Barrythebeeman

31/07/2023

BEEKEEPING COURSES

I have listed all of my beekeeping education sessions under the MORE EVENTS menu option for those looking for beekeeping education.

I have listed Q&A sessions, which you can book onto for a small donation. You can email me with your questions & I will consolidate them & answer them during the session. These sessions will be recorded & attendees will get access to the video after the session.

I have two beekeeping theory courses, part A & part B, that will be run overZoom. These sessions will be recorded & attendees will be access to the recording after the course.

The part A course has two sessions namely, "so I want bees, what next?" & "beekeeping on a budget". This course is ideal for anyone thinking about getting bees in the Spring.

The part B course has the following two sessions, "getting bees for my hive" & "inspecting the health of your bee hive". The part B course can be taken before, after or instead of a hands-on beekeeping course.

I am also offering hands-on beekeeping courses in Yarram, Victoria.

With each of the courses, you get a free voucher that can be used to buy a Bee Tuff suit at a substantial discount.

04/05/2023

EXPOSED WASP NEST

Last week I was called out to exterminate a wasp nest that workers had partially exposed when they were digging soil off an underground drain cover.

Once the workers hit the nest, the wasps flooded out and the workers evacuated.

26/04/2023

WASPS NUMBERS ARE INCREASING

I am getting a lot of requests to help people remove European wasps that are annoying them, when they are eating outside.

At this time, the wasp numbers are increasing exponentially and they are very hungry, having cleaned up most of their insect prey. So, they are hovering around houses looking for a free feed. You will notice them once you start cooking (inside or out) as they can smell any food cooking.

The video shows a feeding station one hour after I put it up yesterday in Beaconsfield, where wasps were in plague proportions. I am in the process of feeding the wasps for a few days, before I substitute a poison bait, which the wasps will take back to their nest and wipe it out.

If you have wasps in your area that you want eradicated, then PM me and I will be able to help you.

PS. please remember that the wasp nests are in the process of producing new season queens at the moment. Each queen will produce 100 new queens. If you think that you have a problem now, then it will only be worse next season, unless you deal with the current problem.

13/04/2023

WHAT HAPPENS IF I LEAVE A WASP NEST ALONE IN MY HOUSE?

This is an article explaining what happens when a European wasp nest is established in the wall of your house.

The wasps will use the plaster in your wall to building their nest and as the nest expands, they will eventually break through the plaster and come into the house.

I have included more video and images in the comments below to explain what happens.

In this case, the wasps had broken through the plaster and were coming inside. Luckily they were entering a room that was not be used.

13/04/2023

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LEAVE A WASP NEST SURVIVE?

Shortly, the European wasp queens will be laying eggs to produce males and new season queens. Each queen in a nest will produce 100 new season queens.

These new season queens will mate in May and be fattened before their winter hibernation. Next Spring, these new queens will emerge and establish a new nest.

If you leave any nest on your property survive, you will have 100 new nests in your area derived from it. Noter that some nests have multiple queens and each one produces 100 new queens.

European wasps breed up into larger numbers where humans do not intervene and exterminate their nest. From 1 hive you get 100 in Year 2, then 10,000 in year 3 and 1 million in year 4.

Most of the new queens stay within 500 meters of the mother nest, but some can migrate up to 2.5km.

In Spring, I will remind you how to kill off these new season queens, while they are flying about searching for food. The only do this in September and October. After that, the queen stays home ands becomes an egg laying machine.

24/03/2023

WHAT DOES A WASP NEXT LOOK LIKE?

I was called out yesterday to exterminate a European wasp next.

It inside a cupboard, within. a garage. The wasps were flying across the garage to access the louvre window for their access point.

Needless to say, the wasps were not happy when I treated them.

19/03/2023

BEWARE - EUROPEAN WASPS ARE HUNGRY

The numbers of European wasps are growing exponentially at the moment and in some locations they have already killed off the insects that they normally prey on. In these areas, the wasps will feed on any cooked or raw meat that is left out for them to access. This is a huge problem for dog owners who feed their dog outside on meat products.

In the video, you will see European wasps feeding on a chicken neck that was put out for a dog to eat. If the dog approaches the food being attacked by the wasps, they will sting the dog. If the dog gulps the food down, there is a good chance that they will take wasps into their mouth and even down into their stomach.

Wasps will attach to a victim by biting with their mouth and then they will repeatedly sting. If the wasps sting inside the throat, an anaphylactic reaction can close the throat and prevent the animal from breathing.

Parents should also be careful when providing their children food and drink outside. Wasps can enter a drink container (especially if it contains a sugary drink) and the child can take the wasp into their mouth and throat when they drink. Wasps are also very interested in any meat or sugar based foods that children might be eating.

Wasps will fly up to 800 meters to find food, but normally only 250 meters. The wasps in your yard are normally coming from nests in other properties in your area. If you do find a nest in your property, you should arrange to exterminate it, but this will not prevent all other wasps in the area from entering your property seeking food.

It is possible to exterminate all wasps nests around your property with an effective baiting program. The wasps come and feed off a poison bait and take this back to their nest. The poison bait is shared amongst the other wasps in the nest including the queen, killing off the nest.

If you are interested in eradication of wasps in your area, I can help. You can PM me or sms on 0413057756.

15/03/2023

WHY HAVE EUROPEAN WASPS ARRIVED?

Well, the reality is that the wasps have been around since the new season queens created their nests in early Spring 2022.

Normally, with a dry Spring, there is enough food for the queen to establish a nest, lay eggs and raise workers by early November.

The number of workers increases exponentially if there is adequate food about and they are easily spotted coming and going from their nests by New Years day or at worst Australia Day.

This season (and similarly the last 3 years) we had a La Nina weather pattern, which resulted in low food stocks being available for European wasps. The wet weather constantly washed away the nectar in flowers which they feed on. This resulted in slow growth in nest numbers.

As the La Nina has broken, there is now plenty of food available for the European wasps and their numbers are growing exponentially. They are easy to spot, as there is a lot of traffic coming and going from their nests.

If you have a wasp issue and you need assistance, you can PM me or SMS (or call me) on 0413057756.

Follow my Barrythebeeman FB page for some interesting and unusual wasp stories.

15/03/2023

EUROPEAN WASPS ARE BACK

I have been getting a few calls lately to help deal with European wasps. This was a nest in a wall and the wasps were entering through the external vent.

They were chewing out the internal plaster to make their nest. They are toast now.

15/03/2023

FLOODED WASP NEST

I was called out to exterminate a wasp nest last week, only the wasp nest had already been flooded out.

The back story is. The water meter had been hit by a ride on mover and the pipes had broken, leaking water all over the lawn.

The wasps inside the nest were drowned but the foragers coming back were trying to get into the flooded nest and were flying aimlessly around the nest entrance which was 2 meters from the broken pipe.

South East water were called to repair the broken pipe, but they could not do any work while there were wasps hovering around. A local plumber was called and he tried but was not very successful at slowing down the water leak.

Once the SE Water team knew that the wasp nest had been dealt with and it was only straggler wasps hanging about, they were prepared to repair the water pipes.

15/03/2022

EUROPEAN WASPS HAVE ARRIVED

If you have a nest to be eliminated I can help OR if you can't find the nest, but are inundated with wasps, I can bait them and wipe them out.

20/01/2022

EUROPEAN WASP UPDATE

The European wasps are still about at the moment, but in limited number so far.

You should be ok to have those Australia Day BBQ's without being swamped by EW's, but the Labour Day BBQ's might be a bit problematic, only time will tell.

OUTDOOR EUROPEAN WASP NEST

I was called out yesterday to exterminate a European wasp nest that was hanging above the front door of a property in Wonga Park, Victoria.

The nest was approximately the size of a large apple, which is about 1/3 of the normal size I would expect at this time of the year.

Once I touched the nest with my duster, it fell onto the decking and I continued to dust it. I broke up the nest with my duster while it was operating and bingo, a white queen came out, walked around for a few seconds and then flew off. She wouldn't have lasted long covered in Permethrin dust.

I then pulled the nest apart and there was around 50 larvae present. Based on this information, I think that the nest is 6 weeks behind the expected development, maybe due to the wet Spring that we have experienced.

There is plenty of food around for the EW's at the moment, so I suspect that we are going to see a rapid population increase and they will become a pest in late February and through March.

The European wasps are about, but as just YET in large enough numbers to be a pest.