[log in to unmask] wrote:

> Peter Borst asks how Europeans kill diseased colonies of bees.  In the case of
> AFB the hive is closed in the evening after flying has ceased and petrol is
> poured through the feed hole in the crown board.  This kills the bees rapidly
> and humanely and also probably assists the subsequent funeral pyre.  I have
> killed a colony of dangerously psychopathic bees by spraying each comb of bees
> with very dilute detergent washing up liquid using a mist sprayer.

I have seen bees treated with petrol (gasoline), and it is not very nice.  Yes
the outer bees are killed, but they rapidly cluster, and the inner ones die very
slowly.  They also are extremely irritable, and if the cluster is opened, much
stinging will occur.  Yes, I agree that the funeral pyre will be well fueled, but
again - petrol (gasoline) is extremely dangerous to ignite, and serious burns may
result.

I agree that the method of spraying with a detergent solution does a quick and
much more humane job than the former.

Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA