Some bees have started a hive underneath a plant hanging on the wall outside my rooftop apartment. It started with about two or three and as grown to about 10 of them. The bees are about 2-3 centimeters long (an inch and a half maybe) with yellow markings, and fairly placid and slow moving. When I go and pour water all over the plant they get mildly agitated but no more. Occasionally one will race out and back but thats about it.
My question: Can anyone identify these bees? Should I remove the beehive? Will they become a problem in the future? I’m not much into killing things unless they really cause a problem. The neighbors told me that one of them got stung last year by a similar bee from a hive out the back of their place and it swelled up like a balloon. Still not convinced that I need to do anything about these bees that haven’t exhibited the slightest bit of threatening behavior. Am I being stupid?
And if I really do need to get rid of the hive - current dimensions about 10 by 10 centimeters - what’s the best way to do so that won’t cause the bees to suffer? Slow death by insecticide is pretty uncool in my view.
Some suggestions have been boiling water sprayed on the hive and putting out mosquito coils until the bees leave. (that last one didn’t have much success so I gave up after a couple of coils)
Bite the bullet. Wait till dark, cut the thing down and catch it in a plastic bag. Carry it far far away, put it down in some area with bushes and trees, open the bag and GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM THERE!
Or else call the fire department. But they’ll kill them.
Mosquito coils are too subtle, they’re and not specifically for bees. Why not set up a bbq underneath? Set it up after dark when the bees are all there. Pile it high with charcoal to burn for hours, while you are safe inside. Later, if the bees aren’t gone they’ll be so stunned you’ll easily be able to remove the hive (a la Sandman’s suggestion) with probably only one or two stings. But be warned: there is a species of bee here called the Tiger bee and mass stings can be fatal. It’s orangey-yellow. Even 10 or so stings can knock you out or make you woozy. So if you don’t want to fuck around, douse the nest with petrol and light it up. Keep a hose or bucket handy so as not to light up the tree itself.
Prepare a steel container such as a hibachi, with charcoal and paper to create smoke. Tie or tape a knife securely onto a broomstick. Put on very heavy full-length clothing, gloves, and a wide-brim bamboo hat like the street cleaners wear. Cover the hat and your face and neck with cheese cloth, so the wide hat brim keeps the fabric well away from your skin.
Thus armed, go smoke 'em, then cut it down. Bag it, seal it, and dump it in the wild like Sandman said, while wearing the protective garb.
So far the best suggestion is Sandman’s: bang the hive into a bag and then remove it to one of the hillsides around the city. It will involve a certain degree of beehive gongfu - me holding a bag under the hive while my girlfriend whacks it ineptly with a stick from as far away as she can. I don’t really fancy just clipping the top with the garden shears as that’s where all the bees/wasps hang out.
And yes, they probably are wasps, although, I don’t really get the comment about Taiwan being too cold in winter for bees. So what about northern Europe, the States, or New Zealand, or, indeed, all those other places that are colder than Taiwan in Winter - and Summer - and have bees.
I’m also curious as to why these wasps/bees are so placid. The wasps I know from NZ are small fast and nasty. There’s even a new, particularly virulent type from Africa or South America which is taking over the forests and will attack as soon as you get anywhere near them. My hive are very laid back types.
Don’t be banging at it with a stick! That’ll rile them up no end. Wear gloves and snip the top where it’s attached. That way, it and the wasps end up in the bag before they’ve realized what’s going on. Easy.
If you leave it where it is it’ll only get bigger and more difficult to deal with.
Thought I’d update the bee/wasp situation. The hive is still in existence and has grown to about 30 wasps. I have been slowly clipping away the plant to allow easy access for the plastic bag underneath that I plan to take them away in. The wasps continue to be amazingly placid - they’ll stir a little at the presence of the clippers in my hand a few centimeters away and that’s it. I’m a little freaked at how many there are now - and growing in size all the time - but have also got sort of attached to them. All they seem to be doing is making a home without bothering me in any way. What’s to complain about that.
Maybe the hive is in a building stage and once that is over the wasps will get territorial and aggressive. In any case, at this point I’m just waiting for when I have time to drop the hive into a bag and relocate it on a hillside. I have a good spot in mind.
Go buy insect spray, wait until dark, spray the hell out of them … they are a menace, just kill … repeat next night as some have possibly not returned to the hive the night before and continue building the nest … but keep distance when spraying.
