Whew, when it let go I actively cringed. I was waiting for the box to fall out of the tree entirely and explode. I'm glad it didn't, but I was afraid it would. Good job!
I was afraid it would also, man I'm happy that netting held. The jolt did break the comb loose from the top of the box, and that is why it fell outas I was removing it. In the end, everything worked out. The bees are now happy and thriving here at the abbey. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Very kind of you to say, and I am much appreciative of the time you spend watching my channel. I hope you continue to do so, and comment on the ones you watch. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Thank you for sharing your video with the world, Mr Ed! It’s great how God blesses us with these types of scenarios and we can share the experience with others. I’ve started making bee related UA-cam videos this year as well and enjoy it so much. As I have said previously, your channel inspired me and I always enjoy watching!
It brings me great joy hearing that the gifts God has given me as a bee wrangler inspired you to pursue the gifts He has given you. I wish you well on your channel, and if it makes any difference, I subbed while I was there. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
Good job there Mr. Ed! I was very concerned that the box was going break up into pieces when it dropped in a rolling swing. I was relieved to see it stay in one piece. I knew you had it from there on. Great video and good save on that queen. If those bees only knew that you were only helping them, you would never get a sting. Keep on wrangling Mr. Ed, and I'll keep watching. Rick
I was VERY concerned the box would break also, but as it turned out, it remained intact. The transfer was somewhat challenging, and I took well over 15 stings on this one, but the queen was caged, and all the bees moved into the new hive. I went back 2 days later to released the queen, and all the bees in the tree had made their way to the new box also.....yes! Thanks for taking your time to follow my be adventures Rick, I really appreciate it. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
If they had been ducks, I would not have been stung so many times. Those bees did not want me to take that box off the tree, and they made sure I payed for it. I got hit at least 15 times on this one. God's peace Brian. Mr. Ed
Keeping and wrangling bees is a spiritual excercise for me. The connection between the bee and God is a constant reminder for me to lose myself in the wonder of God. This is why I do what I do, and I am so glad that it jump starts your day. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I am going to have to get me a cowboy hat, put netting around it, and start wearing it every time I go wrangling. I'll start a new design in bee apparel, Mr. Ed style. God's peace Gina. Mr. Ed
I really love watching you (and other bee keepers) capture and relocate swarms, not to mention how you reclaim the honey and wax you collect. I was watching a Bee Keeper (can't remember who) collect a swarm within the last year and he made a good observation, that when someone vacuums up bees the wind, to the bees, is like us being snatched by a tornado and smashed against multiple plastic walls before finally being deposited in the vacuum box. He observed that that condition is why so many bees die while being captured by a vacuum box so he replaced his ribbed hose with a smooth hose and found that most, if not all, of the bees survived the vacuum capture. Suggestion; replace the ribbed plastic hose that you normally get with a wet/dry vacuum with a smooth hose. After all, you want as many bees collecting honey for the Abbey as you can get, right?
It is not the ribbed hose that kills the bees. What kills bees is the amount of vacuum in the tube. If the pressure is regulated properly, regardless of smooth or ribbed vacuum hose, the bees will not die. I have demonstrated this fact on a number of videos showing the"kill" of vacuumed bees, a handful at most or none, and many of these were bees that were injured prior to being vacuumed. I hope this clears the point up for you. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
It was sad to see the comb falling, but in the end, everything worked out. I welcome you to the wonderful world of keeping bees. Thanks for watching. God's peace Geoffrey. Mr. Ed
Wow, what a big bunch of bees! And when that comb flopped out. Ouch! That's a Lord, you've got to bee kidding me, moment. Or worse! Good finish for a messy, difficult job. Peace 😻
It was a dramatic moment when that comb collapsed, but I moved past it and wound up having a successful wrangling adventure. Thanks for watching. God's peace GiGi. Mr. Ed
I like how you measure the combs before putting into the frames. When those ones started falling forward I could hear myself saying out loud, "noooo" haha. Out in California my nephew used to help build duck boxes at a pond when he was in boy scouts.
I was so disappointed when all the comb fell, I almost stoped the video. It was a real mess, but the bees have cleaned everything up and are doing great. Did you nephew ever catchbees in his duck box? God's peace Annie. Mr. Ed
That's great. I just made a cup of tea and used up most of my (local) honey. I was thinking of getting one of those boxes where the honey flows out of the tubes. : )
I know exactly what you mean. I have an upcoming video on just the topic you discuss. Though this was no swarm, it is one healthy hive. Though you may not be young enough to wrangle bees anymore, I am ever grateful that you chose to watch me doing it for you. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
This was no swarm, these girls were dug in. They had bees there for at least a year judging on the comb and honey in it. Any way you look at it, I'm happy as heck to have these bees at the abbey now. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
You need to get some of those wood and screen queen cages for this sort of thing. They are small enough that you can attach them into a frame without them being too wide, and then you just plug the hole with bee candy and they will let her out in a day or so so they stay with the new hive. Cody Reeder (Cody's Lab) uses them all the time.
There are many different types of queen catchers/holders, and I have tried most of them. For me, I prefer the "barret" style as it is the easiest to use though it can be difficult to place in between frames. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I have 3 wood duck boxes. No more wood ducks after new 4 lane messed up their fledging path to the creek a couple years ago. Squirrels and screech owls are using them but I've been hoping for a swarm of honey bees.
Trust me, as soon as you forget about having the boxes in the tree, the bees move in. I'm sorry to hear about the lost habitat for the woodies, we have plenty of them here. I love watching them fly at first light right above the tree line. That is one beautiful duck. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff I enjoyed the hens flying out & back (~1 hour round trip) both morning and evening to feed and water while they were setting their nests, ~28 days. I've watched 10 nests of wood ducks fledge and missed many more. Our Fish & Wildlife supervisor said he hadn't and didn't know of any of his officers who had witnessed even one wood duck nest fledging. One year the 3 boxes, all within 100' of our screen porch, had a total of 43 hatchlings take the "giant leap of faith". Their route to the creek was ~1/2 mile. That 4 lane (Ky-80, Murray, Ky) was just too much for the hens to handle with their babies in tow. I really enjoy your videos. I'm subscribed and also subscribed to 628dirtrooster. You two are entertaining and make bee keeping look way easier than it is.
Never saw any woodies fledge, but saw gangs of familes on the lake near me. When mama is in the water with her babies, she fains injury to lead you away. Awesome to witness nature in person, I try to do that in my videos. God's peace Gerard. Mr. Ed
this is beautiful! I'm very impressed. :) I've never thought that I'm interested about bees, cause Im afraid of every kind insect but they are seems nice, and interesting to collect them. Its amazing how they follow their queen.:O I will follow you Mr. Ed keep doing this awesome job!
I also have a question! I guess many bee is dying by the progress, and you get many bites too! How are they not afraid when you moving them? Is it because you didnt harm the queen? and also how could you be careful to not kill some of them in the progress? :(
Hello Niiania, thank you so much for taking interest in bees despite your fear of insects. For me, bees are very fascinating, and I can't help but be drawn to them. To answer your questions, because bees are very communal insects, they will always stay together. Yes, they are very loyal to their queen, but she does not run the hive, she just lays the eggs thus allowing the hive to continue to survive. Because of this fact, she plays a vital role and the other bees serve and protect her. When I remove bees, I take care not to harm bees as I am trying to save them. Some bees will be killed or left behind, it is unavoidable, but the majority of the bees and the hive itself will be saved. I get stung all the time removing bees. Doing this removal I was stung at least 15 times. That is not normal, usually it's only 1 or 2 or none at all. What part of the world are you in? Thanks for watching, and I hope to see your name in the comments again soon. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Thank you for your answer. 😊 Now I understand. I could have search for it in google, but it was nice to hear it from your opinion since you are a professional. 😊 I live in Hungary! I've never really seen a bee colony before, but I'm sure I would never try to harm them, they are amazing creatures. Just I'm afraid of stungs.:D Thank you for your positive vibe, I love how happy you seem in every video of your. 😊 Peace Mr. Ed!
A great video- as always. There appeared to be poison oak "leaves of three" behind you in the beginning of the video- that stuff is awful. Thanks for taking us with you. As far as chging your plans after getting into the job- 21 yrs in the military taught me "rigid flexibility" 😀. Have a blessed week- my friend.
