# Prepping hives for new batch of bees



## redgate (Sep 18, 2008)

We had pretty good success with bees for a couple of years. Our biggest problem was swarming. The following year, we moved to a new climate, and bees didn't survive the move. We bought 2 packages the following spring, and it was a nightmare! I don't know whether they were africanized (my suspicion), but they were the nastiest, meanest bees I've ever seen. They would find way inside my bee suit, chase me several acres away, sting my kids if they so much as came outside (an acre and a half away)--it was BAD!! I decided to replace the queens, but both queens were killed or swarmed almost immediately. By now, the hives were getting smaller, so I combined the hives. I carefully replaced the queen again. Again, no sign of a queen a week later. Not sure why. Hives were very weak at that point, so I carefully investigated. The only real thing I could see was some mild signs of EFB possibly (no signs of AFB). As winter set in, both hives died off entirely. I spoke with our local bee keepers association, and was informed simply not to take it personally. Apparently, hives all over the state did odd things last year, and they had a roughly 50% hive loss due to environmental conditions. 

I am looking to buy packages again this year, but want to be ready. We are in central IL. I have read that the best way to deal with the EFB is to just scrape off all the old comb, and the new bees should be able to deal with the rest. Do I scrape ALL the comb, or leave the clean comb? Do I just scrape the brood comb, and leave the honey comb to give them a start? Any other suggestions? I have also considered adding some lemongrass oil to one hive to try to attract a wild colony during this spring's swarm season. We are thousands of dollars into bees at this point. I really would like to make it work this year, and hopefully get a decent honey crop. Suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!


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## redgate (Sep 18, 2008)

A crazy question....is there a way to "dip" the frames in something anti-bacterial, such as alcohol or vinegar, which supposedly evaporates, but will kill off the EFB bacterium? Just an idea, but haven't seen anything like that. It would be great to be able to leave the best of the combs. They are beautiful!


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