# bee poop



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I've been finding turds about an inch long in front of the hives that consist entirely of bee body parts. Are skunks the only ones that will eat bees and expel them in this manner, or are there other types of animals such as racoons that will clean up in front?

I haven't caught the raccons doing it, but I have caught skunks and 'possums.

I got so tired of it I just closed all the bottom entrances and made top ones. But I probably wouldn't drastically change things in the middle of winter. You might end up with a lot of bees coming back and can't find their way back before the chill of the evening sets in.

>All the bees are clustered and there aren't any scratch marks on the hives, so I am assuming whatever it is is just cleaning up the IQF (individually quick frozen) bees in front, but I am just concerned that whatever it is won't be so content with the frozen ones and want live fresh come spring.

I haven't had problems with either skunks or opposums during the winter, so I can't say for sure what's eating yours.

The skunks usually suck the juice out of them and spit them out. They leave little piles of soggy wet dead bees.


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

Weekend before last I found ALL my entrance reducers/mouse guards pulled out of the hives.

Two of my gums were torn open and the colonys ripped out and shreaded all over the ground.

I set the live trap before I left, and this last weekend I had the culprit, or one just like it, in the trap. A cute little black kitty with two white stripes on it's back. We went swimming in the creek.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

I have seen pellets of bees in front of my hives and skunks. This link describes skunks leaving "fecal pellets full of bees." Probably not fecal but spit out is what is looks like to me. A sure way to tell which one would be to taste it.









http://www.farminfo.org/bees/bees-m.htm


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>"Using humane and holistic beekeeping methods"

I try to humanely shoot the skunks too.


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## Robert Brenchley (Apr 23, 2000)

You could try getting a mammal book from the local library. Anything decent on the local fauna should tell you what the turds look like for comparison.


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## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

Any tracks or signs of digging?
Skunks tend to dig a bit everywhere they go.

Skunks have easy-to-see tracks, unlike
most other animals of that size.
Here's some decent photos:
http://www.bear-tracker.com/stskunk.html


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## thekeeper (Nov 24, 2004)

It is probably a skunk they usuallsy will spit out bees when they are done.Also racoons will do the same but they will actually tear the hives apart.These are the 2 critters we have problems with up north ither than bears.

Also were you sure it was a kitty and not a baby skunk sounds like they looked pretty close.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Jims right, I've found holes dug withen 30 feet of the hives. The 'bee chaw' looked like half moon in shape full of bee parts. Reminded me of the wad of mail pouch chaw Grand Pap used to dispose on the lawn.









I just placed a carpet tac strip across the entrances, they can have the bees on the ground.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

>>I try to humanely shoot the skunks too. 

Ha Ha, me too. One shot, ;']


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Humane and hole istic.


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## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Ian, Mike, I have albimo skunk scavenging around my hives. Will they spray when shot?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

albimo? Albino? Albino skunks never spray.  You can just grab them by the tail and take them down the road a ways and let them go.


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## the beekeepers keeper (Feb 14, 2005)

I hope y'all are eatin those skunks you shoot.  

Speaking of bee poo, lately my car is covered with it as we have had some pretty warm weather. The gas station attendant tried to convince me it wasn't bee poo but rocket fuel. I told him I was pretty sure it was bee poo but he insisted otherwise.


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## Beemaninsa (Jun 9, 2004)

I am now collecting bee poo as a new source of income. I plan to sell it to NASA as rocket fuel for the space shuttle. I will keep you updated.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Do they have a lot of rockets in Southern Oregon?


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## the beekeepers keeper (Feb 14, 2005)

Not a lot of rockets but a few gas station attendants with very vivid imaginations.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Ever since I palatized my operation, my skunk problem went almost completely away. My neighbour who beekeeps his hives on the ground has trouble in his yards time to time. I dont think the skunks like to expose thier bellies to the bees, so they avoid the palletized hives unless real hungry.


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## thekeeper (Nov 24, 2004)

Skunks will eat anything.Dont matter if they get stung.We have paletized operation still have skunks.
Ya they also spray when shot stinks for days.They are a pest that is hard to get ride of completly.Shoot one another moves in.We trap and shoot.We live next to state park always having problems with skunk and racoon.The ***** have actually torn apart nucs for the syrp.Well good luck to ya all shoot or trape witchever you preffer.


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## SilverFox (Apr 25, 2003)

The trick to shooting skunks is to get them in the south end when they're facing north.  Kinda inplodes the sent glands.


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

I understood that if you shoot them in the head they don't squirt.

Also using the proper sized live trap will keep them from spraying you too.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I understood that if you shoot them in the head they don't squirt.

I've shot them in the head and they didn't. I've heard of other people who say they shot them in the head and they did.


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## scsasdsa (Jan 23, 2004)

proper shot placement is critical just any head shot wont do it has to be an instant kill. those of us with above average shooting skill take that for granted. imagine an X drawn from oposing ear to eye if facing you, if from the side aim at the base of the ear. body shots and texas bullseye will cause to spray. good hunting.


