BEES HATE THIS THING! - Checking the Horizontal Hive Split

[@sentry500]

I enjoy that you do not just show what is going good, but what is not. A lot of other youtubers would just edit out their failures. Thank you for this.

[@daddykirbs]

Real life.

[@michaelclancy3644]

It’s been suggested for inspections, that you remove the frame closes to the side of the box first since Queen is rarely there and set that aside to give you more room to move frames to the side before taking out and avoid “rolling” the Queen.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Kirbs, that long hive split went well but they were so furious because of how you went in it. The first horizontal got so worked up because after the crushes and stings you should have puffed smoke. If not then you needed to walk away for a bit. Before going into the long split you needed to let things settle down and puff smoke around. When you opened it up they sniffed the air and caught all that scent that you were smelling. You had angry bees and angry bee smell all over you, the microphone and the area you see. I did it myself just this morning. I worked the fourth hive and almost fell and caught myself on the box, it's a vertical box I use to transport and hold cutouts, and crushed bees under my hand. I forgot and went to work a fifth hive and they all jumped out like hornets. My bees are sweet sweet ladies. Kiss you on the top of your head sweet. But I brought all that scent with me. I don't smoke anymore so I walked away and smoked a Joe, rubbed a bunch of rosemary between my hands and everything was golden. I knew about this and I still did it brother. I think you do a good job in your bee yard. Try not to be too rough on yourself. Like you said, learning opportunity. And again, super job on that horizontal split! Now go tack a strip of wood on top of your follower board lol

[@petermurphy6216]

Hello friend , whenever I need to do splits I always move them well apart from each other and I will block the hive entrance up for a day or two it also helps if you place a branch of a bush or tree in front of there entrance, closing up the hive get them acclimatised to there new surroundings, I’ve never used a long box but them little fiddly pieces of wood used as covers don’t look right to me one sure fire way of getting your girls riled up when you squash some bees but they do look healthy bees my friend , good luck friend.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Yeah I caught on to the branch trick a while back too! Life saver! You can move a box as close or far as you want if you put something in front of the entrance. Good call.

[@jarnold8803]

Thanks for the update on the long Langstroth hive

[@thuffman44]

Excellent progress update Blake! I enjoy watching & listening to you as you narrate your decision making. I can offer two suggestions which may help. First, for the horizontal hives, maybe consider cutting a roll of reflectix to size that you can put under the wooden boards? (reflectix is used to wrap water heaters and pipes for insulation, but many beekeepers use it for inner covers)... Second, would be to consider using a portable audio recorder instead of the dead-cat for a microphone. I use a taz cam audio recorder. It runs on double A batteries and I just press play on both the camera and the audio recorder when starting so everything sync's up pretty well. Regardless, FANTASTIC update video. Big tumbs up from me!!! No doubt, there's always an opportunity to learn from the honeybees. NOTHING IN THIS VIDEO WAS YOUR FAULT!!! You are doing fantastic in my opinion.

[@daddykirbs]

Thank you Tim. I really appreciate your comments. I might try your detached audio device, or maybe in the interim put a white cotton sock over my mic. That might help keep them off.

[@mayan9458]

Omg.. those are some angry bees. Geeeezus. No more splits!

[@massachusettsprepper]

Other than losing that one small nuc everything else looks good. And if you're going to use old jeans in your smoker once you get your fire going you really have to pack it full. Old jeans are all I use for smoker fuel and with seven different apiaries mine will stay going all day long and burned very little of the denim. I hope this helps and as always my friend thanks for sharing.

[@daddykirbs]

I need to start collecting a lot more denim! Do you just crumble it up or do you roll it up neat and tidy?

[@massachusettsprepper]

@@daddykirbs I cut the legs in about 6-inch pieces and crumble them up and stick them in the smoker. I use a propane torch to light the bottom piece and get it burning really good and then just keep packing until it is full. Maybe I'll do a video on it and let you know when I have it done so you can check it out.

[@goodcitizen3780]

@@massachusettsprepper Please update here if you make that video. I don't really have experience with denim and I'm very interested. Nice handle btw

[@eloquenthillbilly]

Do they make a white fuzzy thing( wind sock?) for microphones? I don't know if it would make a difference but in most beekeeping vids I watch they always seem to go after the microphones first. EDIT: Decided to answer my own question and apparently they do. They have a fuzzy white windscreen(pop filter?) on amazon. If I ever get around to beekeeping I'll buy one to see if it makes a difference.

