How to get rid of a beehive?

[JoeyGee]

I have a very active beehive on a fence. What is the best way to get rid of it without becoming a pin cushion?

[jwaterdawg]

Whatever you decide, you might want to check local ordinances first. Some places have laws against destroying/harming bees.

[beetee3]

Contact a local beekeeper:

http://www.osba.us/ohio_bee_clubs.htm

[crokett]

Is it honeybees or is it yellowjackets/hornets? f honeybees, call a beekeeper. They might be glad to come get them. they are pretty docile. My dad used to keep them and I'd work on the hives with only work gloves and a face net. I never had problems. If yellowjackets/hornets get some spray, wait till night and soak the nest down. depending on how big it is you might need a few treatments.

[Thom2]

If it's yellowjackets or hornets ....

1.) get your Dad and your buddy over on the night of the new moon
2.) paint your shoes as well as your buddy's with glow in the dark paint
3.) gather in a room closest the nest that has bright lighting (preferably second floor)
4.) have your Dad shine a flashlight out the window on the hive
5.) get a clothes prop (aka 2x2) long enough to reach the hive, give your buddy one too
6.) make your way to the hive, line up on it and start WHACKIN'!, Dad turns the flashlight out, whack a little more .... and then RUN like you've never run before following your buddy's glow in the dark shoes. When you suddenly wonder how your buddy can lift his feet that high, you'll realize that he's tripped and suddenly you'll find yourself in a tumble as you trip over him.
7.) get up, brush yourself off and head for the house
8.) find Dad laying on the floor convulsing in laughter (think about watching two kids, with glow in the dark shoes doin' a run a tumble, from a second story window)


At least that's how we did it when I was a teenager

[Stan]

Let's see..... behive removal process (hillbilly style)

1. Wear camo (so they cain't see ya).
2. Borrow some pany hose from the significant other and make a headnet using some duct tape and bailing wire (gotta keep the 'netting' away from yer skin ya know). While you have the duct tape out -- tape yer cuffs so them bee's can't crawl up there.
3. Fill the kids swimming pool with as much water as it will hold (in case you have to 'dive under' for a while to get away from them pesky varmits).
4. Load the 12 gauge and have plenty of extra ammo. (Don't put it in the pool though).
5. Have the significant other set up the camcorder (from inside the mobile home so she's 'protected' of course). Ya might make a pile o' dough by sending this in to FHV.
6. Call Bubba and have him come over (he can hold the shotgun and pain is always moderated when shared).
7. Get yer "castin' rod" outta the boat and tie on a 1 oz snagging hook.
8. Try to 'snag' the hive so ya can 'gently move it to another local'.
9. After hooking the fence a dozen times and not getting anywhere near the hive.....
10. Smoke works... grab a stogie and work up a good cloud-a-smoke around the hive.
11. Ok, so that didn't work....
12. Have the significant other mix up some baking soda and water to apply to the stings ya got so far.
13. Grab the bear squeeze bottle of honey out of the kitchen and run a 'trail' through the yard to try and draw all the bees away so you can sneak the hive outta there.
14. Give the hound a bath in the kids swimming pool to get off all the honey.
15. Send the significant other to the hardware store to buy a case of fly strips.
16. As Bubba if he's ever seen one of them shows where they have bee's crawling all over a person.
17. Clean up the beer spill left by Bubba as he scooted back home.
18. Pull the truck into the back yard and hook a section of chain to the fence, put 'er in gear and head down the road to remove the 'problem'.
19. Go back to the house and stare at the beehive that is still attached to the piece of fence that didn't come with ya.
20. Grab the shotgun that Bubba dropped into the kiddie pool when he scooted.
21. Run to the discount store to get another tape for the camcorder (why is this taking so long).
22. Hook up the boom-box and play some good 'ol Banjo foot-stomping tunes at full throttle... err -- volume.
23. Yank the phone cord outta the wall, nobody needs to hear 'that' many neighbors complain.
24. Grab the baseball bat outta the closet and get ready for a real clobberin' party.
25. Get ready to swing -- take one more step back to get the proper follow-through -- head to the house to change close after tripping and falling in the kiddie pool.


26. Call a local bee-keeper while ya have a cold one.

[LCHIEN]

I've had bees swarming in openings in my house a couple of times and
no exterminator wants to do it or if they do it's really expensive. Kids actually got stung by bees that strayed into the house. I also see these spots on the TV news where bees have built extremely big hives in the walls of homes and the walls and eaves are soaked with honey and falling down.

