# Meleleuca woes



## Sarsaparilla (May 2, 2017)

I live in what is essentially my family's vacation home. They are not happy to come here during the fall and winter and smell the melaleuca (an invasive species) nectar. It smells like rancid microwave popcorn. I do admit it is pretty bad but my brother and mom can't be outside when my bees have gotten into the mela. They want to get rid of the bees altogether, just for this reason. I may be able to move the hive, although I did smell it to a lesser extent, with the window on the opposite side of the house open, so it is a strong smell.

Any advice? I can't control what trees they get into. I wish I could go burn down those invasive trees, but I can't. If I move the hive, it would have to be to the north side of the house, and that is not really ideal for them. I may be able to move it to the northeast corner, but am not sure that is far enough. Right now they are near our screened in pool so needless to say they are very smelly in the most frequented part of the house for 'guests'.

This is my first year with the bees and they are doing so well. I also worry about the taste of this honey, since I have heard that it "ruins" "good" honey.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

You'd have to burn down every meleleuca within a couple miles so that plan probably won't work, looks like if you want to keep the family happy you got to move the bees.

What's wrong with the north side of the house?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> I also worry about the taste of this honey, since I have heard that it "ruins" "good" honey.

The New Zealanders and the Australians used to feed it to the hogs, but now they sell it for $30 a pound:
https://www.amazon.com/Wedderspoon-...46&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Meleleuca+honey&th=1

Florida meleleuca honey is going for $10 a pound here: https://www.amazon.com/American-Man...46&sr=1-3-spell&keywords=Meleleuca+honey&th=1


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Didn't know that Michael. For what purpose would they have brought the trees over? Until the honey became valuable these trees where regarded as rubbish over here.

Re Wedderspoon, yes they have started a branch over here but they have been very shabby in the way they have treated employees, personally they will never get any of my money if I bought honey it would be elsewhere.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

Also Sarsaparilla, didn't know we were talking about the same plant or I would have said. But over here anyway, the _Leptospermum scoparium_ derived honey is not bad smelling more than any other honey, and certainly not enough to cause the kind of problems you are reporting. Just wonder if the problem lies elsewhere, like dead bees in the bottom of the hive, or something like that?


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## Sarsaparilla (May 2, 2017)

Oldtimer said:


> Also Sarsaparilla, didn't know we were talking about the same plant or I would have said. But over here anyway, the _Leptospermum scoparium_ derived honey is not bad smelling more than any other honey, and certainly not enough to cause the kind of problems you are reporting. Just wonder if the problem lies elsewhere, like dead bees in the bottom of the hive, or something like that?


It's definitely not dead bees. Lol. I think I'd need ten dead hives full of bees to make this much of a stench. I never have seen more than, like, three dead bees on the bottom of my hive.

The plant I am talking about is not that plant, it is melaleuca quinquenervia:
http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/melaleuca-quinquenervia/

The tree was brought in by the army (or navy?) to dry out the everglades to make a base or something. They dispersed the seeds from airplanes. What could possibly go wrong?

Other beekeepers, including the state apiary inspector, said this is the smell. You can also smell the trees just driving past them when they are in bloom, and they have the same smell, though slightly less pungent and more just "popcorn."

I am reluctant to move them to the north side of the house as that is the front side of the house and they will get full shade. We have young landscaping so there isn't a cosmetic way to hide my hive in the front of the house to please my neighborhood. I think I may just move them further northward on the east side and hope to reduce the smell to an occasional whiff rather than constant, and will see if that compromise helps. There could have also been a particularly strong bloom of mela this year, so that may change next year, too.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

OK my bad, different plant entirely.


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