Bee problems

[utahchickens]

I have a tractor style coop and yesterday I was a bit surprised to hear a buzzing swarm coming from inside the coop. It was full of bees, probably 100+. They went away in the evening but they are back in force today. The chickens don't want to go in the coop with them in there, any suggestions on removing them?

I know the obvious answer is to remove the food and water from the coop but that only helps some. We are still having very cold days off and on and the chickens don't want to come out at all when it snows, so food and water go in.

Any thoughts apprecaited.

 

[belknap89]

Are they yellow jackets? If so, just kill them. They make sprays that will drop them immediately. If you have honey bees, I don't know.

 

[Teach97]

We had problems with C's around our house so I grounded everyone!

Dang...I am not being helpful again.

Most sprays that kill wasps and such will take them out. You could also call a beekeeper. My grandpa used a pole with a wad of cloth on the end and soaked it in kerosine...probably not the most environmentally sound idea but it worked! You could smoke them out! But be careful and don't burn everything down

 

[charlotteda]

Hmmm... well I dont know about your area but around here it would NOT be Yellow Jackets this time of year... they do not overwinter as a colony. IF it is honeybees and they leave in the evening they are probably looking for something... such as pollen or nectar.

Assuming...... they are honeybees they may not live in there but are looking for something.. killing them will accomplish nothing as there are thousands of them in a colony and only 1 of you

You would need to try to remove whatever is attracting them or give it a little time and when other things bloom in your are they will fixate on something else . If they are living in there... a beekeeper could remove them for you.

Good Luck...

 

[cluckychick]

We had the bees out in swarms yesterday as well, pollenating the trees that are budding. Not so bad today. They'll go away on their own.

 

[miss_jayne]

DO NOT SPRAY THEM WITH CHEMICALS! your chickens may eat the dead bees/wasps and the chemicals used for killing them affects the nervous system and can be poisonous to your birds.

if you spray, get your chickens away and keep them away until everything is cleaned up.

or get guineas. they'll eat the buggers for you.

 

[Hotwings]

I can't for sure if they were honeybees as wild honeybees are almost nonexistence due to a mite that had wiped them out. Most bees that pollinate are from commerical hives where the bee keeper keeps his hive mite free. It might be yellow jackets or wasps. Someone told me that turkeys kill and eat ground bees? Has anyone heard of this. This was wild turkeys that did this.

 

[Akane]

Honey bees frequently escape from apiaries. A lot of beekeepers get their start capturing escaped or wild bees. They aren't that uncommon. If they are honeybees someone will gladly take them. Where are you cause I'm looking to catch myself a swarm for my first hive?

You'd probably have to be too far away for it to be warm enough there though. Everything is still frozen here. Try the beekeeping forum if they really are honeybees http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php. Someone in your area will come get them. If they are wasps you actually do have a problem and would probably need to call an exterminator.

 

[FaereChicken]

We have hives as well as chickens, and we've noticed that the bee girls seem to love layer crumbles. They've been all over the feeder on warmer days. If your chickens are out during the day, just remove the feed, and chances are the bees will go elsewhere.

They are probably from someone's local hive, as they range up to five miles. 100 or so bees is just a bunch of bees, unless you see them in a tight bunch, kind of crawling all over each other. That could be a swarm, tho it's really early for that. Typically a swarm is 20,000-30,000 - quite impressive!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm sure you tried the obvious step of moving the tractorstyle coop if you can.

Akane and Faerechicken give very good advice. If it is truly a swarm of wild honeybees, a beekeeper would love to get hold of them. They have probably developed some immunity to varroa mites, foulbrood, and other bee pests and diseases. Some people are even using wild bees to try to develop a resistant strain of bees.

Your state should regulate honeybees. If you have trouble finding a local beekeeper, call your county extension agent. If it is something other than honeybees, they can still probably help.

On another note, I'd advise setting up your profile to show where your are located. A lot of times it helps people to answer your questions. It doesn't have to be the specific town, just the region like "Northwest Arkansas" is enough.

Good luck with your problem.