# Up a coconut tree with a bunch of bees!



## sarmour (Aug 29, 2013)

We've got a problem. A big hive installed itself 20ft up an older coconut tree near our house.

No prob. you say....except this is northeastern Brazil and often the bees are mixed African/Italian (European). That makes them potentially very dangerous, especially for a place with 7 kids, nine years old and under and 10 adults! We've already had one major attack from another hive up a tree a couple of years ago, so I'm very wary of this one. (though we got 10 kilos of honey that time, even with all the mess and fire and branch cutting 

It's a fairly large hive and probably full of honey already, but bees in this region are very unpredictable and can be life-threatening. We lost a number of chickens and almost lost several dogs last time, but for two courageous guys with wet blankets over them...

My question: how would you take care of these bees? We can't burn them out without killing the tree and sometimes smoke doesn't even affect them much at night (especially if they have many African genes). We have no special clothing, and they are 20 ft up a tree. The limbs they attached too can sometimes fall easily, so the whole mess could come crashing down on our heads!

Suggestions? - Bee-fuddled

(I tried to send a higher res, but this site doesn't appear to allow that anymore...)


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Possibly Africanized and you have no bee suit? This may not be the answer you wish, but I would hire somebody for this one. I would not handle this hive without a bee suit.

For what it is worth, I never work bees at night. At night all of the worker bees are home and have nothing to do but defend the hive. During the daytime there are fewer bees in the hive.


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## sarmour (Aug 29, 2013)

Yeah, think you're right on that, but.......finding someone around here that doesn't just burn up the tree is not easy. I don't really care a lot about that particular tree, but it's a pain to fall after being burned.

Wish I could just stuff the whole hive in a big plastic bag, but...guess we'll just have to do it the hard way. Sigh.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Are there any beekeeping clubs in your area? I can find a local club by doing a google search. I think that an experienced bee keeper would not kill your tree, as they are used to handling their own bees without damaging their own places.

By the way, I have always wondered: how safe is a cocoanut tree so close to your home? I imagine the falling cocoanuts are dangerous! Or do they all fall of during storm and high winds, when people are all inside anyways?


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## sarmour (Aug 29, 2013)

Actually, the trees are a safe distance from the house. I cut down any coconut trees that were near the house as they certainly are potentially dangerous. Coconuts fall often, as well as the older palm branches, and could be dangerous if not cared for. The remaining trees nearer the house are not in areas my grandkids normally play, so we have never really had much trouble.

We're only 13-14 kms from the coast and normally have nice, strong breezes coming off the ocean when the thermals heat up the land enough to start sucking cool air off the sea up every morning around 7 am. That does keep the looser coconuts and branches off the trees. Sun comes up here around 5 am (no daylight saving time and 5 degrees off the equator), so kids are usually not outside playing too much at that time.

One secret to not having too many falling coconuts is to regularly "harvest" them. It's not profitable now days to do that for money, as the water and fertilizer costs more than the value of the harvested coconuts! But the trees do function some as air-conditioners and we sometimes use the nuts for making coconut oil and often for the fresh shredded coconut meat. We also have a smaller hybrid variety that produce "green coconuts". These are served with a straw for drinking directly from the nut. The fresh juice is very popular and delicious, and many are sold to tourists on the beaches.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Ah! Thanks!


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

Power washer with chemical injector and pesticide?

When sprayed not at but to create a mist.

or maybe a fogger.


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## sarmour (Aug 29, 2013)

Power washer I have, but..........I'd sure like to take advantage of all that honey! These bees haven't seemed to be aggressive so far, so maybe someone somewhere would love a big hive of bees for free? 

A couple of hundred kilometers from us is a place they call the "Honey Hills". It's a region where they planted hundreds of thousands of cashew trees. This state (Rio Grande do Norte) was a major exporter of cachew nuts, but the worst drought in a hundred years has hit them hard. They've already cut down over 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of trees that died and sold them off for firewood, just to keep going. Think California drought on steroids. Anyway, they are also major producers of honey and you can imagine what this drought has done to their honey production! So, I'm thinking a big hive of bees could soon be a valuable thing? Sure hate to kill them off....but the danger to my grandkids is real as well. 

A real dilemma...


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Can you ask the advice of the Honey Hills people by e-mail? Beekeepers usually try to be good neighbors, and they may be able to tell you who in your area keeps bees. 

Have you tried doing a on-line search for a be club? Because sometimes newer beekeepers will want the bees.

In the USA, the police or firemen often keep lists of beekeepers who are willing to deal with problem bees. Often they are starting up in bees ad so want more hives.

Personally, if someone is up a ladder I think they need a bee suit because even quiet bees sometimes get upset when you start messing around with the hives where their offspring are. Every living thing will protect their young, which is why beekeepers use smoke. Bees are not smart, and if they think there is a fire they will not be looking for an invader. Instead of looking for an intruder they eat honey so that if the bees have to flee they will be taking food with them to last them until they find a new home. This keeps hem too busy and distracted to worry about the human who is removing the honey. 

Personally, without a bee suit I would not take down ANY hive that involved a ladder.

Do an online search for beekeepers. And/or do an online search for folks who sell bee supplies. Or ask the police who they call when a swarm bothers people in the city. People who like bees usually have them.

No amount of honey is worth your life, and if you fall off a ladder you could be killed. 

On youtube I once saw the difference between an Africanized hive and a non-Africanized hive. A piece of soft leather was tacked to a tall pole and the leather end was brought up to the hive and simply held there for a minute. The bees from the Africanized hive stung it dozens of times. The bees from the domestic hive hovered around it and looked at it but when they took the leather back it had not been stung.


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

No bee suit+Africanized bees= pay some one with a beevsuit to do it for you. Sorry probably not the answer you want but I don't want any one to die vea bees.


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## sarmour (Aug 29, 2013)

Update:

We burned the hive out so most bees moved on somewhere else. There was no queen and no honey. The tree looks like it will survive.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I think you made the right choice!


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