Rigid flexibility, love it. A perfect motto for bee wrangling. As far as the poison oak, I did see it, but was not concerned as I was all covered up, and I did not plan on disturbing it. Thanks for the motto. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Nice Job Mr. Ed. You made it look a lot easier than I know it probably was. Either way you got the job done and a nice colony of bees. I plan on putting out a few swarm boxes in the spring and see how that goes. If nothing else I may catch my own bees if they swarm without me knowing.
The life of a bee keeper, the hope of catching swarms, but I will settle on catching my own.... if I'm lucky enough. I don't see how it would be possible to catch more swarms than I did this year, but what ever happens, I will be setting traps at the end of Feburary. By the way, this was not a swarm ,but an established hive.Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
There is no way you could have watched all my videos, that would have taken months. But if you did, you deserve a metal, or at least a new pair of glasses because your eyes have got to bee tired. Thank you for all the time you spent watching my channel, I am humbled by your kindness. I am looking forward to hearing from you on another video. By the way, there is a new one coming out on Friday. God's peace. Mr. Ed
It always makes me happy when I see comments like yours. I wrangle bees because I love doing it. I make the videos of my adventures because I just want to share the experience because so many others can't. The pay check comes with comments like yours. Thank you, and thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Good stuff as usual... Would be good to see how things have evolved by the time you go pick them up... I'd like to see how they patch up the comb you've transferred and deal with the rubber bands...
It did not take long for the bees to adapt to the new box. If I had not relocated those bees, they would have swarmed. By moving them into 2, 10 framed deep supers, with comb that was already drawn out, these girls thought they won the lottery. One very good sign of acceptance the bees give is when they start dragging the rubber bands out from the hive. This indicates the bees have attached the old comb to the frames and on the way to building more comb. These bees did this within 1 week. The hive is doing fantastic here at the abbey, and I am looking forward to seeing if they make it through the winter. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Great job we are still trying to get our girls out of the tree, we are still work on our tree 8-14-17 we are putting them in hive now, but still got lot more girls to get haven't got Queen yet, by grace of God we will get job done.
Wood Duck bees! I love wood ducks, and can only imagine that these girls are beautiful too. The ladder made me nervous! You did a really good job so high above terra firma. Yikes! Have a great week.
Could you see my knees hitting each other, that was some kind of high.Thankfully, everything worked out great, other than the multitude of stings I took on this one. Those bees did not want me to take that duck box down, and when I did, they still wanted to let me know they were not happy. I hope you have a great week also,and don't forget, there's a new video on Friday. God's peace Juliana. Mr. Ed
What was the name of the video that lead to the discovery? Thank you so much for tuning in and commenting, I always want to know what viewers think about what they see on my channel. I hope to hear from yo again Dean. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
wow- those were some really upset ladies- and what a score on such a large hive- will you release the queen in a couple days or wait until you move her to the Abby?- once again another great Buzz fix-lol- many blessings...Glo
Those girls did not want me to take that duck box off the tree, and they meant business. I got hit at least 15 times bringing the box to the ground. I went back 2 days later to release the queen, and all the bee on the tree migrated down,yes! The girls are at the abbey now and are doing VEY well. If they make it through the winter, we will have some good genetics off of this one. God's peace Glo. Mr. Ed
When the box initially fell from the tree, the jolt was so forceful, it broke the comb from its mooring. When I removed the front and the first section of comb, the whole thing just collapsed since there was nothing holding it up any longer. I won't lie, I was VERY discouraged when the comb fell from the box. Fortunately, things worked out well in the end. The poison ivy got my attention right away, but since I was wearing long sleeves and gloves, I just went to work. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I will probably get a rash because I saw it, a great dislike for the stuff. When I saw that all fall apart it was an "Oh no" moment, but as with many things in life at that point you just keep moving ahead, it all works out and even when it doesn't God is still good. Blessings.
Could you tell I was shaking when I was on the ladder getting ready to pry the box from the tree? That was an intense moment. I was happy it went well. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
These bees meant business from the get go. I could not tell you how many stings I got doing this job. The most were given getting the box off the tree. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
With all that comb collapsing action going on, you were quite blessed to find that queen alive and unharmed! If I may, two questions: 1. Why did you not vacuum some bees first? The ones on the outside of the box? 2. Could you have hung/nailed a frame of old comb on the tree after removing the duck box for the remaining bees to climb onto? Would that have been any better? I'm trying to get some pointers to be able to do some hive/swarms removals next year. Thank you .Best regards.
The comb had separated from the box when it fell from the tree, and as I was removing it one section at a time, it just all fell over. I was very lucky the queen was not killed. Because the box was so far from an electrical outlet, I did not use the vac. Had I used the vac, the job would have been easier, but by not using the vac, the bees were less stressed. And stressed bees at this time of the year is not a good thing. I want the bees to survive the ordeal of a transfer, and by doing it by hand, increased the likelihood of that happening. Because I knew I was leaving the box there, I also was very confident that the bees in the tree would rejoin their sisters in the box. When I returned two days later to release the queen, all the bees had moved into the box. I would not have hung a old brood comb frame on the tree. I have heard that it works, but since I was leaving the box, I would just let the bees sort it out.....and they did. My slant on doing removals is this, it is very difficult work, and it requires many tools. You may make money doing it, but you will have earned every penny of it. It is also difficult to get started and may take several years to build up a name for yourself. I would think long and hard before jumping into it, but I must say at the same time, it is VERY rewarding. Let me know how things go for you, and if I can help, just ask. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I removed a duck house about 4 years ago, but left the bees in the box and took it home with me. I hung it on a fence post and left them alone. I keep saying I am going to open them up and remove them but never seem to get around to it. They made it 3 years before dying out, but a had a swarm move back into the box a few weeks after and they seem to be going strong. No telling how many swarms I have caught from that hive.
Arkansas is full of woodies, I love watching them. I have another video coming up with another duck box, and I do just what you did. Well, I do plan on transfering them in the Spring,but who knows if I will get around to it. I know you understand. Good to hear from you Desmond. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
She doesn't fall for that excuse anymore, now I tell her the dog ate it. Since there are 4 dogs she does not know which one to blame. Meanwhile, I'm in the garage eating honey. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Thank you for all your kind words, and your blessing for me. I find all my joy in Christ, and that I am allowed to express my appreciation and gratitude by working with bees and making videos about it. Thank you for following along. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Rubber bands are the best method. The comb is to heavy to support its self, and the rubber bands hold it in place. Keep watching and asking. God's peace. Mr. Ed
That box was busting with bees! I never had any luck this year with my swarm traps so I finally gave in and bought two Nucs last week. They're doing great. Off topic, but wondering how you deal with Varroa? I want to make sure my girls are strong going in to winter. Thanks for all the inspiration Jeff!
Yes it was, but it was not a swarm. These girls had been there for a bit over a year, and now they call the abbey home. As far as dealing with Varroa, I do not treat. I let the bees handle it. Breeding good genetics, in my opinion, is the correct way in keeping bees. If the hive should die, so be it. The hives that are able to overcome attacks, are going to be reproducing, and that is the line I want to cultivate. It can be done. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
The great thing about keeping bees is there are many ways of doing it. When we find what works for us in our particular situation, then we refine and streamline the method. There will always be lots of ups and downs over time, but that's just how life works. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Uncle Andy They certainly sell the honey from the Abbey bees in the Abbey shop, your best bet would be to give them a ring and see what stocks they have.
I would try at one of the many Farmers Markets they have around here. I know for a fact that there are several local bee keepers that sell their bees honey right there. I have seen local honey at both the Covington and Abita Farmers Market. Unfortunately, we have no more at the abbey. I know you will find it. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Believe it or not, we sold all our honey, 700 bottles, in 11 days. We will not have any more till October, and I don't know how much we will have. Thanks for trying to help. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Thank you so much for watching and for expressing your support for my efforts of saving bees. I have been rescuing bees from being needlessly destroyed for over 6 years now, and hope to continue to do so for many more years to come. I hope to hear from you again on more of my bee wrangling adventures. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Dark comb is old comb and light comb is new comb. If there is honey in the comb, like in this video, that is fall honey, it also is dark. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I released her 2 days later, and by that time, all the bees that had been up in the tree had moved down to the new hive. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I can hardly wait for you to show your biology class some of the videos they missed while on Summer holiday. Get them to ask questions, I'll bee more than happy to respond. God's peace Rebecca. Mr. Ed
Oh, interesting....a duck box? never heard from that. Another interesting part would be the question, how old this hive is? On the sights of all this old comb with packed full of honey must be some years they live there... Another successful good job was done, and you´re healthy. Good Result there.
