How To Get Rid Of Queen Bees In South Africa
What is Queen Bees?
A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive.
How To Get Rid Of Queen Bees In South Africa
Here are the best tips on how to get rid of bees in different ways.
1. Use a bee spray
Bee sprays eliminate bees by targeting their nervous system. This causes paralysis and eventual death. These have strong chemicals that harm insects and can cause adverse side effects to humans and pets.
PT Wasp Freeze II is a spray-on insecticide that kills upon contact. Position yourself 15 feet or less away from the hive and start spraying.
2. Use a powder dust
Using insecticidal powder is your best way to get rid of bees nest and all the bees in it. Similar to bee sprays, this uses active ingredients that cause paralysis and death.
Bayer Tempo Dust is an insecticidal powder that is among the best bee killer spray on the market today. You can buy a duster for easier application, but the bottle it comes with works just as well.
Simply place the bulb inside the hive or nest and squeeze a few times to deposit the powder. It is best to do this at night when most of the bees are inside. It takes a couple of hours, but it is very effective in killing the colony.
3. Install an electric bug zapper
If you’re want to know how to get rid of bees in house without the threat of toxins, a bug zapper is your best bet. An electric bug zapper emits ultraviolet rays that attract insects.
When they fly too close and touch the grid, they get electrocuted with a short “zap” sound. The dead insects drop to the base or on the ground, which makes for an easy clean-up.
4. Use vinegar
This pantry regular has a lot of uses, but not a lot of people know that it is a good bee repellent. It’s an option if you do not want to use chemical insecticides for the side effects.
It’s also good if you would rather repel bees than kill them. Note that this all-natural solution may not be as effective as other methods if the infestation is heavy.
Bees that are coated in this solution find it difficult to fly. If using the vinegar spray method, be sure to wear protective equipment when approaching the hive.
5. Use an ultrasonic pest repellent
Interesting trivia: Bees do not have ears. Instead of hearing a sound, they feel it through specialized organs on their antenna and their legs. These pick up air vibrations that bees use to communicate.
Neatmaster Ultrasonic Pest Repeller is a bee nest removal device that takes advantage of their sensitivity to sound. This emits sounds in three settings: bionic waves, electromagnetic waves, and ultrasonic waves.
The first two are undetectable to the human ear, making it an unobtrusive method of getting rid of honey bees. The third setting is best for heavy infestations, and it can be heard by humans.
6. Plant bee repelling plants
If you’re scratching your head, thinking about how to keep bees away with the very things that attract them, we understand where you’re coming from. Bees seek out plants to get nectar. So how would plants repel them?
The truth is, there are very few plants that act as effective bee deterrents. Cucumbers have acidic peels that get rid of bees and wasps.
Pennyroyal, neem, mint, cloves, eucalyptus, and citronella all have strong smells that deter bees. Red germaniums and red marigolds are among the few bee repellent plants that produce flowers.
Aside from planting bee repellent plants, you may also want to remove bee-attracting plants or at least position them in the farthest corner of your property. Replace flowers with leafy foliage, so bees do not have nectar.
7. Light a citronella candle
We already mentioned that citronella has a strong smell that repels bees. If you don’t have a green thumb, you can achieve the same effect with a citronella candle.
Citronella candles are much easier to find. They’re available in department stores and candle shops. These sell like hotcakes because they repel everything from bees to wasps, and mosquitoes to flies.
8. Use mothballs
Mothballs and bees are like oil and water: they do not mix. But what deters bees from this storage staple?
Mothballs are basically insecticides in the form of balls. In a process called sublimation, mothballs transform from solid directly into vapor over time. In doing so, the particles release that distinctive fresh-from-storage smell.
Mothballs can be made of either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Naphthalene not only drives bees in house out, but it also kills them. Before using this chemical, be sure to keep it somewhere safe as it can be toxic if eaten or inhaled by humans and pets.
9. Create a bee trap
Trapping bees is one way of getting rid of them. It entails luring them into a container they can easily enter but have trouble escaping from.
