Bees in the bathroom

In mid-April, we had the interesting experience of having bees set up home in one of our bathrooms. The weather was quite rainy then, so I surmised that they needed a sheltered home, which happened to be the bathroom just off our kitchen.

How it begins - a few scout bees come in to check out the place - in this case, just above the bathroom ventilation.

How it begins – a few scout bees come in to check out the place – in this case, just above the bathroom ventilation.

We did try to deter them at first. When we realised that the handful of bees that had flown in through the ventilation holes were settling in, I lit up several incense sticks to smoke them out over the afternoon. By the evening, it looked like I had succeeded, although there were a couple of them up on the ceiling. The following day, when the air had cleared, they returned, found the place available, and then the entire hive arrived…

Here comes the swarm... This was a little scary, seeing hundreds of bees hovering outside and waiting to set up the new home. I have this on video, which I'll upload when I can edit it a bit.

Here comes the swarm… This was a little scary, seeing hundreds of bees hovering outside and waiting to set up the new home. I have this on video, which I’ll upload when I can edit it a bit.

I have to admit that bees are extremely efficient – it took about half an hour for hundreds of them to stream in and settle near the ceiling. This time, they ignored my puny incense sticks and prevailed. I got bigger ammunition – the giant incense sticks used at Chinese funerals. I burned a few of them at a time (they were supposed to burn for 12 hours) over 2 days, but the bees were determined to stay. I gave up because the whole house was smelling so smoky.

From the outside, you see the bees marching in through the ventilation...

From the outside, you see the bees marching in through the ventilation…

And from the inside, the last of the swarm marches obediently in. In all, it took less than half an hour for them to go from the buzzing swarm to this stage. Bees are super-organised!

And from the inside, the last of the swarm straggles obediently in. In all, it took less than half an hour for them to go from the buzzing swarm to this stage. Bees are super-organised!

Besides, they weren’t actively disturbing us (apart from our choice not to use that bathroom, although they didn’t mind). We were able to go about our household activities while the bees buzzed in and out overhead through the ventilation holes above the bathroom window.

In case you’re wondering, I did initially call a pest extermination company to ask about getting rid of bees and received a rather large quote for the job from them. We considered that against the fact that these were honey bees (I checked with a lecturer friend at NUS) – which are dying out across the globe from colony collapse disorder (CCD) - and coupled with the fact that they seemed peaceable enough, decided to leave them be.

The hive after about 2 weeks - wider and more droopy.

The hive after about 2 weeks – wider and more droopy.

So, a week and more passed, and the hive grew bigger. This greatly perturbed one of my brothers, who decided to really smoke them out. He got a big load of medium-sized incense sticks and made a LOT of smoke. I’m surprised none of the neighbours called the civil defence – after all, it wasn’t hungry ghost month yet. Long story short, the bees were forced to abandon the bathroom, couldn’t decide where to relocate, and for the first time, got a little hostile towards us. I don’t blame them. Just look at the wondrous structure they were forced to leave behind:

I call this the bee condominium. Such a wondrous structure that I wonder what it would have looked like had the bees been left alone.

I call this the bee condominium. It’s such a wondrous structure that I wonder what it would have looked like had the bees been left alone.

I’m a little sad that they were chased out, and sadder that we’re not amicable neighbours any more. We suspect they’ve set up a new home nearby, because they still send out scouts that buzz around the lights in the house almost every night.

This experience made me realise that we have no bee keepers here in Singapore, unlike other countries where people can call on them for help, and have unwanted hives relocated instead of exterminated. Just check out this video I found last week on YouTube:

I wish we’d had someone like him here to call on for help!

If you ever have the same experience, I hope you’ll also try first to determine if the insects are honey bees or not; and if they are honey bees, to not have them exterminated unless the hive is somewhere inconvenient or dangerous to you. This is not the first bee hive we’ve had here – just the first one within our living space. From previous abandoned hives, we know that bees will eventually leave the hive and go elsewhere, but we’ve never had the opportunity to know exactly when the hives were started, unlike this one.

As caretakers of the environment we live in, we should try to be aware of the other creatures we share the space with, and how we impact each other. It isn’t right to immediately call in exterminators just because the creatures are alien to us. Remember that they were here first, were displaced by the massive development we’ve done to the country, and they do fulfil important roles in the balance of nature. I’ll go on record and say I’m not pleased with what my brother did, although I understand his concern; however, the bees were peaceful until they were chased from their home and their young were killed by the smoke. I’d be mad too. They need our help to stay alive and we need to educate others that they’re not really dangerous unless they are disturbed (just like people who provoke stray dogs and then complain that they are dangerous because the dogs bit them when provoked). There is also a (disputed) saying that if bees disappeared off the face of the earth, man would have only four years left to live because of its critical role in nature. So let’s keep the big picture firmly in mind.