[@daddykirbs]

Thank you. I have decided, next time out I'll slide a white sock over the mic to see how they like that.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Oh good idea guys!

[@als484]

I build a 21 frame long hive with 4 inner covers covering 5 frames each so I can add more boxes on top of it

[@als484]

Forgot to mention that I can mow and weed eater all around them with no reaction from them,very gentle hive of bees

[@goodcitizen3780]

Man that was the first thing I noticed when I went to long hives! Even my sweetest girls got sweeter

[@isettech]

I've noticed most of the animals that raid bees are furry, so this is a natural response. Most often they go after hair. I had a bee attack me once and I just thought he got stuck in my hair, so I pulled out a pocket comb, got under him and flicked him out. I watched in surprise as he was tossed about 3 feet, made a u turn and straight back into my hair. I combed him into a napkin following that, so I avoided getting stung. This is normal bee defense mode. In the fur looking for an opening while ignoring light bare face and arms. LOL.

[@Mulberrysmile]

Try putting old drawer or cabinet pulls on the horizontal hive boards to facilitate removing and replacing them.

[@daddykirbs]

This would be a nice addition to the hive if I decide to keep this style of inner cover.

[@goodcitizen3780]

That helped me Ronnie. Way back I went to habitat for humanity re store and found some super sweet sunflower cabinet pulls. They looked so nice

[@spicyflyhoneybees1478]

If that colony doesn't calm down after a couple months with the new queen i would consider requeening both the mother hive and the split. Most of the time bees behaving badly can be contributed to the beekeeper not being gentle enough or weather conditions but to be honest, if one of my hive behaved the way that one did i would be giving both of those queens the hive tool test right then and there and requeening the next day. I don't tolerate overly defensive bees...

[@goodcitizen3780]

Oh Kirbs, as for the cover boards.. I don't know about up there but three big ones wouldn't work where I am because they cup and warp with humidity. I don't know but I think they will do the same for you at least in summer because of how dry it gets outside vs the evaporative moisture from the bees cooling and making honey. I usually take some off of the empty side of the hive and use that space to place the active side boards, then to recover I slide them down and I don't have to fight to not crush the gals. I hope that helps

[@Enn-]

Maybe a mic cover that doesn't look like a predator would help. I'm not a bee keeper, but seeing their interaction with your mic made me wonder.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Exactly right. Maybe even the usual black foam thingy?

[@ME_MeAndMyBees]

Take a look at the Horizontal Hive Videos by Phil Chandler (UK) on KZbin. He uses Rainwater and Peppermint Essential Oil to mist his Girls, rather than Smoke ! He also uses Reflective Thermal Sheet to cover the exposed bars, as he inspects the hive. Hope this helps with the Pheromones, and flight Disturbance issues !?! 😵

[@marcovtjev]

Dr Leo's frames' upper plank is wider so that the upper planks touch each other, and bees can't get between the frames and the covering planks. That way replacing those loose planks is not such a bother. They are mostly isolation

[@OldReddingFarm]

did it take you long to get used to all the bees buzzing all around? did you ever feel nervous with them? right around the 14 minute mark when I could see bees crawling around on your thumb and then you shook the bees off I don't know if I will be able to handle it.

[@daddykirbs]

Took a season or two lol.

[@deborahtofflemire7727]

My fave rate is your bee keeping Thanks from Ontario Canada.

[@OldReddingFarm]

wow definitely seems like need fewer larger lids for that horizontal hive

[@sandram6913]

I am so fascinated with all that you do. I love watching your progress. Many blessings to you!!

[@daddykirbs]

Thank you so much!

[@user-bi5if1ip6t]

This was amazing nice bird song so peaceful and the buzzing bees are awesome. You got followed and stalked home. You were smooth and gentle they just were in the mood to buzz hard. Love the joy of bee keeping.

[@daddykirbs]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@RA-sz5tu]

best tip, join a bee keeping club and attend the meetings

[@matty5689]

What cracks me up is this dude only responds to praise. I'm like...he's just breeding thousands and thousands of killer bees. Their taking on that microphone like it needs to be killed.

