage until the all the bees got off my suit and I could safely undress.  I somehow didn't take any stings to my actual body, but my suit probably took 30.  I went and told my sister to stay away from the apiary, then went inside and took a hot shower, which made my back feel a little better. 

I left the frames in the one box all separated, and I need to get this hive inspected and down to three boxes for beetle control, so early next week my sister and I will try and tackle them again.  She can lift the boxes for me, since she is stronger than I am and not injured, and she can also take my notes for me while I work so I can be in and out of the hive as quickly as possible.  I'll wash my suit tomorrow to get all the venom and stings out of it. 

So there you have it: my first ever total mess of a beekeeping day.  I'm surprised it took me 5 years to have a disaster.  I knew I'd have to have one at some point, and today just happened to be the day.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline RAST

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2022, 08:05:32 pm »
I can sure sympathize with your back pain and the light headedness. But I am getting old and wore out. Hot hive and hurt at the same time is unfortunate. Take care of the back, you are stuck with it, bees will come and go.
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2022, 10:23:36 am »
It was a bad day for you!  I feel your pain.  I caution you to take care of your back.  Those types of situations take a toll on your back over the years.  A common phrase heard around here is, "There are two types of beekeepers.  The ones who have bad backs and those that will."

Were you able to figure out why the colony is hot?
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2022, 12:03:20 pm »
Thanks @Bakersdozen and @RAST .  I definitely try to take care of my back, but it's slow work building up core strength.  I naturally have a poor muscle recruitment pattern and bad posture, and beekeeping often gives me minor back pain.  I've started doing pilates to help retrain myself to use the right muscle groups to lift and bend, and it's helped some already, but it's a slow process, and yesterday it just wasn't enough.

Were you able to figure out why the colony is hot?
 
We have pollen coming in right now, but very little nectar.  I also just finished my OAV treatments, and this hive was very irritated every time I treated.  I'm hoping that has just made them sensitive, and once I leave them alone for a few weeks they'll settle down a bit. 
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2022, 10:53:05 pm »
It sounds like you handled things appropriately.

We haven't washed our suits or gloves because of stingers.  I'll scrape them off, and rotate my gloves if I'm going into another hive or two the next day, but my suit is lucky if it gets a bath more than once a year.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2022, 01:10:12 pm »
It sounds like you handled things appropriately.

We haven't washed our suits or gloves because of stingers.  I'll scrape them off, and rotate my gloves if I'm going into another hive or two the next day, but my suit is lucky if it gets a bath more than once a year.
I'm an annual suit washer too, usually at the end of the season.  It just doesn't seem to be worth it to clean it and then get it immediately dirty again in the middle of the summer. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2022, 06:07:15 pm »
Well, we got it done, although it was hairy again!  My sister came with me today, as I mentioned, to try and inspect this hive, and when I lifted the lid off we had a bunch of bees rush out at us.  My sister got stung on the arm almost right away.  She was a wearing pair of coveralls, and they were just too thin to protect her enough from angry bees, so I had her go down to the garage and put on a long-sleeved shirt I had in there and my leather gloves so she'd be better protected.  Once she was re-suited up, I had her remove the boxes while keeping them covered with my robbing cloths to try to minimize the flying bees, and I had her stack the boxes squarely so there wouldn't be gaps for the bees to get out of the boxes I wasn't working.  I quick centered the frames in the bottom box, and then rapidly inspected the second one, stopping halfway to smoke myself and let the bees calm down a little bit.  There were SO MANY bees in the air, and I did get a sting on my side and a second glancing one on the neck which I only found later.  My sister sat a little ways away, and I called out the contents of the frames for her to note down as I went, and then called her over whenever I needed a box replaced on the hive.  I didn't bother inspecting the fully capped super, and I put the top box over the triangle escape board.  I'll have to suit up tomorrow to remove it, which is a pain; I usually just throw on a veil for that job, but not with these girls!  Then I'll give them a good three weeks without bothering them, and hopefully they'll be more manageable by then.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Zweefer

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2022, 08:35:06 am »
I forget who taught me this trick, but I swear it works -
Go to your local tobacconist and ask for the tobacco leaves they use to pack around the cigars. My place gives it to me for free.  Put a bit of this into your smoker, and it will calm the bees much more effectively. Can’t explain why (perhaps it’s the nicotine?), it just does.
Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
Henry David Thoreau
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2022, 12:03:21 pm »
This colony may be a situation where you have to divide and conquer.  Splitting that colony could take some of that meanness out of them.  This could be the wrong time of year for that.  You might try adding some of those bees to a weaker colony.  Just thoughts.

Gee Zweefer, a tobacco shop is a good idea.  An even better idea if you live in tobacco country.
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Offline Jen

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2022, 12:53:08 pm »
Well first of all I learned a very cool new word today... tobacconist! I'll try and work that into my next scrabble/Word game  :D

I can add to this tobacco solution with cannabis stalks. One day I was mentoring a new beekeeper in our area, we were discussing smoking to calm bees. He said that after harvest, he strips all excess leaves and flowers from the stalks of his cannabis plants, rendering just bare stalks. He then lays them out to dry in the sun for a few days. Then he breaks them up into small pieces and keeps them in a container with a lid. After putting newspaper shreds into the smoker he fills the smoker pretty tightly with cannabis pieces, lights the smoker and goes to work on his hives. He added that he usually doesn't need a smoker, but when he's dealing with a testy hive, the bees calm right down to a normal bee hum in the hive. I've tried it.. And it works  ;)
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2022, 01:02:36 pm »
Thanks for the ideas, @Zweefer @Bakersdozen @Jen .  I'd have to do some looking around to see whether I could get raw tobacco or cannabis leaves in my area.  My sister got stung by this hive the other day, and she wasn't even really doing anything, so if they don't calm down I'll have to do something.  As late as it is in the season, I really might try splitting like you recommended, Bakers.  I do have a smaller colony that could make use of the extra bees.   
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline iddee