© 2014 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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Learning from experience

In this case, I’m not talking about lessons learned from making mistakes (like I normally share). Last week, we hosted a friend who has a small farm in Thailand. While I needed an interpreter to translate, some things just spoke louder than words.

Something I should do more often - empty out and refill plant-vacant flower pots.

Something I should do more often – empty out and refill plant-vacant flower pots.

It’s all in the mindset

I guess when you manage a large area of land, you learn how to do things quickly and efficiently. While our garden is a little bigger by Singapore standards, it’s probably a drop in the pond to our guest. So while I think I’m such a gardening warrior on weekends, this nimble farmer friend simply went out to the garden and got lots done in the blink of an eye. I was so humbled. Patches of weeds were dispatched, unoccupied pots were emptied and refilled with new soil, and things got planted – all in a short period of time. If you have a lot to do in a limited amount of time, you learn to do everything quickly!

It looks rather messy, but this is mulching in action.

It looks rather messy, but this is mulching in action.

Mulching

I have a few composting stations in the garden, and normally wait for everything to break down before I use the compost. Our farmer friend grabbed the dried grass and leaves from the top layer and used that for mulching potted plants. She explained that in time, they would also break down into nutrients for the potted plants. I agree, but am apprehensive that there may be grass and weed seeds in that mulch that will soon germinate and make me have to weed more. Less weeding makes a happier me. :P

No, these aren't weeds - they're chinese greens germinating in some mulch in a pot.

No, these aren’t weeds – they’re chinese greens germinating in some mulch in a pot.

Security in numbers

Back to the topic of mindset, I usually sow seeds sparingly, but our friend approaches this differently. She sows two to four seeds in one spot (directly), and in the case of plants with small seeds (like leafy veggies), pretty much scatters handfuls of the fine seeds in growing pots. I was told that this is for germination purposes, and to transplant or thin out seedlings when they get their true leaves.

When we were discussing soil amendments, she looked around and didn’t share my concerns about the soil not being rich enough. After all, she said, the same plants can grow and be fruitful on rocky mountains, so don’t worry. The important thing is to get the plants growing, isn’t it?

I enjoyed the cross-cultural dialogue. It was the next best thing to going to the farm itself!

© 2014 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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Big pot, little pot

The pair of aubergine sprouts.

The pair of aubergine sprouts.

I decided to carry out a bit of an experiment with a pair of aubergine plants that germinated some months ago. Well, this was after they germinated together in the same pot and grew a few true leaves each.

I have to admit that I tend to put off transplanting my seedlings until it’s pretty late, and they usually get potbound.

In this case, though, before it got that advanced, I decided to transplant them into pots of different sizes to see how they would react.

The plant in the little pot grew successively bigger leaves after the transplant.

The plant in the little pot grew successively bigger leaves after the transplant.

One was put in a fairly standard pot while the other went into the biggest pot that I have. Both plants immediately began to grow quite happily, with the subsequent leaves looking much bigger and healthier than I’ve ever seen. Maybe my potting mix for these plants was better than for the initial plants I’ve grown, because I had more compost and good soil available this time.

The plant in the bigger pot also began to grow out bigger leaves - and it began to branch out as well.

The plant in the bigger pot also began to grow out bigger leaves – and it began to branch out as well.

Fast forward two months, and this is what we have:

The plant in the little pot now.

The plant in the little pot now.

And the plant in the big pot now.

And the plant in the big pot now.

Yes, the size of the pot definitely affects plant growth! The one in the big pot is much bigger and healthier, and has branched out a lot! It also reached maturity many weeks ago and has yielded a few fruits, while the one in the small pot is only just beginning to bud. I’m very satisfied with my experiment and will be transplanting the smaller plant to the ground to see if it, too, will have a growth surge.

In this case, size does count!

© 2014 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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And BananaWatch continues…

Look at those lovely fruits!

Look at those lovely fruits!

I can’t believe how quickly the bananas have grown. Since the last update, all the fruits have made their debut – I’m excluding the male flowers since they’re not going to become food for us.

The fruits are already curling upwards towards the light (although I question that because of the heavy shade from the canopy of leaves on the plant – they should be pointing sideways or downwards!).

Male banana flowers - if each bunch of bananas is called a hand, then these should be considered a bunch of thumbs! Yes, bad joke, I know. Haha.

Male banana flowers – if each bunch of bananas is called a hand, then these should be considered a bunch of thumbs! Yes, bad joke, I know. Haha.

This is just about Week 2 for the banana comb. How much longer will it take – 45 days? 60 days? Or somewhere in between? We’ll see.

© 2014 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved.


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