Found a feral hive....

[WestTexasBeeKeeper]

And I want it!!!


I actually answered an ad for a free beehive. I called the guy and he said he had a small hive on the corner of his house that he wanted gone. I took the hour drive up and took a look at his "Small Hive".

Folks, if thats a small hive, then I wouldnt want to see a big one!!

This hive is an exposed comb that takes up an easy 4' x 4' area and hangs down roughly 2 1/2'-3'.

I'm building my top bar hive right now and will have it ready soon. The guy said there was no hurry; they'd been in the same area for years.


Sooooooooo


Here I am asking for the help of experts.


I have two different scenarios. If I want to keep the bees, how do I get them into a box to transport them?


If I dont want to keep the bees, whats the eaisiest and safest method to get the honey and beesway from this hive?


Thanks in advance




Bob :)

[NasalSponge]

Bee Vac.

[G3farms]

I have never done a cut out into a top bar hive, would seem awful hard to support the loose comb and then transport it. On another bee forum it was done but if I recall it fell off of the top bars when in transport. Seems like he zip tied hair clips to the top bar. Have also seen top bar made with a thin slat bowed from side to side hanging down like a big "U" and the comb placed inside of that for support.

My suggestion would be to get a lang hive with frames and install the cut out comb into the framesand secure it with rubber bands.

That is a sizable hive for sure, a bee vac would be most helpful if you have one.

Why would you not want to save the bees along with the comb??

Good luck with it and be sure to take some pics.

G3

[brac]

The best bee vac design I have found is this.
http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/bee-vac/

Pictures? Pictures? Pictures?
BTW did you take any pictures?

[Hambone]

The best bee vac design I have found is this.
http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/bee-vac/


That link is not working. For me at least.

[WestTexasBeeKeeper]

The best bee vac design I have found is this.
http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/bee-vac/

Pictures? Pictures? Pictures?
BTW did you take any pictures?

Nope no pics. Wasnt on my list of priorities at the time

I got plenty of old shop vacs around the house. I'll put together a bee vac and head back up


Thanks in advance


Bob :)

[brac]

try this one.
http://blog.moorehoneybees.com/
He is on the forum

[SlickMick]

You can quickly and easily make a bee vac out of a lidded styrofoam box. Cut 2 holes, 1 in each end just a bit smaller than the vac hose.. 1 towards the bottom (entry)and 1 towards the top (exit). Cut another hole in the lid about the same size (pressure control). Put some fly wire over the exit hole and the pressure control hole. Pin an old towel in front of the exit hole so that the bees have a soft landing when they get sucked up. A bit of plastic or duct tape over the pressure control hole. Tape the lid down and there you have it. 10 minutes finiske

The only problem you might have is the large number of bees in the colony. I would use the vac only to pick up the stragglers and would drop/shake the bees into 1, 2, 3 or however many catch boxes you need to get them all.

The comb is something else and I would not transport it in a tbh. Fix it into frames and move it into the tbh at a later date. The honey you can harvest now except that you have winter coming on and that needs to be taken into account when you remove honey.

Mick

[reneal]

Well, I haven't seen anyone yet address exactly when to get these bees. My experience with cutouts is that you don't want do them during the late fall or winter. Odds are the bees either won't survive or will abscond. So if the homeowner is agreeable, the best plan is probably to not do anything with these bees till say late April or so and then pick a nice warm day to cut out the comb & put it into frames. An advantage is that there will likely be fewer bees to deal with and they will have plenty of brood, so they are much less likely to abscond. This approach also has the advantage that you've got lots of time to search through the posts here to find out different approaches to do cutouts.

[WestTexasBeeKeeper]

Well, I haven't seen anyone yet address exactly when to get these bees. My experience with cutouts is that you don't want do them during the late fall or winter. Odds are the bees either won't survive or will abscond. So if the homeowner is agreeable, the best plan is probably to not do anything with these bees till say late April or so and then pick a nice warm day to cut out the comb & put it into frames. An advantage is that there will likely be fewer bees to deal with and they will have plenty of brood, so they are much less likely to abscond. This approach also has the advantage that you've got lots of time to search through the posts here to find out different approaches to do cutouts.

Talked to him tody and he's wanting the hive gone as its becoming a danger to his pets and grandkids. Looks like I'll just use a shop vac to get the bees off the hive. Atleast I'll get some honey and beeswax out of it.

Thanks for all the advice


Bob :)

[Hambone]

You just can't shop vac them though. Gotta build a bee vac.

[Wee3Bees]

That's pretty typical for a homeowner when they find a beekeeper willing to remove the bees... they've been there for years but all of a sudden now they are a danger to pets and grandchildren (after they have found someone to remove them). I have done a number of cutouts... you have about a 20% chance that they would live in the spring or summer if you waited until then.

Taking them now means a 100% chance of them not making it through the winter. I would just leave them alone until spring and do a trap out (if possible). Or, I would wait until Spring and try to do a cutout. Either way, they aren't going to be a bother to anyone as it will turn cool in a few weeks anyway (I know winter means about 15 days of cool weather each year).

Unless you just want the experience for a removal leave them alone for 4 or 5 months. My 2 cents.