Bees

Have a blind that is infested. They were underneath. Managed to get a rope around it and turn it over with my truck. Huge cloud of bees ensued. I drove as close as I could in my truck and the entire bottom of the blind looks like one big honeycomb.

With the colony collapse issue nobody wants to exterminate bees, they want to charge you to remove them. Beekeper wanted $200 bucks to move them. This is a rickety old blind that ain't worth $20 but it is on one of the best feeders.

Camera card didn't have many pictures on it but I don't think it was because of the bees. The bees were pretty sedate until I pulled the blind over, then they were pissed.

I don't want to wind up like that farmer down by Harlingen that got killed when hit a pipe and was swarmed.

Options?

Molotov cocktail the blind. Rebuild in a bit.

New blind built out of metal?

Burn it, hunt out of a pop up this year and get new blind next year

If you opened up the hive, I would think the raccoon's will clean up the honey. I would burn it to the ground after the bees are gone or have moved. Might take the chance to move the whole setup a little ways away. New blind and new setup might be easier on the deer.

All the talk about burning it...

What would happen if you hit it flamethrower style with a pear burner?

Burn ban in effect. I am not the property owner.

I agree, the pop up ground blind is Plan A already. We had a steel tower blind previous year but the guy that owned it moved to another lease. The landowner was kind enough to move this old wooden blind from another part of the property when I was out there last year.

I definitely exposed it when I turned it over. We have coons, hogs and a lot of turkey this year. I definitely think this blind is a goner. I left the long rope attached. I think I am going to drag it away and deal with it when burn ban is no longer in effect.

A bee keeper will come get them for you

Even if you get rid of the bees the wax on the blind would attract a new swarm next spring. You need to destroy or remove the blind and replace it.

I had a similar situation a couple of years ago. If a beekeeper is not an option, go in after dark with borax powder in a puffer bottle. The bees will be completely docile after dark as they cannot see. You can even use a flashlight yourself and they won't bother you. Douse the hive with the borax powder. The bees get it on them and being the clean freaks that they are, will lick the powder off their feet and die. They will also take it to the queen and she will ingest it and die. Then go in and remove the hive completely. They say bees can still smell the pheromones even from a removed hive, but I am on the second year subsequent to the hive removal and no bees have staked out residence since.

Could you buy a beehive off Craigslist and set it up nearby? If you started it off with a bottle of honey they might move in.

Lol wait would that work?

soap and water with a good sprayer... it will knock them out quick..

This works... I DO NOT do bees.. get your sprayer inside the truck or if you have a bed mounted one bring the hose through the passenger window... roll the window up as much as possible then tape off the rest of the opening...then do the same with your driver side window but leave the hole just a bit bigger... put a rubber dampener, seal, whatever you can find halfway down the sprayer nosel so you can swivel the sprayer in the hole and not leave an opening... you will look strange running down the road but it will getur done

hogs will take care of it for sure but bees will most likely still be around

Where is the blind? What county?

I think the Beekeeper quoted $200

I actually thought about Borax after they calm down, someone else had mentioned it, but I am concerned about cattle getting into the Borax afterwards.

Haskell County

I don't think you will use enough Borax to affect any cattle getting into it.

A friend of mine had bees get in his home up in one of the eves and before he found them and realized it they were pretty much moved in. The exterminator he hired used this product. He went in after dark when the bees were all in the hive and used a duster to cover the area they were going in the eve. He said all the bees were gone in two days.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/tempo-...CFQutaQod5p8G6g

Sent you a PM
I'm in Shackleford County I MIGHT be able to take them if they are fully accessible.
Let me know.

Just drag it off and leave it.

The bees will eventually move. Until then it will do you no good to kill them.

They are extremely important to plant life in the area you hunt.

Burning anything in Haskell county right now will get you alot more trouble than the bees are giving you.

Sounds like it was time for a new blind anyway.

I'd suit up and steal the honey at night. Use smoke to calm them and wear the mask and jumpsuit. Or call a pro and split the bounty with him.

Why not spray the whole blind with a wasp/hornet spray like Yard Guard? You could probably do it from your truck and roll the window up if the remnants get feisty. Hit it a couple of times, and nothing will be left living. Scrape the hive off the blind and go about your hunting.

Thanks. I will keep this in mind

It was a very angry cloud after I turned it over. I had to untie the rope from my trailer hitch fast and drive right past it to get out over some bumpy terrain. I didn't want to slow down for pics, I was afraid they would get into something in back of truck. Paranoid I guess, I was out there by myself.

They are probably pretty calm by now and I could get a picture. If I have not resolved issue by next time I get out there, I will take pics.

Nobody else having bee problems?

I have wasps galore. Raid em, knock the nest out of the stands, come back the next weekend they are in every stand again.

Yeah wasps are pretty common most of our blinds are open wood blinds. When I'm deer hunting they don't bother me, I'm pretty still

During season when I get to the lease I don't even stop at the ranch house. I make the rounds spraying down each blind, pull the cam cards, unload the truck, pull out the laptop, pour a stiffy while I check out the cards and back out I go...in that order

But a large hive of bees beneath the blind is new to me

My folks had a lot of problem in East Texas when they were working on the retaining wall at the lake

Think I need to keep an EpiPen in the console of the truck

Spray with Demon WP insecticide, follow the directions, no need to use any stronger than instructions. Then get some Pro Zap Insect Guard strips and place them in the blinds.

Thanks dogcatcher, I'll keep that in mind. Any experience with the wasp and hornet traps? I saw them at Home Depot.

