[BRV]

Hello Everyone,

I have a problem with honey bees. It rained heavily and this happened.



Now, what's the best way to remove the honey bees without killing them or get stung (not sure if they managed to get inside the car).
What other precautions I have to take after the honeybees are removed.

Note: It's a residential area with lot of children playing around.

Thanks in advance.

[Romzy]

Originally Posted by BRV

I have a problem with honey bees. It rained heavily and this happened.

Now, what's the best way to remove the honey bees without killing them or get stung (not sure if they managed to get inside the car).
What other precautions I have to take after the honeybees are removed.

Note: It's a residential area with lot of children playing around.

I appreciate the gesture to leave them bee

I faced a similar issue may years ago and here's what I did -

1. Found a shoe-box that would hold the bees. Judging by your picture, either several shoe-boxes or one large cardboard box!

2. Punch in several holes so that they can enter and if you have those small plastic containers, put some honey in them. If you don't, dip some cotton in the honey and spread them around generously.
If you don't have honey, cotton in sugary water or cotton soaked in some sugary syrup would do. Pepsi/Coke does not work!
I was later informed that not all bees would take to my bait - so this may be a trial and error solution for you.

3. Since the idea is to get them off your door, place the shoe-box / cardboard box several feet away from the car - either on the top (towards the rear) or on the ground, not too far from your door.

4. The bees should fall for the bait, and all you need to do is wait till your car is free and then drive it off to a safe spot. Not sure how you can prevent this from happening in future though :|

5. In my case, I threw open the shoe-box and jumped into my car because I was too scared to stick around. May have something to do with being stung twice as a child!
But my friend, who has an apiary, said that bees can be safely transported so long as you remain calm and don't antagonize them.

6. If the bees don't fall for the bait, then this post has failed to serve its purpose and I hope you found a better solution!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by BRV

Hello Everyone,

I have a problem with honey bees. It rained heavily and this happened.

You aren't alone. Our national carrier has been facing a similar dilemma:



There are professional bee hive removal services in all cities. Some are run as an add-on service by pest control firms. Do search for relevant ones in your city.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by BRV

Hello Everyone,

I have a problem with honey bees. It rained heavily and this happened.

Now, what's the best way to remove the honey bees without killing them or get stung (not sure if they managed to get inside the car).

The bees just need one day to build the honeycomb and once done they don't take kindly to any kind of disturbance. My balcony was home to three honey combs and we did our best to manage with them. The only permanent fix is to spray hormones on the hive. GKVK Bangalore on airport road has an apiculture dept and trained staff who spray the stuff. It would cost you around 800.00 ( IIRC) and guaranteed no honey bees for next one year as the hormones put them off for that long.

P.S : I am not sure what those hormones would do to your car paint. So don't take my advise directly and use caution. Better to check with them before spraying. If those bees get into your car it would be very difficult.

[gkveda]

On lighter side, looking at the place where they have constructed (driver side) they may also be petrol heads and in near future, may apply for TBHP membership

Best way to remove them is cover up yourself fully with blanket, full face helmet and to touch the hive 5 to 6 times with a long fire stick. Within 10-15 min, all of them will fly away post which you remove the hive with a small knife

All these need experience. Hence easier way is, since you are in Bangalore, go to a morning walk to lalbagh and seek help from the workers in lalbagh

They will come to your house and do the needful.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by BRV

Note: It's a residential area with lot of children playing around.

Thanks in advance.

Pls get some experienced people to help remove the bee hive. Do not try to do it yourself unless you have prior experience. Call BBMP help line and usually they will give a local contact to help you.

[BRV]

Originally Posted by Romzy

I appreciate the gesture to leave them bee

I faced a similar issue may years ago and here's what I did -

Thanks for the inputs, If i try it, will update you if this is effective.

Originally Posted by moralfibre

You aren't alone. Our national carrier has been facing a similar dilemma:

Yes, contacted few folks and they might come today to remove it safely.

Originally Posted by srini1785

The bees just need one day to build the honeycomb and once done they don't take kindly to any kind of disturbance.

My exact worry, if they start to build the comb, it will difficult to keep them away.

Originally Posted by gkveda

On lighter side, looking at the place where they have constructed (driver side) they may also be petrol heads and in near future, may apply for TBHP membership

Best way to remove them is cover up yourself fully with blanket, full face helmet and to touch the hive 5 to 6 times with a long fire stick. Within 10-15 min, all of them will fly away post which you remove the hive with a small knife

All these need experience. Hence easier way is, since you are in Bangalore, go to a morning walk to lalbagh and seek help from the workers in lalbagh

They will come to your house and do the needful.

My Team-BHP membership got approved couple of days back and this is my first post. Wondering if they got to know about my membership The last option is doing it myself (old school method, smoke them out, remove the comb and clean it. This will create lot of tension with neighbors and even I don't want to do it considering the place where the car is parked).

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Pls get some experienced people to help remove the bee hive. Do not try to do it yourself unless you have prior experience. Call BBMP help line and usually they will give a local contact to help you.

A waiting for the fumigator to come in the evening and remove the hive and hoping that they wont come back again and also thinking they have not gone inside.

[TwinAlco]

Normally Bee hives are found at great heights like water tanks, clock towers, etc. Its surprising they have found a liking to your car.

[ritz3645]

Did the municipality vehicle perform fumigation in your area ? I think it's due to the fumigation the bees have fallen down on your vehicle. Simple water spray from a distance or via bucket should make them moving again.
Bees or any flying insect die due to municipal fumigation, panicked they run for survival.

[BRV]

Update:

Beehive is removed by the professional without hurting the bees. A lot of bees died on the roof which got stuck in the water droplets when it rained last night.

The person mentioned that the Queen bee was not there and hence, they didn't start the wax/comb building process (experts can share more details if this is true) and they flew off immediately.

No bees found inside the car. Cleaned the car thoroughly and parked in the sun for sometime before moving it back to the same place.

Thanks.

[pyrodrive]

I think they are just swarming. They do that, swarm out of a hive and rest temporarily in a random spot and then move on to a permanent location in a few days.
Here you could light a small fire on a container, cover it with damp leaves or grass to make the smoke rise, then go out and leave it near your car and watch from a safe distance, once they move away you can move your car.
edit- Sorry didn't see the last post. Good to know you could do it without hurting the bees.

[GTO]

Since this happened so fast, I was just wondering what if it had occurred on a holiday in a remote place and there was no professional help available. Would it be okay to get in from the passenger door, hit the highway and drive at 120 kmph?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would it be okay to get in from the passenger door, hit the highway and drive at 120 kmph?

Heavy rains with gush of winds don't bother these bees on a hive in multi-storied apartments where these are very common.

I wonder if driving fast would have really mattered to them at all. However, small little jolts due to road surfaces may have disturbed them to some extent too.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would it be okay to get in from the passenger door, hit the highway and drive at 120 kmph?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I wonder if driving fast would have really mattered to them at all. However, small little jolts due to road surfaces may have disturbed them to some extent too.

I did think of the same idea, but later realised that hordes of honeybees flying off a car would be a serious hazard for fellow unprotected motorists on the road (bikers/cyclists etc.).

[NPV]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would it be okay to get in from the passenger door, hit the highway and drive at 120 kmph?

Would be scary to try getting in from the passenger side door, never know if any of those bees would get disturbed and swarm around/attack. Also, with the current lock-down situation one wouldn't possibly be able to get on to a highway so easily, maybe the (in)famous NICE road in Bangalore would be an option but being a tolled roadway, I can imagine what would be the reaction on the face of the attendant at the toll plaza that's at all entry/exit points (hive is on driver's door and would be right in front of his face!)