# Flies in the hive...



## John V (Jun 7, 2010)

I have one hive that seems to constantly get bothered by flies. I have the entance reduced down to 25%. It has a SBB, as well as a screened inner cover like all my hives. I've watched this hive for some time over the past few weeks and the flies just kind of toy with the bees at the entrance until they are able to sneak in. At first I just thought it was their funeral. Tonight, I took a quick peek in the top to see if the bees were needing more room and I saw several flies just under the screened inner cover. What gives? Do the bees have too much room? Are these just poor genetics? Will the flies cause any problems inside the hive? Is it worth re-queening over? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! 

BTW, I don't see flies any where close to my other hives. I did a thorough hive inspection on this hive last weekend and didn't see anything abnormal.

Thanks, John


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

So there is no AFB or EFB to attract the flies??? Sometime when the hive is really near deaths door and stinking really bad you will see green or blue bottle flies hanging around. A hive like that should have been burned a long time ago. TED


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## John V (Jun 7, 2010)

This hive had symptoms of EFB and tested postive with a home test kit. They were treated several weeks back with Tetra-Bee and seem to be doing great now. They are back to a solid brood pattern. All larvae are bright white again and there have been many orientation flights in the past week. There was a slight smell MANY weeks ago but never very strong. There's no smell now. I even had an experienced beek out to check things out and he said they looked like they were doing awesome. He said he had had FB at different stages of his career and this was very minor. Could they still be weak from that? 

Thanks, John


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## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

They probably are still weak and have not cleaned up some of the smell.Flies can smell traces of methane from rotting materials from great distances.There still could be foulbrood in there and the bees are cleaning out the larvae from them and you are not seeing it.If there is any chance of it being AFB you better burn it all because it can stay in the wax for ever.Bees can wander in from other hives if those are weak and carry the AFB back with them.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Ok, this may be a wild one, but worse mentioning. I have ducks, and their poo attracts flies in the duck house even with daily cleaning. What helps with getting rid of them is dryer softener sheets. I hang some on the ceiling and the flies are gone. Some people even wipe liquid softener onto their rafters. I'm not sure how bees would react to it. Perhaps you hang a sheet with a thumbtack outside of the box where the bees don't crawl over it and see if it works. I have never done this because there are no flies on my hives, but I would do it and just sit there for a while and see what happens and how the bees react to it.


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## Kazzandra (Jul 7, 2010)

The dryer sheet thing is interesting, but everywhere I read about it I see bees mentioned as being repelled, as well. However, I have yet to find anything that explains WHY insects are repelled by them concretely. The closet I came was this quote:


> Insects don't like dryer sheets, so anywhere you don't want bugs, hang a dryer sheet. This is a great idea especially if you are having a cook out or an outdoor party. The dryer sheet will keep the mosquitoes, flies and_ bees _away from you and your guests. It works like a citronella candle, but it's a little cheaper.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

As I've said tack one outside of the hive and watch the bees. You can always remove it if they don't like it. The hope is that the flies go away, but the bees go by their usual routine.


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## Axtmann (Dec 29, 2002)

If the flies bothers you when you inspecting the hive, there is only one way, check the bees during dinner time when all the flies are in the kitchen.


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## Axtmann (Dec 29, 2002)

Now a real way, place a Thymol strip on top of the brood frames. You will find no flies anymore. Bad side effect, it kills the Varroa and Tracheal mites the same time.


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## arcowandbeegirl (Oct 11, 2010)

I saw alot of flies around a feral hive I brought in that had wax moth and shb larvae. Good tips on the dryer sheets and thymol strips.


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