Removing a bee hive from the mast

[mikereed100]

We returned to the boat in Mexico after a 5 month work hiatus to find that honey bees have established a hive at the top of the mast around the halyard sheaves. Local wisdom is to go to the top of the mast at night armed with 2 cans of Raid and a positive attitude. Only problem is that, as the hive is built around the sheaves, any movement on the halyards sets the bees into a frenzy. I have tried smoking them out with mosquito coils and citronella, both of which impressed them not in the least. I did this by setting up a bucket with a thru-hull in the lid which is attached to a hose that I led into a halyard port in the mast. My original plan was to use a bug bomb but these are not available here. My next plan is to;

1. Rig up a Rube Goldberg type device to haul to the top of the mast using PVC tubing and a lever that will allow me to spray the hive form the deck. This will be fiddly and aiming will be problematic so I don't have a lot of confidence.
2. The only other thing I can think of is to "dress to kill" with Levis, boots, jacket, leather gloves covered with a Tyvek suit and topped with a wide brim hat with mosquito netting clothes pinned to the Tyvek. Then have my wife haul me up slowly until I can get at the buggers. Problem is i suspect most of the bees will be swarming by the time I reach the top, forcing my wife inside and leaving me twisting in the breeze.

Just wondering if anyone else has had to deal with this or has any other ideas that don't end with me looking like a pink version of the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man.

[hpeer]

OK, I’ll bite (ya ya).

Run your halyard all the way to the deck.

Get some rather fine tubing. Like 1/8”. Tape it to the halyard leaving a bit hanging, like 2”.

Run the halyard up to the mast head.

Now empty a can of wasp killer into the tube. You will likely need to have a good loop of spare tube so you can get the whole contents of a good bunch of it into the tube.

Then somehow connect the tube to a source of pressure water. Need some ingenuity here. Turn on water forcing wasp poison out of hose at mast head.

Adjust and repeat as necessary.

Good luck.

I actually feel sorry for the bees. But understand your situation.

Also, I think you need to plan on unstepping the mast to clean out the mess.

If it makes you feel any better, we had squirrels eat a bunch of holes in my main one summer. I had no empathy for the squirrels.

[Chotu]

A random thought. Could you starve/dehydrate them out? Locating at a very remote anchorage (motoring there) near no source of food or water for them could get rid of them.

It's always worked for me with spiders and other bugs in the boat. Getting it away from land kills all insects.

Alternatively, can you get them used to the halyards moving then go up with raid at night in a bee suit?

Or finally, maybe rig up a cup and some dry, powdered or liquid insecticide such that the cup stays full as you send it up the mast attached to the halyard but then flips and dumps poison all over the nest as it rounds the sheaves?

[mikereed100]

I like the way you guys think. Unfortunately, the only bug poison available here is Raid. No wasp spray, no powder (other than boric acid).
We will be sailing offshore for a few days in a couple weeks, but I need to get to the masthead before then to run some cables, new halyards and install a wind sensor, so starving them out, while effective, isn't really practical (yet).

[billknny]

If you were in the USA, I would suggest doing what I have done in the past when presented with the challenge of a beehive, call a local beekeeper. There are a lot of enthusiastic amateur and professional beekeepers who would jump at the chance to add another queen to their stables.

I'll bet if you get in touch with the locals, someone nearby knows someone, who knows someone, who loves bees and would be happy to help in return for a few pesos.

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by billknny

If you were in the USA, I would suggest doing what I have done in the past when presented with the challenge of a beehive, call a local beekeeper. There are a lot of enthusiastic amateur and professional beekeepers who would jump at the chance to add another queen to their stables.

I'll bet if you get in touch with the locals, someone nearby knows someone, who knows someone, who loves bees and would be happy to help in return for a few pesos.

As a beekeeper, I second the above advice.

[LEOCAT66]

We have not ever had a problem with bees on our boat but have had several issues in our home. When we first called a bee keeper her first question, while still on the phone, was, have you been able to determine if they are normal honey bees or killer bees? I was impressed but did not know the answer. She came out to see and knew immediately that they were regular bees. Do you know?


Our bees had located a small hole outside, that led to a closed space above our garage. They had been there for a while as we had honey dripping from the sheetrock seams in the ceiling. She was able to remove most of the mess but could no determine for sure that she was able to capture the queen, apparently she had not, as they come back every spring, to this day. This will be the twelfth year. What a mess they made. They can no longer access the space as all holes, inside and out are closed. They still hang out on the outside for months.


One day, for no apparent reason, during the initial fight with them, hundreds of them swarmed in front of the house, and flew off to the west in a giant dark cloud. They still return every year. They are as persistent as it gets. The one advantage that you have over a house, is that once cleaned out, assuming they depart, you can change the location of the attraction of the hive. You will probably have to pull the mast to really remove all evidence. One thing that we tried, which seemed to have a positive effect, was a strong solution of garlic water in a pump up sprayer. This was recommended by the keeper. The smell to the bees must be terrible also. Good luck as they are a formidable opponent.

[john61ct]

If you'll need to step the mast anyway, may as well do so as part of the removal process. Just get good protective gear for that event.

And if you do decide to kill (boo) I am very skeptical of that "nothing but Raid".

[thinwater]

If the mast is relatively air tight (I'm sure it is), figure out a way to force the poison of you choice in the bottom. The exhaust of a vacuum cleaner and Raid might do it. I might just get a bottle of CO2 and let that dribble in there; pretty lethal to bugs too.

[john61ct]

carbon dioxide?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by john61ct

carbon dioxide?

If you can seal all the holes in the mast, it ought to work.
CO2 is I think heavier than air, and will leak out of any hole below the bees.
Get a tank for a beer keg or soda machine that has a regulator and it ought to put a steady flow of CO2 for a long time, and I’d bet you can rent the tank and reg and not have to buy it too.
Enough CO2 in the boat can kill you too, and you cannot detect CO2 either so best to leave the boat until your sure it has no CO2 in it.

[Dymaxion]

Any chance of attaching your can of raid to the backstay so it will slide up with a halyard. Tape a door hinge onto can near top with one side over the push button and some thin line down to the deck to pull/press the button. You did say Rube Goldberg after all.

[Training Wheels]

Try ammonia, the fumes will get them out and kill them. Trick is getting it in the mast.

[Steve Bean]

Beekeepers have a one-way door that can be attached to the entry of a hive. You can make your own using a funnel-shaped cone of fine screen. Getting this in place will require someone to work at the masthead. Every bee, probably excepting the queen, comes out every day (weather permitting) to defecate. The one-way door prevents them from getting back in. The queen will not come out. Bees excluded from the hive will die. You will still be left with the brood comb and honey comb in the mast. The smell of an old hive can attract swarms in the future. Getting the help of a beekeeper is a good idea. Killer bees are present in Mexico...

[JPA Cate]

mikereed100,

I really think you need to use the dictionary and locate a local beekeeper. A lot of Google translate may be involved, but beekeepers do things like dividing their hives, lots of things yachties generally don't know about. Such a person can tell you if they're killer bees, which you might like to know before eradicating them, and if they ARE, in fact, honey bees, might want to take them away with them. Which sounds like a win/win situation. And maybe you even make a new friend. Another option would be to locate an exterminator in the town nearest to where the boat is. To me, that would be the backup option. No point to killing the bees if someone can use them, but if they're bad guys, they gotta go.

Ann

Good luck with it.