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Author Topic: Honey Dripping From Soffit  (Read 6301 times)

Offline mtnb

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Honey Dripping From Soffit
« on: May 16, 2017, 12:11:45 pm »
Hi guys.  I went and looked at a future cut out. Bees have been in the soffit on and off since 2010. They didn't mind them there in the past but now honey has started dripping out of the soffit, which is a good 30' off the ground.  Nobody seems to be sure if bees are in there right now. When i had a chance to go look, the weather was bad so I also didn't see any bees.

What would cause the honey to suddenly start dripping? ...It's not like it's been warm enough here yet to melt wax.

The gent would like some of the honey after the cut out. How much would be fair to give him? (I told him I'd charge $50/hr but I also thought I'd get a colony out of it.)
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2017, 12:24:18 pm »
Yvonne,
more than likely the honey is dripping because SHB have taken over the hive and slimmed it. I once did a trap out on an outside wall above a brick wall and the inside wall had honey and SHB  larvae dripping out from under 8'  of crown molding. She was cleaning it up for 3 weeks. I had to cut open the floor in the room above it and remove the hive and remove the crown molding. $50 dollars an hour is a good price.
Most of the honey will not be any good.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2017, 12:49:35 pm »
Ok. Thanks Jim. I didn't think of that. I have no issues with shb here. I saw a larvae last year once but the bees must have taken care of it because i never saw any signs of them since. Would the honey still be good to feed to my own bees? At least I bet I'll get lots of wax for candles. :)
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2017, 01:05:57 pm »
Also, how will i know if the honey is good or not? Just by the taste?
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2017, 01:14:16 pm »
Honey that is dripping from an undamaged  cell is probably fouled by the SHB larvae. You may have some frames that are ok if the bees kept them protected. You can try tasting it but I usually go by looks. It is usually dripping and looks slimmed.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Jim134

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2017, 05:24:21 pm »
 Wax moths can do the same thing. They are not as fast acting as SHB. I know where I am in Vermont there are very few SHB. The thing there is a lot of wax moths. After about the third week in June.
 . I do know bees will eat honey that has been infected by Wax moths . I don't believe this is true with SHB.


        BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :smile:
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
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Offline iddee

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2017, 08:39:20 pm »
Mice, ants, wax moths, roaches, and then SHB. If the honey is dripping, the bees are likely gone and you are in for a big mess.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline KeyLargoBees

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2017, 01:55:15 pm »
If the soffit is 30' off the ground carefully consider before agreeing to do this....2nd story ladder work is no fun and whatever price you agree on probably won't be enough when its all said and done and you have been standing under slimed dripping honey all day ;-)

If you have any way to set scaffolding or get someone with a lift or cherry picker thats a much better option than an extension ladder leaning on a house ;-)
Jeff Wingate

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Offline Acebird

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2017, 02:49:34 pm »
Also the roof could have a leak that ran into the honey which will cause fermentation.  The dripping honey can attract other bees and then a robbing frenzy ensues.  Most likely the queen will get killed and the the bees of the colony will join other colonies with whatever good honey is left.  I wouldn't expect to get bees in this situation.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline Jim134

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2017, 08:13:13 pm »
I agree with replied number 6. If honey is dripping from this colony. Most likely there are no Bees in it.



             BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :smile:
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline herbhome

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2017, 09:13:59 pm »
Are SHB in Montana?
Neill

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #11 on: May 30, 2017, 12:06:20 pm »
Herb, I haven't seen any shb here in MT yet. I meant I saw a wax moth larva once.
Jeff, I'm engaging my carpenter/contractor husband in this cut out. lol The homeowner wants the bee issue taken care of most of all but they also want to add a window, change the siding, make a new driveway, etc, so my hubby will put up some scaffolding and cut things open for me. I'll take care of the bee stuff and he and his crew will take care of the rest. :)
There are no bees in there for sure. We know this now. Hopefully there will be something in that soffit that I can use. Well, if anything, I'll get some $$$ and some wax for my candles. And maybe some of the honey is salvageable. Thanks guys.