We have a lot of ducks here in Southeast Louisiana, and one of the species is called a wood duck. If you will goggle it, you will find a very beautiful, colorful duck, at least the male duck is. These ducks prefer to build their nests in trees rather than on the ground. So, many people build these boxes, and the wood duck takes up residence in them. Because the boxes are rather large, they make wonderful bee boxes. The bees in this box had been there for better than a year judging by the comb and the honey in it. The hive had grown so large, that if I not transferred them, they would have swarmed very soon. Stay tuned, I will be doing another duck box removal very soon. God's peace Peter. Mr. Ed
Sounds interesting. We have some ducks here, too, but I´m living in a small village, where is not so many ducks or sea there. I saw in the last few days your video about a duck box unboxing from 2 years ago. It was interesting too and it shows perfectly, how much time it would need to full clearing of this box. This box was a bit easier because of the honey-filled comb fell out itself.
Either at the abbey or on the spot, the process had to be done. As it was still within my cut off date to do removals, just barely, I chose to do it on location. I have several oter videos coming up that I do just as you propose. Great comments. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff I take it the cut-off date is to do with the time of year, the weather and the amount of pollen bearing plants and trees available until the autumn?
I'm very glad you like my bee wrangling videos, I hope you find them informative and maybe even a bit entertaining. I use a #2 rubber band to hold the comb in place. I but a large bag from Office Depot for about $9.00. Thanks for watching, and I hope you will continue to watch and comment on my bee wrangling adventures. God's peace. Mr. Ed
There was no room left in the box for bees or the development of additional comb. I try to stop doing removals at the end of June and start up around mid September. Then, I stop again around Christmas, and start up again at the end of Feburary. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr.Ed.
These are some really nice bees. I took a bunch of hits getting the box down, but after that, they settled down. The transfer was difficult because the comb had broken free from the box, but it all got worked out fine. The bees are doing great at their new home at the abbey, and I am very confident that next spring I will be splitting these girls and pulling honey from them. We shall see. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
*"The hard part of this job is bringing this box down"* _* starts chainsaw *_ Let's not make this harder than it needs to be(e)... Thanks for another great video, Mr. Ed. And thanks to 628Dirtrooster for supplying the drone, I mean queen.
Here in Louisiana, as well as all over the US, there is a breed of duck known as the wood duck. This duck likes to build it's nest off the ground, and these boxes offer the perfect opportunity for the duck to do so. This was the 3rd hive I have removed from a duck box this year. As far as the bees coming down, they did so 2 days later. Sweet!!! Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Yeah, here in the UK we don't have duck boxes either! All of ours nest on the ground or on marshy land where the make nests, just like swans.
MsCherade9 - That's the case for almost all of our waterfowl in North America, but wood ducks just have to be different. :-) They're beautiful birds as well, so lots of people enjoy having them around in their ponds and streams, and we've cut down most of the big old trees that have natural cavities for them to nest in, thus the duck nesting boxes. Nesting boxes and controls on hunting in the early 1900's brought them back from near extinction to their current status of least concern.
Near a pond I put in two wood duck boxes and a Bee Trap that looked like a Wood Duck Nest (people steal bee traps). Just made a screen bottom and three small holes instead of the Large duck one.
Great job, Jeff! I think those may have been Mallard bees! Excellent video! I wish I lived nearby, I would be right there with you helping you wrangle them rascal bees! I enjoyed the video very much, thank you for making it for us! Peace brother!
If you lived nearby, I'd love the help. Rocket Scientist Steve has moved and his spot needs to be filled. Wreck it Ralph is always available thankfully, but another set of hands would bee nice. Thank you for the time you spend watching, and I am very glad you enjoy the adventures. God's peace Robert. Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Rocket Scientist Steve has moved? I take it this is due to the house fire they had? I feel really sad for them, you can lose so many irreplaceable things in such fires, though thankfully they and any pets are fine!
Yes he and his wife have moved to Lake Aurthur , Louisiana, about 4 hours away from the abbey. Both he and his wife are from that area and their daughter lives nearby also. They are moving ahead in their lives, but the wound is still very fresh. Keep them in your prayers. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I am the bee keeper for the monks at St. Joseph Abbey in Louisiana. All the bees that I wrangle are brought to one of the 5 bee yards that we maintain for the good of the environment and for the support of the monks. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I went back 2 days later and released the queen into the hive. All the bees that were on the tree had moved into the new box, and I left the box there a few more days and then brought everything to the abbey. The bees are doing fantastic. Thanks for watching.God's peace. Mr. Ed
Oh Jeff! I'm only halfway through watching this one and when those three large combs started leaning over and slowly gaining momentum - I was try sooo hard to warn you! Its March of 2018, 13 months after it happened, and I am trying to talk to you! LOL Don't tell the Rooster - I've done it to him twice. But you found the Queen!! And they are in MUCH better circumstances now, thank you for that one. Can you tell me how they are doing now?
These bees made it through the winter, and I will be splitting them in just a few more weeks. Thanks for watching and beeing so engrossed in the wrangling. God's peace. Mr. Ed
what a great box of duckbees :P I was hoping to see a nice march into the box, but they just all stat there. Hope they are all doing OK. Just out of curiosity, what is your preferred method for Varroa treatment ? how often. Etc.
The reason the bees just sat there was because this was an established hive, and I was trying to evict them and move them into my 10 frame hive body. The bees are now ALL in my bee box and doing very well here at the abbey. As far as my preferred treatment method, I let the bees take care of iot themselves. I do not treat with chemical. Breeding good genetics, in my opinion, is the correct way in keeping bees. If the hive should die, so be it. The hives that are able to overcome attacks, are going to be reproducing, and that is the line I want to cultivate. It can be done. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
And he still was stung. I got stung at least 15 times on this transfer. The girls were not giving it up without a fight. I think they were so mean because there was no space left for them in the box. The bees are doing really well in their new hive at the abbey. God's peace. Mr. Ed
The bees will cut the rubber bands off the frames as soon as the comb is attached. After they cut the bands, they drag them out of the hive. It's really cool to see a rubber band hanging from the entrance. God's peace Max. Mr. Ed
Bruno, were you # 1 again, you were the first to comment. How's the weather in sunny Brazil? We have over 60 hives here at the abbey, and the number is always growing. The goal is to reach 100 sustainable hives so that we can theoretically produce 400 gallons of honey a year. Last June we harvested over 80 gallons so we are a far piece away. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Ohh gosh, good Lucky for you. you Will be reach at 100 hives Very soon. Here in Brazil its Very cold and I get sick yesterday, but its nothing haha Has no snow here but i deslike taking my nose freezing (about 10°C). Thanks for asking, keep making your excelent videos. Peace :D
The first one is titled," North," the second one is titled." Morning Stroll," and the third one is titled, "The Coldest Shoulder," and they can all be found on UA-cams audio library. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
That is so nice to hear, thank you. In truth, I'm just a fella who loves saving bees and sharing the adventures. Thank you so much for watching, and taking the time to leave a comment. Until the next time, God's peace. Mr. Ed
It is a lot of fun to do bees without the vac, since I knew it was not going to be a very large area to work with, I decided not to use the vac. Also, the vac stresses the bees way more than just using my hands. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my channel Xavier, especially from Barcelona.....what a beautiful spot on the planet. I hope you continue to watch and comment. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I watch your fantastic videos with my two children 6 and 10 years old. We love to know how bees live. Thank you very much for sharing your amazing job. Xavier
I have lots and lots of secrets, and because I'm in a good mood I will let you know one of them. I have done 3, thats THREE, swarm removals in the last 2 weeks, and yes, all of them are on video. So, now that I have your attention, and I hope you are not drooling on your monitor, I will be posting them in the next few weeks. I managed to get the queen on 2 of the 3, and the one where I did not get her, she got into the box on her own. So far, all are doing well. Alright, enough letting the bee out of the bag to early. Stay tuned. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
Queens can live up to 5 years, where as a worker bee will live only 6 weeks. A drone, if he's unfortunate and does not mate with a queen, will live for one season only. If he is lucky enough to mate with a queen, he dies immediately after the act of mating.....his innards are pulled from his abdomen. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
No, I buy the boxes and frames from Mann Lake, free shipping. I do build the screen bottom boards, inner covers, and top covers. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Jeff that's quite the challenge, and once again, you rose to the occasion, but i have a question.... How many hive do you have, you seem to get at least one more each week. Do you have a donation process for the Abbey and thank the contributor with one of those captured hives?