[@spencerjensen1993]

Well the thing is that only bees like that can survive in the wild or in an apiary without treatment for veroa destructor mites, small hive beetles, and wax moths. “Killer bees” aren’t necessarily killers, they are just the bee that is native to Northern Europe. Wild bees will groom off veroa mites from each other and even chew off the legs and mouth of the mites so the mites can’t attach onto another bee. They also push back against small hive beetles and wax moths. The microphone looks like a furry bear or skunk so it looks like an animal that would want to destroy their home. Wouldn’t you want to defend yourself against something or someone who wanted to destroy your home? (I don’t mean the beekeeper, I mean bears, skunks, honey badgers, and other animals that want to rob beehives for their honey.)

[@reneebrown5598]

Yes you can run inner covers instead of slats. I like the slats because I don't have to piss too many bees at one time.

[@CriaAndKiddFW]

Can you use your brush to skooch the bees off so they don't get squished on the horizontal plaits? Or smoke them a little more often. Just a thought.

[@marklazarus2584]

Great video, I am a second year beekeeper and I am interested in the horizontal hives, thinking of trying one next year. I will keep watching

[@daddykirbs]

Dr. Leo has a lot of great information on it. He has several books on the subject as well as his website. www.horizontalhive.com

[@dlbraly]

Thanks for sharing.

[@OldReddingFarm]

OH my the bees on that mic cover!! do you think its the color?? or they think its an animal invading their hive???? wow

[@daddykirbs]

It may be a combination of the fur looking like an animal and the electronic noise of the camera. They don't really like my camera either when I use it. However they don't try to kill it like they did this!

[@ronkamphuis2136]

Hi, Just wondering if the bees in the mic cover were releasing an alarm phermone that caused the others to attack. it seemed that the bees in the second split came out hot and went straight for it largely ignoring you. Love your work

[@goodcitizen3780]

Excellent work Mr Ron. I think the same thing Sir

[@beraglia881]

probably they saw it as a mouse.

[@chrisdahl864]

Hi Blake, it's fun to watch your adventure in beekeeping. I'm curious, if you replace the small boards with 3 large ones, would putting hinges on them work/make it easier to raise them to inspect?? As I said, just curious.

[@daddykirbs]

I'm not sure hinges would be needed, but I do think that maybe doing larger inner covers might help some. I don't know... will keep researching.

[@ufukgunes6592]

Thanks you. Watching video nice ver nice

[@GHumpty1965]

628dirtrooster when he makes a split blocks the entry ways for a couple of days to make the bees acclimate to the new hive.

[@daddykirbs]

Yep, I certainly lost a good opportunity with this one. I'll do better next time.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Lol @ dirtrooster. The beek everyone loves to hate. He has some good stuff. Ood video with him and schawee and JP and ummmmm the guy from the Abbey in Covington,LA

[@kickinitwithkaren]

Oh my Goodness Blake, I hadnt seen so far into this last time. The BEES are crazy!

[@daddykirbs]

You are a busy teacher and content creator. I'm surprised you have time to watch any of it! LOL ... but I'm glad you do ;)

[@FloryJohann]

At 13:40 those frames are the hive beetle breeder/keeper plastic frames. Hive beetles can hide in the small spaces and the bees can not get to them. Get the wooden frames with the plastic inserts, that is what I done. I got tired creating so many hidding places for the beetles which took a lot of bees to controll them. I filled some with wax , but it takes a lot of wax. Just swap them, it makes the bees more happy and productive.

[@shannonswyatt]

Nope, when the frames are in the hives the open spaces butt up against the next frame. The only frames that have the openings on the frames exposed are the side frames. And the bees propolize them up, so that isn't a problem either. If it were me though I would use Acorn frames. Some of those frames look like they didn't have enough wax on them to start.

[@artbysolar-theresa]

Also larger cover boards will warp from the humidity. And your mic is a predator color lol. OMG requeen your ladies. They are hot!

[@Haffy1952]

I also liked the new video but from the split in the Langstroth hive I wished you had used the correct frame for the particular hive instead of the 2 different size frames, won't that cause a problem in the future if they build comb on the bottom of the medium size frames? What do I know. I'm not a beekeeper. Just an observation. Keep up the good work. HAFFY

[@daddykirbs]

Once they build on the bottom of the medium it will essentially be a deep. No problems with that so far.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Plus you can use the bottom bits for cut comb honey. Mmmmm mmmmm good!

[@josephkupra6725]

dude thanks for sharing, hope you know now when to walk away and when to run.... lol

[@sweeteststingsapiary8853]

Good job.

[@artbysolar-theresa]

Try sliding the cover board over instead of picking it up after you remove 1-2 to work the hive. I find it easier and better on the girls.and on your next hives don’t have the lip on your side of the hive. This makes it easier to lift the boards.

[@herbertherbomoore415]

There's alot of grass their, yet no snakes! Where are you at?

[@johnshumate9713]

When you make a split you should move the split away from the parent colony.

[@paulschaefer5241]

Those bees must think your mic is a bear.

[@KittieSimsGamer]

That is what I'm thinking or some animal that may hurt them

[@als484]

Need a hair net for the mic

[@FloryJohann]

Why would a bee think that it is a bear it they never seen one within their short lifespan ?

[@SaffronDallimore]

J & B Homeliving Could be instinct? They just see something that they know they’re not comfortable with.

[@FeralHomestead]

Texture and color it’s a fury animal attacking there home so they dig to get to the skin. That’s the bio behind their microphone attack

[@daddykirbs]

They certainly did dig in!

[@FeralHomestead]

Daddykirbs Farm - A Homesteading Story yep it’s the biological trigger for the bees. It’s there amazing design

[@KittieSimsGamer]

Got to love our bees

[@rosejafari8917]

Perhaps you could get Dr. Leon to visit and give a show and tell.

[@daddykirbs]

I'd love to have Dr. Leo visit my farm!

[@goodcitizen3780]

That would be really freaking cool

[@John-lx8iu]

Have you ever considered a top bar hive instead of another horizontal? Having a side-by-side-by-side with the Langstroth, Horizontal, and Top Bar would give you the best chance of determining which you like the most. Each has their pros and cons and it obviously depends on the individual as to how they weigh them out but I think it would be interesting to see your opinion with a direct comparison.

[@kickinitwithkaren]

I am watching this one again.

[@stevenogborn5892]

That's the thing I don't like about Dr. Leo's design of hive. They don't allow you to use a "bee down" strip to close up the hive unless you cut it just right.

[@OldReddingFarm]

Sorry your split didn't work. I have heard that it is bad to take more than one frame out of a box at a time but you have that neat little tool to hang frames on a box. Do you think thats not a big deal to do? Love the denim smoke.

[@daddykirbs]

Sometimes I get carried away, but try not to take more than 2 or 3 most of the time.

[@donaldsmith3048]

I know that I don't know anything about bees! But I do know that bees don't like furry dark things! That microphone looks just like the type of thing that would raid there hives!

[@PaulOtis]

Does the split LL have genes from hive #6?

[@daddykirbs]

Ha! Maybe...

[@shammi8133]

I think it would be best to get rid of the wind sock lol they pheromoned the hell out of that thing. If they stay hot like they came at you today I dont see much enjoyment in working hot hives.

[@kickinitwithkaren]

Almost Scary sounding.

[@robertadriver6931]

I guess the bees did not appreciate your mic cover especially at that time of day. Is there a mic cover made from something like a thick cotton sock that would work well on a windy day for you?

[@daddykirbs]

Maybe even cover this one with a white cotton sock? ... hmm, might work.

[@Gord1812]

What do you use for fuel in your smoker? Mine never smokes as good as yours.

[@daddykirbs]

I'm still experimenting with different fuels. I've used purchased fuels, wood chips, horse manure, burlap, denim. I'm still figuring out what works best. So far, for me... horse manure is the best amount of smoke, but some people wince at the idea because they think it has "bad stuff" in it. I don't know yet. Someday I'll make a video of all the different fuels I've tried.

[@reneebrown5598]

If you don't want the bees in your Mic try a white fuzzy cover. The grey may make them think of an animal trying to get them.