Well huntwest the workers were still stacked up they followed me around a bit when I tried to walk back by for a picture after replacing the camera card. I bet the rain this weekend did them in for good.

Rope is still attached, guess I will drag the whole blind away next time out and use a pop up blind for awhile. Thanks for trying to help.

We have one that was taken over by bees about 3 years ago.
We just let it alone as we have other blinds in better locations.
The down side is it is sitting on a nice scaffold we could use for another stand.

I used to help my Uncle a little with his bees and my BIL had quite a few hives in the past.
I have 5 hives waiting for spring to start up and will probably remove the bees from the stand to put in one of them.

If these are HF Bees they should be easy to move.

They almost ruined a 5th wheel I have..

Sent you a text

Got it, reply sent. If I can get out there sooner I will give you a shout.

We had a big hive in my buddy's RV at deer camp. They nuked it and shoveled out the hive. Honey everywhere.

As valuable as American Bee's are, I'd try anything other than killing them if possible, I'd rather put up a new blind next to the old one (maybe drag the old one 20 yards away) and let them "do their thang". Africanized bee's would get napalm.

That is as far as a hunting blind goes, if they where in a personal dwelling, I'd still try to relocate (pay a bee keeper) if I had that option.

That's the plan

Will be interesting to see if the hive is still there with bees after the rain they have had out there. Guess I will have to buy a pop up before I go.

this, holy chit, is killing every thing the mentality here?

I don't understand your point. Colony collapse is a pretty serious issue and is having a significant impact on agriculture. Most beekeepers will not exterminate bees for this reason and do charge to remove hives and queens. I just want them gone from the blind that is in a prime location. If they are still there Friday, there is someone that is interested in removing them because he is a beekeeper and wants the hive. If that doesn't work out, I am going to drag that blind as far away as I can and hope the hive and queen follow. I believe I can hunt the feeder from a pop up ground blind regardless. I think I have a couple of good options without resorting to extermination. Wish me luck.

Heading out in the morning, should be interesting

I'm a beekeeper.. and if you exposed the hive to rain and cold those bees are doomed.. the first good wet cold spell will take them out..

Hope you are right. Went to Cabelas and was going to buy a pop up. Couldn't bring myself to do it. I have 4 blinds and feeders and there is only one other hunter who is up north pheasant hunting. I can wait on the pop up.

Having been a beekeeper

Just use simple dish washer soap mixed heavy with water and put in a pump up sprayer. Go at night. Do not shine your light at them as they will want to fly to the light. At night they are very docile and the soapy water does not agitate them. You will need to dig through the comb while spraying because is few workers and the queen survive they will start back up.

You can also build a small fire so the wind takes the smoke into the honeycomb and this will turn on a survival mode the bees thinking the forest is on fire and they may need to relocate so they start filling themselves up with honey so they have the necessary supplies to rebuild and this slows them down a lot.

Dress up a bit for the occasion with tight long sleeves on and head wrap just in case all does not go as planned. If they come after you DO NOT fight them as your [censored] belongs to them at that point, best plan is retreat, retreat, retreat, if you run long enough they will get off you.

best of luck

The advice to run is spot on. Believe me I know my wife, dogs, and I were attacked by Africanized bees. The dogs didn't make it but thankfully we did. Run as fast and as far as you can what they can do is a horror story. It is like being in a burning building much like smoke they overwhelm you. Please don't underestimate what they can do.

First trip out I turnded the blind over, no pics

Second trip out it looked like this


Third trip out it looked like this


What you can't see amongst the remaining pieces of dried up honeycomb is the infestation of yellow jackets feeding on the honey glazed dirt. So once again a I filled the feeder before I raised hell with the insects.

Then I sprayed the yellow jackets and ground real good with hornet spray and watched a bunch die. I raked the hornet spray and dirt back and forth.

Went out the next day and there is just as many yellow jackets. I doused the ground real good with gasoline and raked it into the dirt.

I couldn't go last weekend because of work. I was supposed to be out there right now but forecast not so good. I am going to try and head back out Thursday this week but I have capitulated. Ordered a pop up blind on Field Supply this morning. Hope the blind arrives before I head back out.

That's what it came down to in the end

The bees and yellow jackets are probably gone by now but I don't have time to mess with that rickety old blind anymore. Ordered the pop up this morning.

So tomorrow I get to start a pop up blind thread

Never used one before

I am heading out tomorrow. Unfortunately, blind won't arrive until Monday. No big deal got a good deal.

I will try and pull the blind upright. The bees and yellow jackets should be long gone.

Had the same issue, on cold rainy mornings you could go in and steal some great honeycomb. Never tried the nuclear option just let it be, tried to post a pic but not sure if I can on the iPad

So between the hornet spray, gasoline, cold weather and rain the final scourge of yellow jackets that moved in to feed off the hive have been vanquished


Up righted the blind


And we are back in business


Think I am going to keep the ground blind I have on order

I'm a beekeeper and sometimes rescue swarms for free if their close by. Many beekeepers will take them off your hands for free or just the cost of the expense to travel. Put an add in Craig list to have them removed. A lot of guys trying to make a buck off of bee removals these days.

You are spot on Reich. This post was only a few hours old before I got that exact offer from another forum member. Unfortunately, we were not able to meet up at my lease before the hive was "harvested" by members of the local wildlife community. The only thing that I eradicated is the yellow jackets that moved in after the hive was gone.

If I have the problem in the future, I will post up again. Maybe we will have better luck hooking up next time. Thanks.

UPS delivered my ground blind yesterday. Think I will wrap it up and give it to myself for Christmas. Could come in handy.

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