I think my horse may hate me also can you prevent bees nests?

[igglepop]

Before you all think I'm a horrible person i swear i didn't see one bee in the stable.

So having said that today i brought horses in from field tacked up ben and popped betty in her stable to avoid fly's. This was fine, i rode then put ben out in field tacked up betty rode, then put her in field all fine up until this point. I then mucked out swept yard all fine there, now its about 8:30 bring in horses feed and put them to bed head to the tack room to lock up. This is where it starts to go wrong, i start to hear loud banging sounds so go to check pigs in a nearby stable all fine, then check ben all fine, finally very confused look at betty and she her bucking around her stable so i open door and she near enough gallops out passed me still bucking and off she goes does a few laps of yard before i chase her into school where she proceeds to bronc around the school for a few more laps. Whilst she is doing this i look into the stable as i can here buzzing and see loads of bees. As i said before they were not there before me and betty had both been in and out of stable all evening and others have been in this morning stable is used every night. So now betty is in school with ben until stable guests are gone and i feel like the words worst person.

Now i have finished moaning any suggestions on how to get rid of bees, how to spot a nest, how to get horse back into stable and how to make her forgive me i would be very grateful.

 

[labruyere]

it's late.. so bullet points...

sounds like they swarmed, so you're not going mad - they weren't there earlier...

it is now illegal to destroy bee nests in the UK

if they are wasps, you can destroy the nest... get the foam aerosol or powder - widely available DIY Handyman stores
watch the blighters and identify the hole
WAIT TIL DUSK, AS DARK AS POSSIBLE BUT STILL ABLE TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING and then 'ghost buster' the hole... I also stuff something in the hole afterwards as a physical barrier - eg a plastic bag
(use a stick, NOT your fingers, to poke this in!!!!!!!!)
THEN
retire for a stiff drink -
if you're anything like me you'll now be shaking from a mixture of abject fear of getting stung and immense pride that you had the balls to do this!!!!

ok.. so how do you know if it's wasps or bees?

ring your local council (pest control) and ask if they can recommend a local bee keeper...

when I did this the guy came round within a couple of hours, eager to 'bag' a swarm of bees...

the clue was the distance he stood from the nest...
he squinted a bit
said - they're wasps
and high-tailed it down the drive
... trail of dust style... !!!!!!!

I can't really blame him as I'd been attacked the previous day and my neighbour counted more than 20 stings in my neck alone....

if they are bees, he'll probably collect them and take them home....

good luck
.

 

[Myhorseeatsmoney]

First try to find a beekeeper who will move the nest away.

Why would your horse hate you? Most horses are clever enough to put 2 and 2 together and make 4. You did not put the bees on her.

If you want her to follow you into the stable don't even worry about it. Just enter the stable the way you normally do. Your horses hearing is far better than yours so she will know the bees are gone so why would she play up. If you worry so will she. Don't try to encourage just be a leader she can follow.

 

[igglepop]

I was worried she would hate me as i locked her in with them, i would hate me. Im hoping that by tomorrow a giant bucket of feed will help her forgive me.

Thanks for the advice will put into action tomorrow. It really is sods law that out of 11 stable they choose to be in one of the only 3 that have things in.

 

[Ladyinred]

It's very late in the year for a swarm, but we have had a few days of warmer weather so I guess it isn't impossible. I think it's more likely that they have nested nearby and you haven't been there before while they have been active. Our bees have been very active this week building up stores for winter. It's also too late for wasps to be moving in.. but again not impossible with the weather pattern this year.

If you get stung, then a bee leaves its stinger in you while a wasp keeps it. Remove the bee sting and try not to squeeze the sac at the end or you will push more of the irritant into yourself.

As the others have said, find your local bee group or beekeeper. Failing Yellow Pages, go into a farm shop and get the address off a jar of local honey!!