You have a great avitar. There are about 60 hives here at the abbey now....and growing. Our goal is to have 100 sustainable hives so as to have a regular honey source for the gift shop which is the only place the honey is sold. People can sponsor hives and there is a process for that set up on the St. Joseph Abbey web page. Just find Abbee Honey, and you will see the process. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Hello "Mr. Ed". One day you will have to let some of us know why you are Mr. Ed. I hope you do an update on this video. Always enjoy watching you wrangle. Have a blessed day.
Mr. Ed is the name that was given me on the first day I started working at the Post Office 36 years ago. I have always like the name, and upon retiring, I continued to use it as my name. Thank you fopr the blessing and watching my channel. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I had the bee vac with me, I just chose not to use it on this removal. As it turned out, everything went well. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I could have used the bee vac, but if there is the possibility of not using it , I'll take that option. By removing the bees by hand, it greatly reduces the stress the bees under go during a removal. The less stress the bees experience, the greater the likelihood of the hive surviving the transition. Very good question. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I wish it would happen to you brother. I figure we are even though, you are catching all those salmon, and I have to settle for perch. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Those bees did not want me to take that box off the tree, and they made sure I payed for it. I got hit at least 15 times on this one. The whole job took about 4 hours, but I had another 6 hours making 4 more visits. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
I post these videos, to show just how important bees are to our very survival, and why we should not just kill them out of ignorance. I have been rescuing bees from being needlessly destroyed for over 6 years now, and hope to continue to do so for many more years to come. Thanks for watching, and I hope you will check out more of my bee wrangling/ bee rescues adventures and let me know what you think of them. By the way, I post a new video every Friday morning, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon. God's peace. Mr. Ed you Benjamin.
YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!!!!! I don't know what it is about a camera, but bees do not like them. Thanks for watching, and I hope you check out more of my bee adventures on my channel. God's peace. Mr. Ed
That looked like poison ivy growing up the tree. Hate that stuff. This year alone I have watched your wrangle a massive number of bees. Do you maintain hives for all of them?
A small percentage of the hive do not make the transition, they just fly off and try to make it somewhere else. I don't like when that happens because of the investment of time, energy, and money is just fluched. But the ones that do stay go on to bee very productive bees. We now have over 60 hives at the abbey. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
there duck bees lmao there quacking! wtg jeff it must wore ya out ! You look tired Glade Walmart got a good supply of extra large rubber bands now. There good ones! OMG LEG WENT SMASH on top of em ! Your chopping them to pieces 10:21 Oh well wish it was a happy ending : ( Get him bees 10:40 THAT WAS A MAD BEE cheers buddy
There's always mayhem when doing a cut out, both for the bees and the bee wrangler. In the end, one of them is going to bee victorious, I'd just prefer it to bee me. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
lmao so true . I try to cut down on it tho by being more careful but a few still get it too OR ME OUTCH. Its been so hot glade made space for them to lay and make honey, I hope can get by a few more weeks or less cooler days b4 they become honey bound again . I kept plenty of sugar water out for em now. some time I use coffee, vanillia extract or little salt in the sugar water helps em out MORE My bees are like me sweating there buns off it just too hot
Sweet! yep ! i put it out as long as they take it. they quit i quit but i don't see any nectar for em now ! Other than morning dew. All there fruits are gone. YES they will hit it hard rite now with in these last few months. cheers my friend
Whew, when it let go I actively cringed. I was waiting for the box to fall out of the tree entirely and explode. I'm glad it didn't, but I was afraid it would. Good job!
I was afraid it would also, man I'm happy that netting held. The jolt did break the comb loose from the top of the box, and that is why it fell outas I was removing it. In the end, everything worked out. The bees are now happy and thriving here at the abbey. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Mr. Ed, I just want to say that I love your videos. Keep up the great work
Very kind of you to say, and I am much appreciative of the time you spend watching my channel. I hope you continue to do so, and comment on the ones you watch. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Ifkfugwjhdbkhenodhejejeogofkngmhg. He. He. He. He. He. Hhjhj
Thank you for sharing your video with the world, Mr Ed! It’s great how God blesses us with these types of scenarios and we can share the experience with others. I’ve started making bee related UA-cam videos this year as well and enjoy it so much. As I have said previously, your channel inspired me and I always enjoy watching!
It brings me great joy hearing that the gifts God has given me as a bee wrangler inspired you to pursue the gifts He has given you. I wish you well on your channel, and if it makes any difference, I subbed while I was there. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
Good job there Mr. Ed! I was very concerned that the box was going break up into pieces when it dropped in a rolling swing. I was relieved to see it stay in one piece. I knew you had it from there on. Great video and good save on that queen. If those bees only knew that you were only helping them, you would never get a sting. Keep on wrangling Mr. Ed, and I'll keep watching. Rick
I was VERY concerned the box would break also, but as it turned out, it remained intact. The transfer was somewhat challenging, and I took well over 15 stings on this one, but the queen was caged, and all the bees moved into the new hive. I went back 2 days later to released the queen, and all the bees in the tree had made their way to the new box also.....yes! Thanks for taking your time to follow my be adventures Rick, I really appreciate it. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
Good to hear that the bees were still buzzing instead of quacking...nice catch Mr, Ed.
If they had been ducks, I would not have been stung so many times. Those bees did not want me to take that box off the tree, and they made sure I payed for it. I got hit at least 15 times on this one. God's peace Brian.
Mr. Ed
Watching your love for the Bees...as always a great way to start the day.....Thanks!
Keeping and wrangling bees is a spiritual excercise for me. The connection between the bee and
God is a constant reminder for me to lose myself in the wonder of God. This is why I do what I do, and I am so glad that it jump starts your day. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Love it!!! I've never seen so many bees in one place. Great job in getting the box down. Congrats on getting the queen!!!
I am going to have to get me a cowboy hat, put netting around it, and start wearing it every time I go wrangling. I'll start a new design in bee apparel, Mr. Ed style. God's peace Gina.
Mr. Ed
I really love watching you (and other bee keepers) capture and relocate swarms, not to mention how you reclaim the honey and wax you collect.
I was watching a Bee Keeper (can't remember who) collect a swarm within the last year and he made a good observation, that when someone vacuums up bees the wind, to the bees, is like us being snatched by a tornado and smashed against multiple plastic walls before finally being deposited in the vacuum box. He observed that that condition is why so many bees die while being captured by a vacuum box so he replaced his ribbed hose with a smooth hose and found that most, if not all, of the bees survived the vacuum capture.
Suggestion; replace the ribbed plastic hose that you normally get with a wet/dry vacuum with a smooth hose. After all, you want as many bees collecting honey for the Abbey as you can get, right?
It is not the ribbed hose that kills the bees. What kills bees is the amount of vacuum in the tube. If the pressure is regulated properly, regardless of smooth or ribbed vacuum hose, the bees will not die. I have demonstrated this fact on a number of videos showing the"kill" of vacuumed bees, a handful at most or none, and many of these were bees that were injured prior to being vacuumed. I hope this clears the point up for you. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
As I watch this video, I realize how determined you are to reach your goal of 100 hives.
I'm obsessed, and blessed. God's peace Kevin.
Mr. Ed
Hahahaaaa. Your honey came down rambling. I like the enthusiasm. Am now a new beekeeper. Thank you Jesus.
It was sad to see the comb falling, but in the end, everything worked out. I welcome you to the wonderful world of keeping bees. Thanks for watching. God's peace Geoffrey.