[@johnthompson4224]

I don't know how you did your vertical split, but for a split in the same apiary, shake as much of the nurse/worker bees as you can into the new hive, and feed them. The foragers will go back to their original hive, and no foragers left to gather for the split. A couple of frames of pollen and honey is probably not going to be enough.

[@RA-sz5tu]

from the sound of that hive I'd say its queenless

[@daddykirbs]

The HH split?

[@MrBobberino01]

No it’s hot.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Yes the hh hive I think he means. They roared from alarm pheromone I've also had splits with virgin queen roar. I don't think that hive will stay hot. Kirbs as good stock. Let that queen start laying well and open it first in a month and I bet lunch they are a slice of meringue

[@AmaponianVisitor]

I wonder why those frames got damaged

[@kickinitwithkaren]

Oh my goodness, the bees are SO LOUD

[@theresamilhimes8498]

Why did you shake the bees off that frame they got upset with you when you did that

[@eloquenthillbilly]

So he can see the frame.

[@goodcitizen3780]

Hover fingers over where you want to see. They move away from the heat. They don't get so angry. I started out with no bee suit or veil so I learned quickly to be very careful lol. Them bees, they teach.

[@gerrydertinger7447]

One suggestion... quickly introduce who you are and where your bees are....

[@VojvodinaNet]

Entertaining and very useful video, thanks! Where did you buy that jacket with zipper for the hat? Looks very practical?

[@daddykirbs]

amzn.to/2wO3m3x

[@moran68]

Close the gate the bee's might escape !😊

[@lmnoqrst4067]

He trapped all those bees when he closed the lid on the 1st long hive !!!!

[@justinpowell4089]

He has holes on the side of his horizontal hive they are not trapped they can use the vent holes to leave an renter through the main entrance

[@lmnoqrst4067]

@@justinpowell4089 I think the holes have screen over them :(

[@bwakel310]

You might want to feed your bees

[@jennyjoys]

Why were the bees all over the microphone? Love your videos btw 🤪

[@primitivedaisy]

Where do you get the orange nitril gloves you use?

[@daddykirbs]

amzn.to/2wO3m3x

[@primitivedaisy]

Thx for the link. Apparently these are not available because they are reserved for Covid 19 use. I’m an RN, should I use my credentials to get them for my hives? LOL, just kidding! Th! 😊🐝

[@woodspirit98]

Bee brush and smoke. Should have walked away for a few and changed gloves too. Might've helped

[@thomasatwood4041]

I think you should get rid of those small boards and get bigger boards.

[@stevenogborn5892]

Consider where you live is so "Africanized" that you might have to buy in any queen that you make splits for.

[@OldReddingFarm]

okay sorry I am so annoying in the comments we are picking up our bees on Sunday.... Do you prefer the horizontal hive over the vertical? if you could do one over the other, which do you think? Or do you like to have a blend of both?

[@jarnold8803]

Old Redding Farm I just built my first long Lang hive. I’m getting to old and the Lang hives send me to the chiropractor

[@FloryJohann]

I am almost 60 years old and I do not consider having a longhive for reasons. There is no standard yet for longhives, so you have to build many things yourself. Standard feeders may not work. Treatments is another problem, especially if you need to follow instructions to be successful . Many treatments require that you lay the treatment on top of the frames so bees can get in touch with it, some are fumigators and laying those on the bottom like in a longhive may not be close enough where the problem is and may not work.. In a langstroth hive, in winter, heat rises, so the bees move up with the heat which I think is a good thing, since it keeps their food warmer since they store it above the brood chamber and I can put pollen patties and sugar bricks right on top of the frames since it is the warmest place in house and the bees can work on it because it is warm. In a longhive, if you treat on the bottom it may not work or if you put your pollen patty or brick on the bottom the bees may not be able to get to it because it is to cold on the bottom. Most langstroth equipment that you require or want can be readily bought and there are new equipment that will become available almost yearly. My main reason for using langstroth is that there is a standard of the equiment that I either can build myself or order online and also to treat my bees with success and be able to feed my bees and for the bees to eat that food inside the hive when it is cold.