There are specially-made bee traps available, but the principles that make these effective can easily be replicated using items found in your home.
All bee traps have a narrow entry point into a large space. A sweet solution is placed inside to lure them. The bees are attracted, enter through a small hole, and are trapped when they cannot find the way out.
A do-it-yourself bee trap can be fashioned out of a 2-liter bottle. Cut it into two around five inches from the opening. Then invert the top half into the bottom half. It should look like a funnel.
Secure the two pieces using a stapler or heavy-duty tape. Once done, put a sweet mixture inside. The most effective would be artificial nectar, as this is their natural food. Other options include cane sugar or maple syrup mixed with water.
If your goal is to kill the bees, put a couple of inches of the solution inside to drown them. But if you prefer to trap them and set them free in a different area so they can continue to pollinate, put a smaller amount inside.
10. Use cinnamon for relocation
Cinnamon is a versatile spice, but not a lot of people know it’s great for getting rid of beehives. This natural bee repellent has a stench that bees find it hard to stomach.
If their nest smells of cinnamon, they tend to look for a different place to stay. You can sprinkle ground cinnamon near or on their hive. Just be sure to wear protective equipment as some bees may attack you once they get a sniff of the offensive smell.
You will have to keep this up for a couple of days to get the results you want. If you put a lot of powder, you see some bees stuck in it.
The powder appears to make movement difficult, and some people report that ground cinnamon can actually kill bees. However, the usual result is beehive relocation.
The results may not be immediate, but on the bright side, you’re able to get rid of bees naturally and without the ill effects of chemical pesticides. It’s also a good way to make bees go away without killing all of them.
You can also incorporate cinnamon into a homemade bee prevention spray. A couple of drops of cinnamon oil in a cup of baby shampoo can help get rid of honey bees.
11. Use garlic spray
Garlic has a pungent, spicy smell that bees and other insects do not like. This is an easy home remedy to get rid of bees because everything you need is already in your kitchen.
Before we discuss how to get rid of honey bees using garlic, it’s worth asking why it works in the first place. A study published in the Journal of Insect Science showed that garlic extract causes acute toxicity in bee larva, and decreased body mass and decreased walking activity in adult bees.
To make a strong repellent using garlic, you will need two full heads of garlic and a half cup of just-boiled water.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long does it take for bees to release Queen?
Manually releasing the queen used to be done routinely after three days or so, but more and more, beekeepers are waiting five days or more
What will kill queen bee?
When a new queen becomes available, the workers kill the reigning queen by “balling” her, clustering tightly around her. Death through balling is accomplished by surrounding the queen and raising her body temperature, causing her to overheat and die.
What happens if you kill the queen of bees?
So, please, if you really have to kill your queen-bee, do it only during the mating season or the colony will raise a virgin queen but that will get you nowhere. The eggs that a virgin queen can lay are not fertilised, so they will evolve into drones only, not workers.
What do you do with queen bees?
The Queen Bee plays a vital role in the hive because she is the only female with fully developed ovaries. The queen’s two primary purposes are to produce chemical scents that help regulate the unity of the colony and to lay lots of eggs.
How do I get rid of queen bees in my house?
Raise the curtains or blinds so the bee can exit. If the sun has set and you have a light directly outside the window, you can turn it on and turn off the lights of the room the bee is in. When the bee leaves to hover by the light outside, close the window behind it.
Are Queen Bees aggressive?
Of course, other factors can produce an aggressive hive. If the queen was superseded by a queen with more aggressive or Africanized genes, that could be the source of the problem. This is unlikely, however. More often than not aggressive behavior is merely a part of the cyclic nature of honey bee colonies.
How long does it take for a queen bee to come out?
Manually releasing the queen used to be done routinely after three days or so, but more and more, beekeepers are waiting five days or more.
What kills bees instantly?
Vinegar Solutions and Sprays
Bees cannot handle vinegar, causing them to die almost instantaneously after exposure. Simply mixing a solution of strong vinegar and water is all you have to do to get rid of small amounts of bees in your home.