Mr. Ed
Wow, what a big bunch of bees! And when that comb flopped out. Ouch!
That's a Lord, you've got to bee kidding me, moment. Or worse!
Good finish for a messy, difficult job.
Peace 😻
It was a dramatic moment when that comb collapsed, but I moved past it and wound up having a successful wrangling adventure. Thanks for watching. God's peace GiGi.
Mr. Ed
I like how you measure the combs before putting into the frames. When those ones started falling forward I could hear myself saying out loud, "noooo" haha. Out in California my nephew used to help build duck boxes at a pond when he was in boy scouts.
I was so disappointed when all the comb fell, I almost stoped the video. It was a real mess, but the bees have cleaned everything up and are doing great. Did you nephew ever catchbees in his duck box? God's peace Annie.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff - Hmm, I'll have to ask him. Well, I figured that as long as they didn't fall on th ground it was still good.
The honey was VERY good, I split the haul with the home owners. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
That's great. I just made a cup of tea and used up most of my (local) honey. I was thinking of getting one of those boxes where the honey flows out of the tubes. : )
As you’re framing up the comb I see what’s in the box start to slowly fall I’m screaming “oh No Oh No don’t fall” lol
I was doing the same thing when it was happening. What a mess. Fortunately everything worked out fine. God's peace Cliffton.
Mr. Ed
Great video, always liked taking swarms and watching them build up over the season. Too old to do it now.
I know exactly what you mean. I have an upcoming video on just the topic you discuss. Though this was no swarm, it is one healthy hive. Though you may not be young enough to wrangle bees anymore, I am ever grateful that you chose to watch me doing it for you. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
Lovely swarm Mr Ed, great job ! more please
This was no swarm, these girls were dug in. They had bees there for at least a year judging on the comb and honey in it. Any way you look at it, I'm happy as heck to have these bees at the abbey now. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
You need to get some of those wood and screen queen cages for this sort of thing. They are small enough that you can attach them into a frame without them being too wide, and then you just plug the hole with bee candy and they will let her out in a day or so so they stay with the new hive. Cody Reeder (Cody's Lab) uses them all the time.
There are many different types of queen catchers/holders, and I have tried most of them. For me, I prefer the "barret" style as it is the easiest to use though it can be difficult to place in between frames. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I have 3 wood duck boxes. No more wood ducks after new 4 lane messed up their fledging path to the creek a couple years ago. Squirrels and screech owls are using them but I've been hoping for a swarm of honey bees.
Trust me, as soon as you forget about having the boxes in the tree, the bees move in. I'm sorry to hear about the lost habitat for the woodies, we have plenty of them here. I love watching them fly at first light right above the tree line. That is one beautiful duck. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff I enjoyed the hens flying out & back (~1 hour round trip) both morning and evening to feed and water while they were setting their nests, ~28 days. I've watched 10 nests of wood ducks fledge and missed many more. Our Fish & Wildlife supervisor said he hadn't and didn't know of any of his officers who had witnessed even one wood duck nest fledging. One year the 3 boxes, all within 100' of our screen porch, had a total of 43 hatchlings take the "giant leap of faith". Their route to the creek was ~1/2 mile. That 4 lane (Ky-80, Murray, Ky) was just too much for the hens to handle with their babies in tow. I really enjoy your videos. I'm subscribed and also subscribed to 628dirtrooster. You two are entertaining and make bee keeping look way easier than it is.
Never saw any woodies fledge, but saw gangs of familes on the lake near me. When mama is in the water with her babies, she fains injury to lead you away. Awesome to witness nature in person, I try to do that in my videos. God's peace Gerard.
Mr. Ed
this is beautiful! I'm very impressed. :) I've never thought that I'm interested about bees, cause Im afraid of every kind insect but they are seems nice, and interesting to collect them. Its amazing how they follow their queen.:O I will follow you Mr. Ed keep doing this awesome job!
I also have a question! I guess many bee is dying by the progress, and you get many bites too! How are they not afraid when you moving them? Is it because you didnt harm the queen? and also how could you be careful to not kill some of them in the progress? :(
Hello Niiania, thank you so much for taking interest in bees despite your fear of insects. For me, bees are very fascinating, and I can't help but be drawn to them. To answer your questions, because bees are very communal insects, they will always stay together. Yes, they are very loyal to their queen, but she does not run the hive, she just lays the eggs thus allowing the hive to continue to survive. Because of this fact, she plays a vital role and the other bees serve and protect her. When I remove bees, I take care not to harm bees as I am trying to save them. Some bees will be killed or left behind, it is unavoidable, but the majority of the bees and the hive itself will be saved. I get stung all the time removing bees. Doing this removal I was stung at least 15 times. That is not normal, usually it's only 1 or 2 or none at all. What part of the world are you in? Thanks for watching, and I hope to see your name in the comments again soon. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Thank you for your answer. 😊
Now I understand. I could have search for it in google, but it was nice to hear it from your opinion since you are a professional. 😊
I live in Hungary! I've never really seen a bee colony before, but I'm sure I would never try to harm them, they are amazing creatures.
Just I'm afraid of stungs.:D
Thank you for your positive vibe, I love how happy you seem in every video of your. 😊 Peace Mr. Ed!
A great video- as always. There appeared to be poison oak "leaves of three" behind you in the beginning of the video- that stuff is awful. Thanks for taking us with you. As far as chging your plans after getting into the job- 21 yrs in the military taught me "rigid flexibility" 😀. Have a blessed week- my friend.
Rigid flexibility, love it. A perfect motto for bee wrangling. As far as the poison oak, I did see it, but was not concerned as I was all covered up, and I did not plan on disturbing it. Thanks for the motto. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Nice Job Mr. Ed. You made it look a lot easier than I know it probably was. Either way you got the job done and a nice colony of bees. I plan on putting out a few swarm boxes in the spring and see how that goes. If nothing else I may catch my own bees if they swarm without me knowing.
The life of a bee keeper, the hope of catching swarms, but I will settle on catching my own.... if I'm lucky enough. I don't see how it would be possible to catch more swarms than I did this year, but what ever happens, I will be setting traps at the end of Feburary. By the way, this was not a swarm ,but an established hive.Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I just watched all your videos. hello from Connecticut. God bless
There is no way you could have watched all my videos, that would have taken months. But if you did, you deserve a metal, or at least a new pair of glasses because your eyes have got to bee tired. Thank you for all the time you spent watching my channel, I am humbled by your kindness. I am looking forward to hearing from you on another video. By the way, there is a new one coming out on Friday. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Great job, that looked like your plan really worked... all is well
Nobody was killed or injured, so yes, all went well. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Good job as always, thanks for videoing the whole thing, God is with you.
It always makes me happy when I see comments like yours. I wrangle bees because I love doing it. I make the videos of my adventures because I just want to share the experience because so many others can't. The pay check comes with comments like yours. Thank you, and thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Good stuff as usual... Would be good to see how things have evolved by the time you go pick them up... I'd like to see how they patch up the comb you've transferred and deal with the rubber bands...
It did not take long for the bees to adapt to the new box. If I had not relocated those bees, they would have swarmed. By moving them into 2, 10 framed deep supers, with comb that was already drawn out, these girls thought they won the lottery. One very good sign of acceptance the bees give is when they start dragging the rubber bands out from the hive. This indicates the bees have attached the old comb to the frames and on the way to building more comb. These bees did this within 1 week. The hive is doing fantastic here at the abbey, and I am looking forward to seeing if they make it through the winter. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Great job we are still trying to get our girls out of the tree, we are still work on our tree 8-14-17 we are putting them in hive now, but still got lot more girls to get haven't got Queen yet, by grace of God we will get job done.
The little train that could, keep on going girl, those bees don't stnd a chance. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Wood Duck bees! I love wood ducks, and can only imagine that these girls are beautiful too. The ladder made me nervous! You did a really good job so high above terra firma. Yikes! Have a great week.
Could you see my knees hitting each other, that was some kind of high.Thankfully, everything worked out great, other than the multitude of stings I took on this one. Those bees did not want me to take that duck box down, and when I did, they still wanted to let me know they were not happy. I hope you have a great week also,and don't forget, there's a new video on Friday. God's peace Juliana.