I noticed that the Malathion insecticide I use for the yard says Warning:extemely toxic to bees. Hmmm.

So I wait for the part of the day when they are less active (dusk?)
and spray all around and as close to the gap where they are getting in,
from the maximum odistance of my pump sprayer set to stream. Day or two goes by and there are no more bees to be seen.

[leehljp]

Two things:

1. If it has a hive with a single opening, get a 10 gallon vac or larger and go suck the buggers up! Fun to watch them crawl outside and get sucked in.!

2. As good as malathion and other pesticides are, light soapy water sprayed under good pressure does just as well. I've tried this one too and it does work well on wasps and yellow jackets.

[charliex]

Check local army surplus for things under the heading of "flame thrower" or "explosive devices". This is a chance to show family and friends how creative a problem solver you are. As Stan suggested a shotgun will work well also, but I would leave Bubba out of it. You may need to repair the fence after using any of these methods but that's a reason to spend a few hours at the Borg and purchase a new tool or two to complete the repairs.
Or you could just knock it down with a broom and run like he77. Whats a few bee stings anyway. You may not want to use this method if you are alergic to stings or if you can't run the mile in under 4 min. Also don't stop running untill you are at least 100 yds away from the nest because they will find you. DAMHIKT.


Free advice can be very costly... (unknown)

[LCHIEN]

Two things:

1. If it has a hive with a single opening, get a 10 gallon vac or larger and go suck the buggers up! Fun to watch them crawl outside and get sucked in.!

2. As good as malathion and other pesticides are, light soapy water sprayed under good pressure does just as well. I've tried this one too and it does work well on wasps and yellow jackets.

the advantage of the malathion is that its somewhat persistent, as they walk across the sprayed area they pick it up.
soapy water, I think you have to hit the bee with it to work.

as for the vac idea, then what do you do with a shop vac full of (angry) bees?
I know... take it back to HD, say it's defective because it makes a strange buzzing noise even when off.

[WayneJ]

Just catch the queen and move her to a new location, the rest will follow.It will help to wear protective clothing.Make sure life insurance is paid up first.Have E.M.T.s on standby.

Or take a can of great stuff and plug all the openings at night while they are sleeping.

[JimD]

We get paper wasps and mud daubers under our screene- in porch. The boat gets parked under there so the wasps are not welcome. I need to get another can right now but they make a wasp killer that will shoot 10 feet or so. Sometimes I get brave and knock the nest down with a long pole and stomp on them but the stuff in the cans isn't that expensive and is effective. I think the instructions on the can say to do it at night so they will all be there. I generally do it when I think of it and have the can of stuff. If I get stung before I do it the right way, it's stick and stomp time.

Jim

[Kristofor]

Funny, but two days ago I was following links from a woodworking page (songofthegreatlakes) and found a page with a bunch of different things, but one of which was a wasp sucker.

If you scroll down a hair on this link you'll see a variation on the shopvac method. http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/built/insane.html

It even comes with a viewing chamber so you can see the ones you've captured. Lots more work than a can of Raid wasp killer, but whatever works for you.

Kristofor.

[scorrpio]

Get out the compressor, attach a sprayer, fill the can with gasoline. Point at the hive, turn it on, and hold a match to it. A section of fence might need replacement after this.

Now, here's on a more serious note: if this can wait, wait till winter. My friends bought a house and there was a large wasp hive in the vines right on their porch. They got bitten a few times, considered hiring exterminator, got like a $500 quote. By then winter rolled in, and they had a friend visit who, hearing about the problem took a garbage bag and scizzors, pored about a quart of insecticide into the bag, headed out, held the bag under the hive, snipped the branch it was on, and closed the bag quickly. In summer, this can be done at night, and be sure to wear protective clothing.

[emjr]

How to get rid of a beehive

Not nearly as entertaining as some of the replies, but if they're not protected or are posing a danger, you might try my (relatively) low-risk method:

1. Wait 'til it's either cool or dark (evening)
2. Get one of the smaller-size "bug bombs" manufactured by most of the well-known insect spray companies
3. Get a large trash bag and some duct tape
   Once it's dark/cool, tape the bag over the nest, post and all. Make sure to enclose the bug bomb. It's helpful to make certain you can operate the triggering tab without seeing it.
   When all is secure, set off the bug bomb.
   Next morning, while any potential survivors would still be sluggish, strip off the bag and its contents and close tightly, then discard as you would any other trash (assuming there are no rules governing empty aerosol containers in your area).
   Good luck!