Mouse in the Hive

[Rugerbob]

There are signs that one of my hives has a residential mouse, guess I have to wait for warmer weather to fumigate.

[Perry]

When warmer weather arrives the bees will take care of it for you.

[riverbee]

fumigate?

lol, like perry said the bees will take care of the mouse! 

[neillsayers]

Perry and RB,

I have heard that a mouse will make such a stinky mess that the bees will abscond. Not true?

[riverbee]

neil it is possible, any pest can make bees abscond. not in the dead of winter.
the bees will sting it to death if they can and try to propolize it if they can while not clustered.

mice do make a mess; they chew comb, and frames, consume honey and eat bees and are not very sanitary creatures.

the best defense is to use  entrance reducers that are mouse proof or use hardware cloth over the wood reducers to prevent them from entering or chewing their way in.

i have been fortunate not to have suffered mice damage over the years........can't say that about my 4 wheel horse........cha ching.......
what a mess and what an expense! i have seen plenty of others hives who didn't take the precautions to keep them out. 

also, if you think you might have a resident mouse and can't open the hive and get to the bottom box (that's where they nest) if it's too cold,  i have taken a slim jim and poked it in the hive in a sweeping motion to the back and sides and run it in several times when i saw evidence deer mice were checking out a new home going into winter before i placed the hardware cloth on.  they run out rather quickly. 

be sure to wear a veil as well..........

[Bakersdozen]

 i have taken a slim jim and poked it in the hive in a sweeping motion to the back and sides and run it in several times when i saw evidence deer mice were checking out a new home going into winter before i placed the hardware cloth on.  they run out rather quickly. 

be sure to wear a veil as well..........

...or do this while the bees are clustered.     I do similar prior to putting mouse guards on in the fall.  I have only found evidence of one mouse.  He chewed the entrance to a wooden entrance reducer to get in.   I went to metal guards.

[Chip Euliss]

My OA vaporizer kills them.  It puts out a huge vapor cloud.  Someone told me it burns their lungs to the point that they don't recover.  I even killed one that had taken up residence under a hive this winter in CA when I inadvertently shot a plume of vapor under the pallet.  Made me appreciate my mask even more

[Riverrat]

I have had mice get into hives and they can make a mess building a nest and chewing on comb in the bottom deep over the winter.  But nothing the bees cant fix in the spring

[Rugerbob]

We are going to get in the plus temp on Sunday, maybe I'll do some exploration with a long stick.

[robo]

Mice can cause enough disturbance in the hive to make them break cluster and freeze.  A lot of the time, you can just split the bottom board from the bottom hive body and gently tip the hive back a bit and the mouse will scurry out.   This can be done without disturbing the bees.

[Zweefer]

...or do this while the bees are clustered.     I do similar prior to putting mouse guards on in the fall.  I have only found evidence of one mouse.  He chewed the entrance to a wooden entrance reducer to get in.   I went to metal guards.

I learned to check before as well.  I once locked a mouse inside with my mouse guard.  Made a terrible mess, and I lost the hive.