Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[rakeman]

Hi. Seems our TB Hive is under attack from wasps. Lots of agitation in the bee colony and not much we can do to prevent the wasp onslaught….or is there? Any ideas please.

David

[jumbleoak]

I guess you're not interested in reducing the entrance size with corks, so how about putting up a trap or two. Other threads discuss this.

[rakeman]

Yes. Have closed third hole up and will close another when the agitation has died down. Seems quieter now. Thank you

[Barbara]

I would close it down to just half a cork or even quarter and check all round the hive to make sure they are not getting in anywhere else... I have seen wasps get in through the saw kerf in the top bars when it has been expended right to the ends of the bar. They are usually smaller than bees and can often get through cracks and gaps that look insignificant. Once they are in, it can sometimes be too late as the hive defences have been breached and the colony overrun and demoralised. It's shocking how quickly that can happen.

Another idea that helps is to fit a piece of clear plastic (a piece cut off a food container or blister pack works well) over the entrance as a baffle with the bottom edge chocked out a little, so that the bees can still get in and out but the wasps try to fly straight at the hole and hit the plastic.

A third option is to move the hive or swap locations with a stronger colony.

Hope you have caught it in time.

Good luck

[DrMartin]

When you reduce the entrances make sure they're really reduced - a tiny bit larger than a pencil is enough.

[Adam Rose]

See http://www.biobees.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=112191#112191 for my thoughts.