They are probably wasps but can be hornets, hornets are wasps too … wasps are not hornets
Wild bees are common in Taiwan, but they are not yellow black striped and are way smaller …
30 wasps? I wouldn’t touch that, snipping and bagging … too dangerous … just do the spray thing from a hide out or a distance, or spray and run inside, then repeat a few times and wait until morning to see the result … if all wasps are gone, snip and keep the hive as a souvenir …
[quote=“Belgian Pie”]Go buy insect spray, wait until dark, spray the hell out of them … they are a menace, just kill … repeat next night as some have possibly not returned to the hive the night before and continue building the nest … but keep distance when spraying.
They are probably wasps but can be hornets, hornets are wasps too … wasps are not hornets
Wild bees are common in Taiwan, but they are not yellow black striped and are way smaller …
30 wasps? I wouldn’t touch that, snipping and bagging … too dangerous … just do the spray thing from a hide out or a distance, or spray and run inside, then repeat a few times and wait until morning to see the result … if all wasps are gone, snip and keep the hive as a souvenir …[/quote]
No, I don’t think that’s necessary. They’ve been there for three or four weeks. Very mellow. They’re never ever been threatening in any sense. They have to go before too long, I agree, but I prefer my method of relocation to somewhere that’s well away from houses and paths, to your ‘spraying the hell out of them’.
I hate to come out with a cliche but on the evidence there’s more chance of me being hit by a yellow cab than being stung by one of these very chilled out insects. Maybe I should get out and spray the hell out of as many Taipei cabbies as I can.
Eeek. I used to take care of bees at a science center. 3cm sounds a bit large for a honey bee. Sounds more like a wasp or hornet. These can be especially aggressive and teritorial.
If you’re going to whack at the nest, be aware that it may not drop straight down (because you’re hitting at it like a softball). I don’t want to imagine a nightmare situation where this thing gets punted and falls on someone trying to hold a bag underneath it. Nests tend to be anchored fairly well so you may need a lot of force to knock it down (a small nest may not be anchored so permanently). Sawing or cutting is another option, or just being really, really careful it falls into the bag and not onto the ground or someone else.
Be careful, they may be chill now, but when their distress phermones get in the air their attitude changes competely.
Also, wasps and hornets can sting multiple times. Honey bees, only once.
Growth is going to go geometric on you pretty soon as the number of foraging insects increases and can feed more larvae.
Personally, if the the fire dept. is willing to do it for free, I’d let them. If you’re going to do it, I’d second the opinion of using a long-distance spray used when the nest is inactive. Moving the nest is probably going to result in the death of the hive since it will no longer be protected by location and ground-foraging critters / weather can get to it. No sense in risking getting anyone hurt just to extend the life of the hive by a couple of days.
No, I don’t think that’s necessary. They’ve been there for three or four weeks. Very mellow. They’re never ever been threatening in any sense. They have to go before too long, I agree, but I prefer my method of relocation to somewhere that’s well away from houses and paths, to your ‘spraying the hell out of them’.
I hate to come out with a cliche but on the evidence there’s more chance of me being hit by a yellow cab than being stung by one of these very chilled out insects. Maybe I should get out and spray the hell out of as many Taipei cabbies as I can.[/quote]
Wait until you touch the hive … you’ll run for cover … oh, I forgot … don’t wear black clothes, black has something that attracts wasps and hornets … they also go for your mouth and nostrils, dark, black holes …
The scientists say that the wasps are beneficial and play an important role but that they can be dangerous. The consensus here and everywhere is to remove them from areas close to people. I guess its my call about running the risk. I’ve also learned that the hive will naturally die off once winter arrives and that a dead hive is not used again. I could just wait until December.
I’m not sure what you mean here Hippo [quote] Be careful, they may be chill now, but when their distress phermones get in the air their attitude changes competely.
[/quote] You mean once they get agitated then they’ll all attack? My view is that they’re only going to get riled up if I go and poke them with a stick, and I’ve no plans to do that.
And you’re right about the surge in growth. The hive seemed to jump from about 9 or so to about 30 overnight. Since that increase, however, it doesn’t seem to have grown any more.
It sounds grim but you’d be surprised how uninterested these wasps seem in me.
As to the relocation. That won’t involve whacking away at the hive with a bat. Now that I’ve trimmed away all the plant growth I just need slip a bag underneath and then up to close around the hook to which the plant holder is attached. Recall the hive is attached to the underside of this plant holder. I then detach the plant holder with plant and hive from the wall and reattach it to a convenient tree branch. I don’t need to detach the hive in any way and it will remain above ground level.
Btw, Maoman, could you direct me to info on how to post an image? I tried to post a couple of the hive a while back and read in the help that the posting of images was not currently possible. If you tell me how to do it, I’ll post a couple of shots showing the wasps and the holder.
