Olly Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Ooh, congratulations! I'm very - will have to wait till next summer to get any out of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Well done Sha - Your honey looks more capped than ours was, but I think you got your swarm slightly after me (early-mid June)? Can't quite remember. We only got 3.5lbs but we're happy! Will you be able to borrow an extractor from your local BKA next year do you think? We did 3 supers (only one was ours) and the whole operation took 3 of us most of one morning - to get rid of the bees (we used BeeQuick which smells divine - almond - but the bees hate it), then waddle down the gardens with the supers into the house, kill off a few stray bees who were pretty annoyed by now, do the uncapping, put the frames into the extractor, watch the extractor do something wrong, leave the blokes to be mechanical and fix it, drink coffee, eat cake, chat, help children with homework, do a bit more extracting, pause for taste comparisons between hives, pour honey into jars, clean up etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OXFORDBEE Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Daphne, I just remember the very fist time I extracted honey from my first hive. The one thing I will always remember is the aroma of honey when I spun the honey out in an extractor. It was a manual extractor so all that hard physical work made the smell all the sweeter. Once you've tasted your own honey there's nothing like it, it makes everything in the supermarket taste really bland! By the way are you intending to use Fischers Bee Quick next year. I've used it a bit and can give you some tips if it helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Yes the smell is wonderful, I had my queen excluder in the dining room next to the kitchen for a few days and the smell from that was amazing I can recognise similarities between your extraction and mine Daphne, except obviously I didn't have an extractor to go wrong, and I managed to get all the bees to stay put near the hive...had I taken more than one frame I think it would have been a different matter I was so excited that I phoned a new friend who's a fellow "naughty girl" (we both have the same mentor & neither of us had put in our Apiguard & checked the hives properly due to wasp invasion etc ).........she got all excited too, goodness knows what her family thought when she squealed down the phone at me She has an extractor which I can borrow next year, I suspect we will be having a joint extraction party together Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Hello Oxfordbee - tips will be gratefully accepted as we will be using Beequick again By the time we got to the 3rd hive the bees seemed to have got the message that the supers were being run off with and they were very annoyed. So much so that I had to abandon puffing the Beequick (think it was losing its efficacy by now anyway) and get the bee's owner to do it (one hive was ours, 2 were his); he got stung a few times. If there's a clever way of keeping the annoyed bee factor down (we did the hives sequentially, maybe if we did them simultaneously?) then that'd be great! We took the frames indoors for extraction - an old fashioned galvanised 'urn' type thing which took 4 frames and you turn the handle. By this time there were 4 adults and assorted children unable to go back outside because of a small milling about of frustrated bees outside the doors! Afterwards we left the supers and extractor outside for the bees to clean/carry excess honey back to the hives. And you're right - our honey seems to have a slight sort of spicy tang to it, not just sweet. We are enjoying it on toast and porridge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OXFORDBEE Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Daphne, I'll scribble more tonight to help but I think at the moment, the most important thing is: Afterwards we left the supers and extractor outside for the bees to clean/carry excess honey back to the hives. Be careful, this is potentially an excellent way of spreading bee diseases. If your bees have foulbrood then other bees from other hives may find the supers you have put out to be cleaned. They will transfer the disease in the honey they carry home to otherwise healthy colonies. Make sure you never ever feed your bees honey unless it is your own. Honey that has been blended can come from many countries/different beekeepers some of whose hives might have a foul brood disorder. The best thing to do is to put your extracted supers back on the hives they came from. This will also help prevent robbing as bees finding a source of honey can rob honey from weaker hives if they are not well defended by the bees ... Hopefully the above will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenW Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi guys, Any tips for preventing stings on ankles and feet? Some bees take the chance of going down the wellies. Thanks Guys Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Well, I was going to say 'wear wellies' but you obviously are! Possibly lace-up boots, with the trouser bottoms tucked inside before lacing? Some bees are more prone to floor-crawling than others, but it's instinctive for them to head into dark places and trouser legs are apparently attractive to a bee. I'd also try and ensure that you hold combs over the hive when inspecting, so that if any bees drop off they will fall back into the hive (this is good practice anyway, just in case the queen is on the one you're inspecting). I don't tend to bother with wellies any more, I just tuck my trousers into my socks for a quick inspection - but they can sting through socks, so this isn't recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Tighter wellies? The suppliers sell spats or are they putties.......that you can put over the end of the trousers and over boots. A bit like gaiters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenW Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi there, I am careful about holding the frame over hive but its flying bees that land on jeans and wander down into wellies and sting through the socks, what about wet suit boots or any other ideas? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Any tips for preventing stings on ankles and feet? Some bees take the chance of going down the wellies. My bee wellies are from Joules and have a little strap and buckle on the outside of the top of each to tighten up around the legs of whatever you are wearing (bee suit, in my case). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 I tuck my trousers into my socks, wellies on, then my beesuit goes on the outside of my wellies. - I'm only a little bit paranoid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