Mr. Ed
I love wood ducks as well! Yeah, that was scary up there. I'd be worse off seeing how I'm nervous with heights AND BEES, Lol!
I agree! The bees alone make me light headed. The ladder just terrifies me more! Wood ducks are so cool.
Just found your channel and I must say i'm glad I did :) -Dean
What was the name of the video that lead to the discovery? Thank you so much for tuning in and commenting, I always want to know what viewers think about what they see on my channel. I hope to hear from yo again Dean. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Love your videos! Could you do a tour of all the Abbey hives?
I plan on doing a abbey update when our weather starts cooling down, towards the middle of October. Thanks for watching.God's peace.
Mr. Ed
wow- those were some really upset ladies- and what a score on such a large hive- will you release the queen in a couple days or wait until you move her to the Abby?- once again another great Buzz fix-lol- many blessings...Glo
Those girls did not want me to take that duck box off the tree, and they meant business. I got hit at least 15 times bringing the box to the ground. I went back 2 days later to release the queen, and all the bee on the tree migrated down,yes! The girls are at the abbey now and are doing VEY well. If they make it through the winter, we will have some good genetics off of this one. God's peace Glo. Mr. Ed
Looks like they built there home on sand the way it all came crashing down. The poison ivy caught my attention. Good stuff, thanks.
When the box initially fell from the tree, the jolt was so forceful, it broke the comb from its mooring. When I removed the front and the first section of comb, the whole thing just collapsed since there was nothing holding it up any longer. I won't lie, I was VERY discouraged when the comb fell from the box. Fortunately, things worked out well in the end. The poison ivy got my attention right away, but since I was wearing long sleeves and gloves, I just went to work. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I will probably get a rash because I saw it, a great dislike for the stuff. When I saw that all fall apart it was an "Oh no" moment, but as with many things in life at that point you just keep moving ahead, it all works out and even when it doesn't God is still good. Blessings.
Great video you did a great job thanks for sharing. God bless
Could you tell I was shaking when I was on the ladder getting ready to pry the box from the tree? That was an intense moment. I was happy it went well. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
they look so calm. at the start at least
These bees meant business from the get go. I could not tell you how many stings I got doing this job. The most were given getting the box off the tree. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
With all that comb collapsing action going on, you were quite blessed to find that queen alive and unharmed!
If I may, two questions:
1. Why did you not vacuum some bees first? The ones on the outside of the box?
2. Could you have hung/nailed a frame of old comb on the tree after removing the duck box for the remaining bees to climb onto?
Would that have been any better? I'm trying to get some pointers to be able to do some hive/swarms removals next year. Thank you .Best regards.
The comb had separated from the box when it fell from the tree, and as I was removing it one section at a time, it just all fell over. I was very lucky the queen was not killed.
Because the box was so far from an electrical outlet, I did not use the vac. Had I used the vac, the job would have been easier, but by not using the vac, the bees were less stressed. And stressed bees at this time of the year is not a good thing. I want the bees to survive the ordeal of a transfer, and by doing it by hand, increased the likelihood of that happening.
Because I knew I was leaving the box there, I also was very confident that the bees in the tree would rejoin their sisters in the box. When I returned two days later to release the queen, all the bees had moved into the box. I would not have hung a old brood comb frame on the tree. I have heard that it works, but since I was leaving the box, I would just let the bees sort it out.....and they did.
My slant on doing removals is this, it is very difficult work, and it requires many tools. You may make money doing it, but you will have earned every penny of it. It is also difficult to get started and may take several years to build up a name for yourself. I would think long and hard before jumping into it, but I must say at the same time, it is VERY rewarding. Let me know how things go for you, and if I can help, just ask. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Thank you very much for your time and clear explanations. Best wishes.
I removed a duck house about 4 years ago, but left the bees in the box and took it home with me. I hung it on a fence post and left them alone. I keep saying I am going to open them up and remove them but never seem to get around to it. They made it 3 years before dying out, but a had a swarm move back into the box a few weeks after and they seem to be going strong. No telling how many swarms I have caught from that hive.
Arkansas is full of woodies, I love watching them. I have another video coming up with another duck box, and I do just what you did. Well, I do plan on transfering them in the Spring,but who knows if I will get around to it. I know you understand. Good to hear from you Desmond. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
This guy never has to worry about a honey do list. He can just tell his wife the bees must've took it.
She doesn't fall for that excuse anymore, now I tell her the dog ate it. Since there are 4 dogs she does not know which one to blame. Meanwhile, I'm in the garage eating honey. Thanks for watching. God's peace. Mr. Ed
That is alot of bees Mr ed you got there in time to save them great job mr ed GOD bless your eyes for queen is amazing thank you for sharing
I think you are a blessing! I wish more people had respect for the Lord's wonderfully design.... Be blessed in all you do. Love in Him.
Thank you for all your kind words, and your blessing for me. I find all my joy in Christ, and that I am allowed to express my appreciation and gratitude by working with bees and making videos about it. Thank you for following along. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Have you ever thought of attaching the comb to the frames by hearing the comb and pressing it onto the frame?
Rubber bands are the best method. The comb is to heavy to support its self, and the rubber bands hold it in place. Keep watching and asking. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
That box was busting with bees! I never had any luck this year with my swarm traps so I finally gave in and bought two Nucs last week. They're doing great. Off topic, but wondering how you deal with Varroa? I want to make sure my girls are strong going in to winter. Thanks for all the inspiration Jeff!
Yes it was, but it was not a swarm. These girls had been there for a bit over a year, and now they call the abbey home. As far as dealing with Varroa, I do not treat. I let the bees handle it. Breeding good genetics, in my opinion, is the correct way in keeping bees. If the hive should die, so be it. The hives that are able to overcome attacks, are going to be reproducing, and that is the line I want to cultivate. It can be done. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Thanks for the advice Mr. Ed!
The great thing about keeping bees is there are many ways of doing it. When we find what works for us in our particular situation, then we refine and streamline the method. There will always be lots of ups and downs over time, but that's just how life works. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Where could I go to aquire some Bedico bee honey? I'm sure that hive was a stones throw from my house.
Uncle Andy They certainly sell the honey from the Abbey bees in the Abbey shop, your best bet would be to give them a ring and see what stocks they have.
I would try at one of the many Farmers Markets they have around here. I know for a fact that there are several local bee keepers that sell their bees honey right there. I have seen local honey at both the Covington and Abita Farmers Market. Unfortunately, we have no more at the abbey. I know you will find it. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Believe it or not, we sold all our honey, 700 bottles, in 11 days. We will not have any more till October, and I don't know how much we will have. Thanks for trying to help. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Thanks for the input and keep the videos coming.
wow big bunch for sure good job ed
Yes it was, and they were all crammed up in that little space. Had I not transferred them, they would have swarmed very soon. God's peace Drew.
Mr. Ed
I'm from India.I like u'r all videos.loved it.👌👌keep it up🖒🖒
Thank you so much for watching and for expressing your support for my efforts of saving bees. I have been rescuing bees from being needlessly destroyed for over 6 years now, and hope to continue to do so for many more years to come. I hope to hear from you again on more of my bee wrangling adventures. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
All the best
I love your videos. Fascinating! I love the way you praise Jesus for the queen.❤️🙏
What is the difference in the really dark comb and very light yellow comb?
Dark comb is old comb and light comb is new comb. If there is honey in the comb, like in this video, that is fall honey, it also is dark. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Thanks for explaining the difference. I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
Nice Job Mr. Ed! :D
Thanks for the thumbs up. Difficult job, but lot of fun. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
When do you release the queen? Great videos by the way!
I released her 2 days later, and by that time, all the bees that had been up in the tree had moved down to the new hive. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
As always: great video. Greetings from Germany where we have another four weeks of Summer holidays. Best days for teachers like me. REBECCA
I can hardly wait for you to show your biology class some of the videos they missed while on Summer holiday. Get them to ask questions, I'll bee more than happy to respond. God's peace Rebecca.
Mr. Ed
Oh, interesting....a duck box? never heard from that.
Another interesting part would be the question, how old this hive is? On the sights of all this old comb with packed full of honey must be some years they live there...
Another successful good job was done, and you´re healthy. Good Result there.
We have a lot of ducks here in Southeast Louisiana, and one of the species is called a wood duck. If you will goggle it, you will find a very beautiful, colorful duck, at least the male duck is. These ducks prefer to build their nests in trees rather than on the ground. So, many people build these boxes, and the wood duck takes up residence in them. Because the boxes are rather large, they make wonderful bee boxes. The bees in this box had been there for better than a year judging by the comb and the honey in it. The hive had grown so large, that if I not transferred them, they would have swarmed very soon. Stay tuned, I will be doing another duck box removal very soon. God's peace Peter.
Mr. Ed
Sounds interesting. We have some ducks here, too, but I´m living in a small village, where is not so many ducks or sea there.
I saw in the last few days your video about a duck box unboxing from 2 years ago. It was interesting too and it shows perfectly, how much time it would need to full clearing of this box.
This box was a bit easier because of the honey-filled comb fell out itself.
Why not take whole box , bagged up to the abby transfer there and retun box later to the home owner?
Either at the abbey or on the spot, the process had to be done. As it was still within my cut off date to do removals, just barely, I chose to do it on location. I have several oter videos coming up that I do just as you propose. Great comments. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff I take it the cut-off date is to do with the time of year, the weather and the amount of pollen bearing plants and trees available until the autumn?
You are absolutely 100% correct on your speculation. Besides, it's just to hot. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Love your videos Jeff. I have a quick question, what size elastic bands do you use?
I'm very glad you like my bee wrangling videos, I hope you find them informative and maybe even a bit entertaining. I use a #2 rubber band to hold the comb in place. I but a large bag from Office Depot for about $9.00. Thanks for watching, and I hope you will continue to watch and comment on my bee wrangling adventures. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Why would they have necessarily swarmed if you had not relocated them? And when is your cutoff date for cutouts?
There was no room left in the box for bees or the development of additional comb. I try to stop doing removals at the end of June and start up around mid September. Then, I stop again around Christmas, and start up again at the end of Feburary. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr.Ed.
I love bees! Glad u could save them! Thank you. !
These are some really nice bees. I took a bunch of hits getting the box down, but after that, they settled down. The transfer was difficult because the comb had broken free from the box, but it all got worked out fine. The bees are doing great at their new home at the abbey, and I am very confident that next spring I will be splitting these girls and pulling honey from them. We shall see. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
The entrance was too small for the ducks so they sublet to the bees?
The ducks could not afford the rent, and with that many bees, it was easier fro them to come up with the rent money. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
*"The hard part of this job is bringing this box down"*
_* starts chainsaw *_ Let's not make this harder than it needs to be(e)...
Thanks for another great video, Mr. Ed. And thanks to 628Dirtrooster for supplying the drone, I mean queen.
That is hilarious, I'm triple thumbs up on that one. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I hoped the bees in the tree got the message and moved into the hive.
What is a duck box ? I never heard of such a thing.
Here in Louisiana, as well as all over the US, there is a breed of duck known as the wood duck. This duck likes to build it's nest off the ground, and these boxes offer the perfect opportunity for the duck to do so. This was the 3rd hive I have removed from a duck box this year. As far as the bees coming down, they did so 2 days later. Sweet!!! Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Yeah, here in the UK we don't have duck boxes either! All of ours nest on the ground or on marshy land where the make nests, just like swans.
MsCherade9 - That's the case for almost all of our waterfowl in North America, but wood ducks just have to be different. :-) They're beautiful birds as well, so lots of people enjoy having them around in their ponds and streams, and we've cut down most of the big old trees that have natural cavities for them to nest in, thus the duck nesting boxes. Nesting boxes and controls on hunting in the early 1900's brought them back from near extinction to their current status of least concern.
Near a pond I put in two wood duck boxes and a Bee Trap that looked like a Wood Duck Nest (people steal bee traps). Just made a screen bottom and three small holes instead of the Large duck one.
They steal bee hives also, I had 2 of mine taken years ago. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Great job, Jeff! I think those may have been Mallard bees! Excellent video! I wish I lived nearby, I would be right there with you helping you wrangle them rascal bees! I enjoyed the video very much, thank you for making it for us! Peace brother!
If you lived nearby, I'd love the help. Rocket Scientist Steve has moved and his spot needs to be filled. Wreck it Ralph is always available thankfully, but another set of hands would bee nice. Thank you for the time you spend watching, and I am very glad you enjoy the adventures. God's peace Robert.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Rocket Scientist Steve has moved? I take it this is due to the house fire they had? I feel really sad for them, you can lose so many irreplaceable things in such fires, though thankfully they and any pets are fine!
Yes he and his wife have moved to Lake Aurthur , Louisiana, about 4 hours away from the abbey. Both he and his wife are from that area and their daughter lives nearby also. They are moving ahead in their lives, but the wound is still very fresh. Keep them in your prayers. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
where are you bring all those bees to? 😮
I am the bee keeper for the monks at St. Joseph Abbey in Louisiana. All the bees that I wrangle are brought to one of the 5 bee yards that we maintain for the good of the environment and for the support of the monks. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
So will the queen stay in that holder while they come down or do you let her out?
I went back 2 days later and released the queen into the hive. All the bees that were on the tree had moved into the new box, and I left the box there a few more days and then brought everything to the abbey. The bees are doing fantastic. Thanks for watching.God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Oh Jeff! I'm only halfway through watching this one and when those three large combs started leaning over and slowly gaining momentum - I was try sooo hard to warn you! Its March of 2018, 13 months after it happened, and I am trying to talk to you! LOL Don't tell the Rooster - I've done it to him twice. But you found the Queen!! And they are in MUCH better circumstances now, thank you for that one. Can you tell me how they are doing now?
These bees made it through the winter, and I will be splitting them in just a few more weeks. Thanks for watching and beeing so engrossed in the wrangling. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Oh that's great to hear! Thank you!
Good job, Jeff! How many times did you get stung during this removal operation?
No more than 15 times, but definately not less. Those girls did not want me to take that box off the tree. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I don't understand why you didn't vacuum these bees up before dismantling the hive. Can you explain so I can learn? Many thanks!
Hi Mr. Ed, you doing great work ! I love your videos. Because of you, I would love to try beekeeping but I can't, im very alergic :(
Had a little Bee-pocalypse in the box . Hope theere weren't too many casualties .
Wow those are UNHAPPY bees 🐝
Not anymore, they are happy as could bee in their new spacious bee box. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
what a great box of duckbees :P I was hoping to see a nice march into the box, but they just all stat there. Hope they are all doing OK. Just out of curiosity, what is your preferred method for Varroa treatment ? how often. Etc.
The reason the bees just sat there was because this was an established hive, and I was trying to evict them and move them into my 10 frame hive body. The bees are now ALL in my bee box and doing very well here at the abbey. As far as my preferred treatment method, I let the bees take care of iot themselves. I do not treat with chemical. Breeding good genetics, in my opinion, is the correct way in keeping bees. If the hive should die, so be it. The hives that are able to overcome attacks, are going to be reproducing, and that is the line I want to cultivate. It can be done. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I cringed when the comb in the box collapsed and when you dropped the box onto the tarp. x___x
Weather it's a good experience or not so good experience, bee wrangling is always exciting . God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
Ha! The homeowner is standing a mile away with the end of that rope. :)
And he still was stung. I got stung at least 15 times on this transfer. The girls were not giving it up without a fight. I think they were so mean because there was no space left for them in the box. The bees are doing really well in their new hive at the abbey. God's peace. Mr. Ed
Love the vids! So, how long do the rubber bands stay on the combs? Do you cut them off once the bees start to fill in the frame?
The bees will cut the rubber bands off the frames as soon as the comb is attached. After they cut the bands, they drag them out of the hive. It's really cool to see a rubber band hanging from the entrance. God's peace Max.
Mr. Ed
@@JeffHorchoff You too! Thanks!
Bring i couple eye hooks with you in the kitthen rope with a carabina i think would do you good..you can take them back after you use them
What does the white powder do?
I do not know what you are referring to. At what part of the video do you see it? God's peace.