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2005)

After raising our hives to about 24" above the ground eliminated our skunk problems and also left the brood nest at a good working height.


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## buford (Feb 22, 2005)

o.k., i haven't all of these posts, but i may be having a similar problem.

my hives are currently two cinder blocks high (by the book, this should be high enough to deter skunks). however, i've wanted to lower the hives to one cinder block (less chance of a hive falling over, i can stck supers higher, etc.).

around the first part of december, some of my hives were unusually aggressive. i tossed some rock salt in front of the hives and found skunk size paw prints the next morning.

so (and i'll try to keep this short), i put a lot of nails in some long boards and placed them in front of the hives.

so far, i haven't seen any blood on them, but i have had piles of decomposing bee parts in front of the hives (i thought this was normal; old bees being rolled out the entrance, etc.)

anyway, is a fence the only solution (i still would like to lower the hives).

p.s. my hives are on a hillside (land's not flat)

-sorry so long


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I just closed up the bottom entrances and opened the top instead. That has resolved my problem, except for two hives I didn't get done, and one, I now see, has a pile of bee parts and scratches on the front of the hive. Guess I'll have to get that one done.

http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bush/images/MigratoryTopEntrance1.JPG


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## buford (Feb 22, 2005)

michael,

most of my inner covers have a "dado" cut in the rim for ventilation (same size as my entrance reducer opening). is making an upper entrance as simple a closing the lower entrance, removing the outer cover (so "dado" is exposed, and maybe weather proofing the wood a bit), then placing a brick over the big opening in the middle of the inner cover, and leaving it at that?

also, are skunks a seasonal problem (i.e., will i only have this problem in the winter)? if so, then could i simply open the lower entrance when spring arrived, put a shim where the inner cover was, then place supers above it (keeping it as an upper entrance year round)?

one more thing. the bee parts in front of my hives are mainly just the first two segments of the abdomen (looking sort of like a finger nail) and some heads. i didn't think this was unusual because i used to find stuff like this on the bottom board (back when i used a solid).


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I made some by widening the notch. You don't have to remove the outer cover. Just slide it forward. But you could do it with two shims and sliding it forward and then you don't even had to widen the notch.

When you have a skunk you usually have scratches on the front of the hive and the fresh piles of bees are soggy.


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## buford (Feb 22, 2005)

i've got the outer covers pushed forward right now, with the inner cover turned so that the notch is closer to the outer cover than the colony (the wood is between the colony and the notch) should i change this? 

my gut tells me that if the bees are clustered below the honey and the entrance is above the honey, then there could be problems (maybe with robbing). am i way off on this?

also, you mentioned earlier that a drastic change right now could confuse the bees. should i wait on this then? (i've never seen a bee use the upper entrance).

lastly, are skunks a winter problem or a year round problem (when should the bottom entrance be re-opened


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>i've got the outer covers pushed forward right now, with the inner cover turned so that the notch is closer to the outer cover than the colony (the wood is between the colony and the notch) should i change this? 

I'm having trouble picturing this. If the notch is in the front and the outer cover is pushed to the front then you should have a top entrance right now.

>my gut tells me that if the bees are clustered below the honey and the entrance is above the honey, then there could be problems (maybe with robbing). am i way off on this?

If the bees are in the top box and the entrance is to the top box, I don't see a problem.

>also, you mentioned earlier that a drastic change right now could confuse the bees. should i wait on this then? (i've never seen a bee use the upper entrance).

Well, you could make a skunk/robber screen and put on the bottom. But yes, changes when it's cold out can sometimes result in some confused bees clustered outside in the cold. Their brains don't work so good when the temps are borderline cold.

http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bush/images/RobberScreenHiveSide.JPG
http://incolor.inetnebr.com/bush/images/RobberScreenOutside.JPG


>lastly, are skunks a winter problem or a year round problem (when should the bottom entrance be re-opened 

For me they've been a year round problem. You could try an aspirEgg. Mix three crushed asprin into a raw egg (still in the shell, just poke a hole in the end) and leave it out. It won't hurt dogs, but it will kill skunks.


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## buford (Feb 22, 2005)

i guess what i'm curious about is whether it matters which side of the inner cover the notch is on. 

most of my inner covers are positioned so that the notch is closer to the outer cover than the colony. if it matters, i could turn the inner cover so that the notch is closer to the colony.

since i still have the outer cover in place, this upper entrance is not visible (i guess this doesn't matter either).

right now my bees are in the bottom box (with the top box still full of honey). this would make it a longer trek for the bees to go out through the top rather than the lower entrance.

i just never tried this before, so i'm a little worried about stressing the bees. but, it sounds like a good year round idea to me.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Except for beespace, it doesn't matter. If the notch is up the bees will exit through the hole in the inner cover and out the notch and down the telescopic cover. If the notch is down, they will go directly out and down the telescopic cover. Assuming in both cases the telescopic cover is slid forward.


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