[@goodcitizen3780]

@@FloryJohann I'm sorry you see those as issues. A lot of us run the long Lang and don't have those problems. Least of all standardized equipment since the long box can take any Langstroth equipment I've come across. Winterize can be an issue in cold climates from what you are saying though. Im from Louisiana though :-(

[@goodcitizen3780]

@@jarnold8803 man I hope you love it. I wouldn't be able to do all the bending and lifting of vertical boxes anymore. I love my long boxes

[@mattdlmn]

Queen sighting 16:25 at bottom of frame

[@patriciaferry3957]

CaN't see her

[@patriciaferry3957]

See her now

[@lizspencer605]

Ya, those are definitely getting africanized. Time to buy a nice queen. Never let your hives re-queen themselves when your in killer bee territory!

[@michaelclancy3644]

What kind of gloves do you use ?

[@daddykirbs]

amzn.to/2wO3m3x

[@FeralHomestead]

Use smoke !!!!!!

[@rosejafari8917]

It's better that they are attacking the mic instead of you.

[@daddykirbs]

Yeah! There's a good way of looking at it :)

[@John-lx8iu]

I somewhat agree but at the same time, the fact that they were attacking the mic and the mic was staying there continuing to concentrate those pheromones was only adding to the problem. To the bees, this was a predator that was not leaving and needed more convincing (stinging).

[@robertmurawsky6404]

Why not use canvas instead of boards on the longhive

[@daddykirbs]

I wonder how I could make a canvas cover that still allows space on top of the frames? ... so it doesn't lay directly on top of the frames. I'll have to see what I can come up with.

[@billmitchell7731]

Those bees want your face😃😃😃

[@keithsage1593]

These bee are swarming all over you and the camera like hornets.

[@Tibetian]

Spilt

[@jethrobodine9617]

Freexe that comb for 24 hrs

[@weetreebonsai]

tweeted

[@ginomorris4873]

maybe or some african genes in that hive they sure hate the furry bear microphone...

[@ginomorris4873]

Probably not i am thinking they are instinctively attacking that mic because its like a furry face haha!!!??

[@41DAN._]

Theres a HORSE

[@PaulOtis]

I think you will have better luck at splits if you seal the hive up, at least overnight. Also, don't put right next to parent hive. Sealing them up for a period of time will cause them to do orientation flights, and they will return to the split, not the parent.

[@FloryJohann]

Hey Pine City, did not see your comments for a while. I had good results when I moved the splits off the same lot a few miles away. If you can not do this, do like Pine City mentioned. Also you can swap the motherhive with the split, this way all the foragers will go into the split hive, but I do not see any advantage doing this unless there is no food in the split hive. I made a split about 3 weeks ago sitting right next to the mother hive using a 10 frame hive box. I used 2 frames with food, syrup and honey and had some pollen. A frame or two of older capped brood with nurse bees. A frame with eggs and larvae with nurse bees so they can make a queen cell and a few frames of drawn frames and then frames with foundation. Dump in a lot more other bees from another hive that are hanging on frames. You need a lot of bees to raise queens. Also the older capped brood will hatch to replace older bees and help brood rearing after the new queen starts laying. If you shake foragers into a new hive , most will go back to the mother hive. So for a few days there may be no foragers that will bring in food and nurse bees will live of the food frames. After about 2-3 days, more and more foragers will be starting to leave the new hive which came from the nurse bees that you added. By the time your new queen starts to lay eggs you have a full functioning hive that is ready to rear thousands of bees. My split is a very strong colony that drawn out frames and has capped honey after 3 weeks because of the capped brood and eggs and larvae I added and the queen just started to lay eggs. Got to have young bees to raise brood and a lot of bees for success. I done this last year also. Makes strong splits.

[@daddykirbs]

Great comments! Thank you.

[@FloryJohann]

@@daddykirbs Your welcome. NOTE: You can take young nurse bees from different hives and they will not fight. The younger the nurse bees the better. Usually my splits come from different hives, this way I can better control how strong I leave the mother hives since some hives are stronger than the others.

[@shannonswyatt]

Time for two new queens. I'm wondering if you have Africanized genetics in your area? If so, you shouldn't be open mating queens. When I get a hive that is anything close to that they get replaced.

[@hornmountain]

Please learn how to handle Bees before you own them. I had to stop in the middle of watching this.

[@daddykirbs]

I don't "own" bees. I'm on a journey to learn how to work "with" them. Perhaps you can record all of your beekeeping for the world to learn your method.