Honey thieves

July 25, 2024, 10:53 AM

DennisM

Honey thieves

I cannot overstate how much I despise thieves.

Georgian England had it right. Hang them or transport them to a distant island where we can be free of them.

July 25, 2024, 12:55 PM

egregore

I was expecting bears when I saw the thread title, not human thieves. What market is there for hot honey? At least bears are just feeding themselves by instinct and nature, but humans purposely act out of malice.

July 25, 2024, 06:08 PM

dsiets

Your honey is probably being sold at a local farmers market.

I remember when I first got into brewing, the unfiltered honey sold at the local homebrew store was around $3/lb for wildflower. Now days, last time I checked it was at least $6/lb.
A 5 gal. batch of mead w/ 15 lbs. of basic honey = $90+.
I've reverted to doing just 3 gal. batches.

July 25, 2024, 07:31 PM

Gustofer

quote:
Originally posted by dsiets:
Your honey is probably being sold at a local farmers market.

Very likely. I sell what I don't use to friends for $20/quart (less than the going rate nowadays) so they got away with a few hundred bucks. Bastards.

________________________________________________________
"Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton.

July 28, 2024, 04:34 PM

akcopnfbks

This pisses me off! I keep bees as well, and I'd be livid if some shady motherfuckers stole my honey.

Just put super #2 on 2 hives last weekend (4 total hives this year). There will be mead. What type of bees are you keeping Gustofer? I've got 2 Carnis, a Causasian, and a Russian hive. I can usually keep the Russians over-winter up here....this is the 3rd year of this colony of Russians.

_________________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than omnipotent moral busybodies" ~ C.S. Lewis

July 28, 2024, 07:45 PM

sjtill

Winnie the Pooh has already made his appearance; I came to make sure someone made the inevitable connection.

_________________________
“Remember, remember the fifth of November!"

July 28, 2024, 10:32 PM

Rey HRH

What is strange to me is they would leave empty combs. I would expect thieves to just take, take, take.

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.

July 28, 2024, 11:54 PM

Gustofer

quote:
Originally posted by akcopnfbks:
What type of bees are you keeping Gustofer?

I like Italians. I like their calm nature, and they seem to produce quite well. Making it through the winter is hit or miss. I just have to make sure that I feed them really well in the fall. I've considered Russians for their cold-hardiness, though.

________________________________________________________
"Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton.

Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018

July 29, 2024, 01:08 PM

HRK

quote:
Originally posted by Rey HRH:
What is strange to me is they would leave empty combs. I would expect thieves to just take, take, take.

Hides the theft, could be days or weeks before discovered, and in that time the hive could build more on the new combs.

Plus you can come back another night and swap out all you need to know is the timing for the hive to rebuild...