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2022, 01:13:46 pm »
RE: tobacco... It will also knock down varroa.
RE: splitting hives this time of year. Just trade places with the mean and the weak on a nice day. The foragers will come back to the weak hive and stay. The "household" hasn't been disturbed.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2022, 01:19:52 pm »
RE: tobacco... It will also knock down varroa.
RE: splitting hives this time of year. Just trade places with the mean and the weak on a nice day. The foragers will come back to the weak hive and stay. The "household" hasn't been disturbed.
The other benefit to that method is that I wouldn't have to find the queen, which is going to be a HASSLE if they don't calm down on their own. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2023, 11:07:42 am »
Was wondering if there was anything wrong with the hive? Something annoying them? LOTS of mites etc....         Cannabis stalks?  Hmmm....  have a friend in Maine that grows HEMP, wonder if that is as effective?   
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2023, 11:21:46 am »
Was wondering if there was anything wrong with the hive? Something annoying them? LOTS of mites etc....         Cannabis stalks?  Hmmm....  have a friend in Maine that grows HEMP, wonder if that is as effective?   
Honestly, I'm not really sure.  It was all I could do to just get them moved and winterized, I didn't have a lot of ability to investigate deeply what was going on with them.  I didn't do a fall sugar roll on them because I was just trying not to die.  :-X  I did treat them with OA in Dec., and they had a big drop.  They've been quiet all winter, but it's, ya know, winter, so I haven't seen much of them.  I'm careful to leave them alone on flying days so they don't bother anyone.  They fuss at me when I check their moisture quilt, but some of my other hives do too.  I'm very curious to see how they will act when I inspect them in the spring.  Regardless of how they act, I'm going to requeen them, because it could be they are just a group that reacts poorly to a dearth, and I'm not waiting around to see if it happens again. 
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2023, 11:35:46 am »
Understandable, and yeah they are usually a lot more protective in the fall than they are in the spring.   ALSO.. Disaster, in the hive, means you rolled the queen, a bear tore the hive apart etc...   What you described? Is, kind of a normal day in the apiary.. NOT that I am trying to minimize the struggle you had!!!  Just, putting it into perspective..   :)
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #16 on: January 09, 2023, 02:06:36 pm »
Understandable, and yeah they are usually a lot more protective in the fall than they are in the spring.   ALSO.. Disaster, in the hive, means you rolled the queen, a bear tore the hive apart etc...   What you described? Is, kind of a normal day in the apiary.. NOT that I am trying to minimize the struggle you had!!!  Just, putting it into perspective..   :)
I realize there are worse disasters than this, especially since the bees themselves were fine, but this is the first time I've been chased out of the apiary, since my bees are usually VERY docile, and it's also the first time I've injured myself beekeeping (and hopefully it'll be the last).  I'd hate to come visit your apiary if that sort of a day is normal for you!  :o  ;)  Though I was glad to learn that I can hold it together in a stressful situation.  I mean, I assumed I could, since my calmness is one reason I thought I'd make a good beekeeper, but it was good to actually find out that I can handle a problem like that without freaking out.           
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #17 on: January 11, 2023, 11:06:33 pm »
You should come down to Texas! I thought i was cool, and didn't worry about getting stung...  Until I met up with a hive of africanized bees making a nest under a house...  I have NEVER been stung through my ultra breeze suit, but those bees managed it, several times!  I love bees. I don't kill bees...  but there was something VERY satisfying about walking back down there armed with four cans of wasp and hornet spray. You know you got stung one to many times when you throw up later that night.  :evil:
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #18 on: January 11, 2023, 11:31:48 pm »
You should come down to Texas! I thought i was cool, and didn't worry about getting stung...  Until I met up with a hive of africanized bees making a nest under a house...  I have NEVER been stung through my ultra breeze suit, but those bees managed it, several times!  I love bees. I don't kill bees...  but there was something VERY satisfying about walking back down there armed with four cans of wasp and hornet spray. You know you got stung one to many times when you throw up later that night.  :evil:

You're in Texas now?  Where about?
We had a late swarm this year that we knew would be Africanized.  It was too late in the year to requeen them, so we just hoped they wouldn't grow fast enough during the Fall and Winter to get really mean.  but they did.  We had to soak them down with soapy water a few weeks ago.

We've been lucky that the bees haven't stung us through our suits, but they do get us through our hands.  And we've started calling these kinds of girls "Duct Tape Bees."  We have to cover where the zippers meet around the hood.  adding a bit of duct tape over the thumb joint keeps most of the stingers out of my hands. 

But Duct Tape only works when you know before going in that you're going to get attacked. 
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: My First Ever Disaster
« Reply #19 on: January 11, 2023, 11:47:22 pm »
We have a camp on Toledo Bend reservoir near Hemphill Texas.   Good place to go in the winter to fish and stay out of the -50 degree wind chill here in Iowa!
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