Will a queen bee return to the hive?
Rare sight today as a new queen returns back to the hive after mating! For most colonies, honey bees will only replace their queen once every three to four years. When the colony deems it necessary to raise a new queen, larva is carefully selected, fed “royal jelly” and is encapsulated with a beeswax queen cell.
Will bees leave if you kill their queen?
Swarming is common after the loss of a queen bee, or if an aging queen bee’s egg-laying abilities are deteriorating. Some of the worker bees leave the colony with a new virgin queen and reproduce the colony elsewhere.
Why would you kill a queen bee?
If the queen is producing hungry, lazy, sterile males, then killing her allows one of her daughters to become a new queen, producing genuinely reproductive male heirs. The workers can then help the new queen perpetuate their collective genetic legacy.
What is the lifespan of a queen bee?
Queens take the shortest time to develop (16 days) and have the longest lifespan. Queens live on average 1–2 years (Page and Peng 2001), although a maximum lifespan of 8 years was reported in one study (Bozina 1961).
How many queen bees are in each hive?
Each hive has one queen, and 100 female worker bees for every male drone bee. The queen’s only job is to lay eggs and a drone’s job is to mate with the queen.
How can you tell a queen bee?
Most beekeepers can identify the queen by sight, but if you’re new, you may have trouble picking her out from the worker bees. The queen bee is larger, but more specifically, she is longer. Her lengthy abdomen extends out beyond the tip of her wings, giving her the appearance of having short wings.
How many eggs does a queen bee lay in a year?
She will lay about 1000 -1500 per day during the honey production season to maintain a hives numbers, replacing those bees who have died. Between 175000-200000 eggs are laid each year. A queen bee usually lives from two to four years but we have seen queens that are five years old.
How do you persuade bees to leave?
As bees are attracted by sweet-smelling nectar, they can be repelled by pungent smells. Spread garlic powder, cucumber peels, or burn citronella candles near beehives in order to make them relocate. Call an exterminator.
What smells do bees hate?
Bees also have a distaste for lavender oil, citronella oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, lemon, and lime. These are all topical defenses you can add to your skin to keep bees away. Unlike other flying insects, bees are not attracted to the scent of humans; they are just curious by nature.
How do you get rid of bees sitting outside?
Set out a bowl or cup with some flat soda, fruit juice, maple syrup, or sugar water a few yards away from your picnic. Bees are attracted to the sugary scent and will pursue this instead of your lunch
When you kill a bee do more come?
The bees feel threatened and their natural response is to rise up together and defend their queen.” And no, it doesn’t help if you kill an attacking bee. According to the Saguaro National Park guide, a killed bee gives off an “alarm scent” that will only serve to call its hive-mates to the scene of the crime.
What happens if you kill a queen bee in front of the hive?
When a queen bee dies, worker bees will try to raise a new queen from the brood. It will take workers around an hour to determine whether their queen has gone missing, and they will begin building emergency queen cells to raise a new one.
How long does it take for a queen bee to hatch?
Queen development takes 16 days from egg laying to eclosed (emerged) adult virgin queen bee. The egg is laid in a cup and hatches on the 3rd day. The larva is fed copious amounts of Royal Jelly until day 8 when the cell is sealed or capped.
How do you rear a queen bee?
Place a comb of unsealed honey and pollen with bees on each side of the brood. Place empty combs in the box to fill the gaps. Add extra young bees into the starter colony by shaking bees from another 2 or 3 combs (preferably brood combs) of the 2-storey hive. Add a feeder of sugar syrup to the starter.
How do you get rid of bees naturally?
To make a homemade vinegar solution, mix together equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Mix the solution well, then spray it over any areas you frequently see bees. You can also spray the mixture directly onto the bee nest, which will kill the bees inside.
What happens if you block the entrance to a bees nest?
For honey bees, it is essential that entrance points or blocked off, and if possible remove all the honeycomb. Failure to do this will cause robber bees to find the infected honey and take it back to their hive, thus contaminating it.