Bees or Wasps in Mast

[Albert]

The masthead on my Allmand 31 has either bees or wasps flying in and outof it.When the previous owner last sailed the boat, raising the sails upsetthe creatures, and various people were stung.How do I discourage / remove the critters?

[Morgan Paul]

[Born to Cruise]

well stated

[senormechanico]

About ten years back, a boat was left in Marina Vallarta at the end of the cruising season with (how shall I say this tactfully?) they were slobs. There was half eaten food left out all over the place, and general mess. You get the picture.

At the start of the next cruising season, they came back to the boat and found that killer bees had taken up residence in their mast, and they had become known as "The
Bee Boat". The bees had flown down the mast and come out in the bilge via the wiring access holes to get to the food, but the neighbors, nearby boats and marina weren't impressed.

To make a long story short, after local exterminators were called, there were about 2 feet of dead bees in the bottom of the keel stepped mast. All they had to deal with was the stink of several pounds of dead bees, but I didn't hang around to find out whether or not they pulled the mast.

Steve B.

[waterworldly]

What kind of sandwiches to killer bees eat?

[Pblais]

It's nice if you can find the RAID can with the 40 ft nozzle. When they get in the masthead it's better to use the spray and run as fast as you get approach.

[hellosailor]

I tried a similar long-distance product (same "27 foot" claim) recently called Hot Shot. Bees and yellowjackets alike, just landed, shook it off, and went on their merry way again. you might smoke them out, but I've found placing mothballs IN the mast and boom keeps them out.

[MarkJ]

Easy: Capsize the boat and flood the buggers out

[Albert]

I'm thinking I could open up the access panel at the base of the mast, insert a leaf blower, turn it on, spray the insecticide via the exit holes for the halyards.

All while wearing a gore tex rain coat and a mosquito/bug suit.

I just hope they aren't bees with honey inside the mast.

[Morgan Paul]

Albert that sounds like a good plan of attack.
Good luck man, and be sure to keep us updated.

Paul

[hellosailor]

If your access panel is that big--look into the RAID bug bombs. The smoke bomb, not the aerosol can. You invert it into a cup or pan of water and white smoke starts billowing out. If you can drop that into the access hole and then cover it back up--the smoke should rise all the way up, slowly but thoroughly, giving you plenty of time to get clear and killing the critters.

the smoke bombs are a good way to fumigate anything, that smoke really travels.

[derttiej]

put moth balls in a stocking, place anywhere near bee nest. and they will be gone before the weeks end. also if they are honey bees you need to take care of the honey cause it will attract bugs and rats.

[Little Otter]

me and my cousins used to shoot the dern things with bb guns or burn them (overkill works the best) or you could caulk all the exits closed and starve them to deth then if they were honey bees you wouldn't have any honey to deal with cause the bees would eat it all, better yet if their honey bees use a smoker on them and remove them when they fall to the bottom of the mast then harvest the honey and eat it yourselves.

[TexSail]

If you don't mind your halyard smelling like mothballs, you can take crushed mothballs, pull as much halyard as possible from the mast and rub it with the mothballs, then pull it back inside the mast. The bees/wasps don't like the smell.

[Little Otter]

Oh i'm sure they won't but what if they are attached to the halyard and get mad. that could be painfull.