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Author Topic: Neighbor feeding my bees  (Read 2034 times)

Offline derekNGA

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Neighbor feeding my bees
« on: February 18, 2019, 09:10:49 am »
Last year was not a good honey producing year for me.  My area had more rain than usual,  my hives swarmed alot,  plus health kept me from doing as should. Not to mention 2/3 of my bees range was sprayed which was a few large acreage tracks of land sprayed for various reasons that surrounded me,  just all happened to occur at same time. So I did not harvest any honey after spring.  Not that they had much but they did have a medium full.  I always leave for them and I never touch.  Summer dearth came but they maintained their supplies.  Usually in fall I get another harvest from golden rod and rag weed.  Not last year due to the lands being sprayed. Anyway, my bees still had their medium supers full.
Im in Georgia and all fall and winter we have had besutiful warm spells.   Still winter,  nothing blooming but long warm spells.   My bees would work like crazy all day and be processing "honey". ,(baffled) I had one hive die off in Dec-Jan.  It was a weak hive for a while but when I went in to clean out after the die off they had their entire brood deep full of "nectar" uncapped (still baffled).  I disposed of all that and because what was capped had been beetle slimed.
Ok, now February....bees had still been working and processing like mad.  (Still baffled).  Had another hive die off.  Same thing.  Brood deep full of "nectar " and white crystals.  Hmmmm.
They had two mediums full of capped.  Thinking from last year  and not being slimed I decided to harvest.   Turned out real thin honey.  2 weeks later (now) all that honey bottled is now crystalized sugar.
Discovered.....neighhor (really new beek) harvested all his bees honey, and has had a 5 gallon bucket with sugar syrupfeeding publicly all fall and winter to feed his bees (he does not want to feed internally) and he enjoys watching all the bees come to the feeder.
So, now I have 8 hives, consists of deep and two mediums each full of syrup.  Mixed in with what good honey was/is there.  What does one do?
I cant process and sell it.
I can't take it all off and leave my bees nothing.
I can't leave it on and let contaminate this up coming honey.
What do others do and how to rectify?
As you all know,  alot of hard work and time and money is all bad now.


Offline iddee

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2019, 10:13:37 am »
Talk to your neighbor. Give him enough frames of it to allow him to stop feeding. Replace with empty frames for honey. Work with him for the betterment of both.
"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"

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Online Acebird

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2019, 02:42:02 pm »
You are not going to get any better advice than that.  Maybe you can get him to understand the risks involved in open feeding.  #1 he is paying to feed everyone's hives.
Had you known he was going to do that you could have harvested all the honey and let him feed your hives through winter.  Not a plan I like but better then what you got.
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Offline cao

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2019, 02:54:14 pm »
Like iddee said, talk to him and at least have him give you a heads up on when he starts feeding so you can harvest your honey.  As far as the frames that you have that are full of capped sugar water, I would you use them for early splits. 

Offline ed/La.

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2019, 07:16:22 am »
Mark the frames and do not harvest them. The bees will eventually consume them. You could give them to your splits and not harvest off those hives.Tell neighbor what happened. Your bees were fed for free. No big deal. 

Offline JackM

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2019, 08:55:22 am »
Actually have a similar problem due to hummingbird feeders. 
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2019, 12:26:51 pm »
Actually have a similar problem due to hummingbird feeders. 
Oh my gosh, I never even though about that.  I'll have to keep a mind on my hummingbird feeder when I put mine out and make sure my bees aren't going for it.   
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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2019, 11:15:21 pm »
Actually have a similar problem due to hummingbird feeders. 
Oh my gosh, I never even though about that.  I'll have to keep a mind on my hummingbird feeder when I put mine out and make sure my bees aren't going for it.

I wonder if you were to add food coloring to your hummingbird feeders, would the color show up in your sugar watered bee frame stores?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline JackM

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2019, 08:49:56 am »
Actually have a similar problem due to hummingbird feeders. 
Oh my gosh, I never even though about that.  I'll have to keep a mind on my hummingbird feeder when I put mine out and make sure my bees aren't going for it.

I wonder if you were to add food coloring to your hummingbird feeders, would the color show up in your sugar watered bee frame stores?
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2019, 09:47:02 am »
Ben,
Many years ago a Beekeeper near Disney World had a problem with his honey being colored. Turns out that they were getting into the snow cone syrup.
Jim
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Offline Ben Framed

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Re: Neighbor feeding my bees
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2019, 11:34:04 am »
Ben,
Many years ago a Beekeeper near Disney World had a problem with his honey being colored. Turns out that they were getting into the snow cone syrup.
Jim

Interesting Jim😁 Free feed from Disney.  Leads me to another question.  derekNGA, why  not ask the  neighbor to add the food coloring to his sugar syrup while he is mixing, you will receive a reference as to how much free feed you receive along with eliminating the problem distinguishing sugar syrup from real honey. Same with hummingbird feeding neighbor? Win win situation?

Also, I remember watching one of JPs videos where he removed colored honey, which was behind a brick wall. 
« Last Edit: February 20, 2019, 02:11:11 pm by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.