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I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline Captain776

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2017, 11:56:40 pm »
Let's us know what you find.
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2017, 10:32:10 am »
Ok. I will. Last Saturday the lady called me and said scouts were there looking. She says this usually happens before the bees come. She said she'd text me a picture once they came but hasn't. My hubby spoke with the man about siding on Tuesday and he confirmed that the bees are back. Not sure what that means. Maybe the existing comb and honey is not as bad as we suspect?

Not sure when my hubby has this scheduled for, but I'll definitely keep you guys updated.
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline Dallasbeek

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #14 on: June 10, 2017, 09:08:38 pm »
Yvonne, your life is jut full of fun and excitement!  How many cutouts have you done since that attic thing way back? We were all pulling for you every day on that one.
"Liberty lives in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no laws, no court can save it." - Judge Learned Hand, 1944

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #15 on: June 13, 2017, 12:47:06 pm »
Dallas, I wish I could tell you I have done more but that liquor store cut out has been my only one so far. I really loved doing it and want more of that. :cheesy: It was one of the hardest things I've done in my life so far but I remember how great if felt after seeing a light at the end of the tunnel after 8 hours. lol I so appreciate all you guys here helping me through that!!! <3

I do have another cut out scheduled, besides this one, in Butte, also in a soffit. They were in there all last year and he agreed to wait til this spring. It was a rental so then he wanted to wait til the renters were out, which now they are, but weather has not been cooperating until now. It looks like it will be ok this coming Saturday though, so as long as things work out with my husband, I should have another hive then.  :grin:
This time, I WILL put a queen excluder on the bottom for a week or so, so she can't leave. Idk if you remember, but shortly after that liquor cut out, I happened to see my queen on the front porch. I just put her back in, but they swarmed on me shortly after that. Made me sad too. She was a beautiful queen. Super dark and big. What was left never did make a new queen and I ended up having a laying worker hive. Fun fun. Seriously. It was! I learned a ton!  :wink: (If I ever see my queen like that again, I'm going to take her and put her in a new hive!)
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #16 on: July 12, 2017, 04:23:30 pm »
Well the Butte bees ended up being in the wall and we got them out via an inside closet. Very small colony. My hubby didn't think so. Lol he opened the Sheetrock and they started coming out into the closet and my hubby said, you know this is just a little bit scary right? lol

The big soffit cut out in Bozeman is now happening next week. There are bees up in the soffit and a few days ago they called and said another colony has moved into their garage. I think I found a sweet spot!!! 😁 Bob is going there on Monday to set up scaffolding and pull the siding and soffit. I'm off Tuesday so I'll go the next day and do the removals. They'll be ok being open like that over night, right? It's been in the 50s and 60s at night. They won't abscond or anything, or?
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #17 on: July 12, 2017, 04:47:29 pm »
They should be fine. I have removed open air hives here in spring in 2011. It was a softball size swarm on a branch in Feb. We had a cold spring and I removed a football sized hive hanging on a branch in April. Pretty sure it was a lot colder than 50 degrees that spring.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #18 on: July 12, 2017, 06:17:58 pm »
Ok. Thanks Jim. I thought so but wanted to make sure.
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline mtnb

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Re: Honey Dripping From Soffit
« Reply #19 on: July 24, 2017, 11:22:36 am »
Well we did the Bozeman removal. Two live colonies and one abandoned nest removed. The ones in the soffit were the ones where honey was dripping out. From what I saw, the drips were towards the front where new comb and honey was being stored. It really wasn't anything. A couple of tablespoons. The comb and everything else looked good.

Fun removal. And the people were super nice. I'm attaching a link to the pictures. It starts from the bottom up. The changed the page and I'm on my phone and don't know how to reverse it. :).

http://s284.photobucket.com/user/MTBeeGirl/library/?sort=3&page=1
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!