Mr. Ed
@@JeffHorchoff I mean the white thing you sprayed at 1:50
Hello Mr.Ed, do you have bee hives? If yes, How much honey its produced? peace
Bruno, were you # 1 again, you were the first to comment. How's the weather in sunny Brazil? We have over 60 hives here at the abbey, and the number is always growing. The goal is to reach 100 sustainable hives so that we can theoretically produce 400 gallons of honey a year. Last June we harvested over 80 gallons so we are a far piece away. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Jeff Horchoff Ohh gosh, good Lucky for you. you Will be reach at 100 hives Very soon. Here in Brazil its Very cold and I get sick yesterday, but its nothing haha Has no snow here but i deslike taking my nose freezing (about 10°C). Thanks for asking, keep making your excelent videos. Peace :D
I will do Bruno as long as you keep watching. I hope you feel better. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
Does anyone know what the name of the music playing is
The first one is titled," North," the second one is titled." Morning Stroll," and the third one is titled, "The Coldest Shoulder," and they can all be found on UA-cams audio library. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
i just think you are fab love your videos from the uk
That is so nice to hear, thank you. In truth, I'm just a fella who loves saving bees and sharing the adventures. Thank you so much for watching, and taking the time to leave a comment. Until the next time, God's peace.
Mr. Ed
that's quite a few bees there. nice save.
And they all wanted a piece of me. Heck, and a bunch of them got it too. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
You did not have your bee vacuum this time?
It is a lot of fun to do bees without the vac, since I knew it was not going to be a very large area to work with, I decided not to use the vac. Also, the vac stresses the bees way more than just using my hands. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
why the blue gloves?
They are honey proof as well as sting proof, that's what I call a winner. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
If you’re in Willis you’re 20 minutes from Papa Bee!
Sorry I did not know that then, I'd have loved visiting you. I hope there will bee a next time. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
Hi from Barcelona. Nice videos!
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my channel Xavier, especially from Barcelona.....what a beautiful spot on the planet. I hope you continue to watch and comment. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I watch your fantastic videos with my two children 6 and 10 years old. We love to know how bees live. Thank you very much for sharing your amazing job.
Xavier
You are to kind, thank you for sharing with your children also. God's peace to you and your family.
Mr. Ed
Well here's your problem: no duck tape.
Great comment, you got me to laugh at it. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
I did not know Mr Ed was a bee swinger?
I have lots and lots of secrets, and because I'm in a good mood I will let you know one of them. I have done 3, thats THREE, swarm removals in the last 2 weeks, and yes, all of them are on video. So, now that I have your attention, and I hope you are not drooling on your monitor, I will be posting them in the next few weeks. I managed to get the queen on 2 of the 3, and the one where I did not get her, she got into the box on her own. So far, all are doing well. Alright, enough letting the bee out of the bag to early. Stay tuned. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
How long does a queen live?
Queens can live up to 5 years, where as a worker bee will live only 6 weeks. A drone, if he's unfortunate and does not mate with a queen, will live for one season only. If he is lucky enough to mate with a queen, he dies immediately after the act of mating.....his innards are pulled from his abdomen. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Mister Ed do you make your own bee boxes and frames?
No, I buy the boxes and frames from Mann Lake, free shipping. I do build the screen bottom boards, inner covers, and top covers. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Great video
Thanks Joe, and if you did not know it, I post a new one every Friday. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
good job! x
Thank you Margery, and thank you for watching and commenting. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Jeff that's quite the challenge, and once again, you rose to the occasion, but i have a question.... How many hive do you have, you seem to get at least one more each week. Do you have a donation process for the Abbey and thank the contributor with one of those captured hives?
You have a great avitar. There are about 60 hives here at the abbey now....and growing. Our goal is to have 100 sustainable hives so as to have a regular honey source for the gift shop which is the only place the honey is sold. People can sponsor hives and there is a process for that set up on the St. Joseph Abbey web page. Just find Abbee Honey, and you will see the process. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
You come a long way in making videos
Hello "Mr. Ed". One day you will have to let some of us know why you are Mr. Ed. I hope you do an update on this video. Always enjoy watching you wrangle. Have a blessed day.
Mr. Ed is the name that was given me on the first day I started working at the Post Office 36 years ago. I have always like the name, and upon retiring, I continued to use it as my name. Thank you fopr the blessing and watching my channel. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
The name fits you well. God's peace and continued blessings to you as well.
Mr. Ed, the talking horse, I love it. Thank you for the blessing, and God's peace to you and yours. Mr. Ed
Is this one of the older videos from before he had the bee vacuum? :D
I had the bee vac with me, I just chose not to use it on this removal. As it turned out, everything went well. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
@@JeffHorchoff No worries, it just looks so much quicker than waiting for the bees to decide to move into their new box, is all. ^^
whats the music at 5:20`?
" The coldest shoulder" it's on the UA-cam audio library. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
have you come across killer bees?
Thankfully, no. For whatever reason, the Africanized bee is not in Southeast Louisiana.......yet. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Why not vacuum this hive?
I could have used the bee vac, but if there is the possibility of not using it , I'll take that option. By removing the bees by hand, it greatly reduces the stress the bees under go during a removal. The less stress the bees experience, the greater the likelihood of the hive surviving the transition. Very good question. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Nice when you can start a hive in a double deep .
I wish it would happen to you brother. I figure we are even though, you are catching all those salmon, and I have to settle for perch. God's peace. Mr. Ed
you did not get any stings , i know bees do not like sweating people .how long did it take to do the job .
Those bees did not want me to take that box off the tree, and they made sure I payed for it. I got hit at least 15 times on this one. The whole job took about 4 hours, but I had another 6 hours making 4 more visits. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Like your video so much
I post these videos, to show just how important bees are to our very survival, and why we should not just kill them out of ignorance. I have been rescuing bees from being needlessly destroyed for over 6 years now, and hope to continue to do so for many more years to come. Thanks for watching, and I hope you will check out more of my bee wrangling/ bee rescues adventures and let me know what you think of them. By the way, I post a new video every Friday morning, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon. God's peace.
Mr. Ed you Benjamin.
@@JeffHorchoff Ok Hope you have a great day
Jumpscare 10:40 . YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Peace
YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!!!!! I don't know what it is about a camera, but bees do not like them. Thanks for watching, and I hope you check out more of my bee adventures on my channel. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
Thank you, Jesus!
AMEN!!! Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
That looked like poison ivy growing up the tree. Hate that stuff. This year alone I have watched your wrangle a massive number of bees. Do you maintain hives for all of them?
A small percentage of the hive do not make the transition, they just fly off and try to make it somewhere else. I don't like when that happens because of the investment of time, energy, and money is just fluched. But the ones that do stay go on to bee very productive bees. We now have over 60 hives at the abbey. Thanks for watching. God's peace.
Mr. Ed
the bottom class bees are not used to bee allowed to live indoors
they cant believe it so they hang on the tree as usual :)
there duck bees lmao there quacking! wtg jeff it must wore ya out ! You look tired Glade Walmart got a good supply of extra large rubber bands now. There good ones! OMG LEG WENT SMASH on top of em ! Your chopping them to pieces 10:21 Oh well wish it was a happy ending : ( Get him bees 10:40 THAT WAS A MAD BEE cheers buddy
There's always mayhem when doing a cut out, both for the bees and the bee wrangler. In the end, one of them is going to bee victorious, I'd just prefer it to bee me. God's peace brother.
Mr. Ed
lmao so true . I try to cut down on it tho by being more careful but a few still get it too OR ME OUTCH. Its been so hot glade made space for them to lay and make honey, I hope can get by a few more weeks or less cooler days b4 they become honey bound again . I kept plenty of sugar water out for em now. some time I use coffee, vanillia extract or little salt in the sugar water helps em out MORE My bees are like me sweating there buns off it just too hot
Just put sugar water out on a couple new ones tonight, they really need it. God's peace brother. Mr. Ed
Sweet! yep ! i put it out as long as they take it. they quit i quit but i don't see any nectar for em now ! Other than morning dew. All there fruits are gone. YES they will hit it hard rite now with in these last few months. cheers my friend
Poor Randy got stung in the face today
Went to capture ducks, and captured bees?
You never know what you are going to get when you watch one of my videos. God's peace.
Mr. Ed