UPDATE on BEE EXTRACTION

[Jason G in Tennessee]

Well, thanks for the tips guys. I went yesterday and extracted the bees from the wall in the garage and it went extremely well.
We got lots of good pics. There were 10 combes between the frames with some other smaller ones. They were each about 18-24 inches long! Very nicely constructed and full of honey and brood, but lots of varroa.
In fact, I even spotted one crawling on the comb without even looking for them.
QUESTION......
I don't have any spare frames to put them in and I figure the brood is no good by now. What should I do with all of the comb since I don't have any spare frames??
By the way, I was misquoted a few times, but the newspaper came out and did a FRONT PAGE story on the whole event. I am hoping that it did much good in educating the public about bees. I am just afraid that I will have to turn people down now for extractions due to too many calls that I figure will be coming in.
HERE'S the URL for the article: http://www.theleafchronicle.com/news...ws/557894.html

[mark williams]

That is a very good story Jason.
I help my son take out ALOT of bees over in Ms.he has a buisness over there removeing bees.
We have found if you will take 1 frame of brood & no more than 1 place it inside of the hive the bees are more likly to stay.
If you put more than 1 where you cut it will sour & the bee's Will leave it.
take the old comb & honey place it in a garbage & tie it up good.
I've went over this year alone & have removed around 30 or so ,I've got 2 over there now that I've got to get in afew day's.One is inside of a contry club .
also 150.00 man that is cheap (ha ha).
anyway best of luck to you, it can lead to a good sideline.If I can help feel free to e-mail me.>>>>Mark

[Michael Bush]

Maybe it has to do with the climate, but I've often cut and framed five or six frames of brood when doing this and it worked fine for me.

[mark williams]

Michael maybe right, It may be the climate,It is humid where we are at.at first we would have alot of bees leave in afew day's after we would hive them.
then an older beekeeper that removed bees years before is the one that told me that about using one frame of brood.
Since then we have not had the first swarm to leave,But I never thought about the climate,Live & learn thank's M.B.>>>>Mark

[odfrank]

Jason:

Your vac is similar to mine except that I put the intake hose coming out the lid. I also made two matching lids with screens. That way I can do two jobs a day, or handle huge hives or swarms without crowding too many in a bucket. When I am finishing vacuuming, I swap the vacuum lid for a screened lid for the ride home. No suffocation worries.

[Michael Bush]

If I have trouble getting them to stay, I'll keep your advice in mind too. Most of the times I removed bees it was in the panhandle of Nebraska which is very dry. I have tied six frames of my top bar hive in frames recently without problems here though.

[Russ]

Great story Jason, I am sure that a story like that will help to educate the public. I too got a large swarm this year with lots of honey and Brood. We used rubber bands to hold the brood in the empty deep frames and it worked great. Will take those frames out when the brood is all hatched. You kinda have a good feeling when you get a bunch of bees in a hive as the ones I got were on the outside of a house and would not make it through the winter out in the open. Had them hived for 3 weeks and they are doing great.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I have done about ten colony removals this year and have had as few as six frames of brood and stores and as many as eleven. I put nine frames in a box, and in every case I now have healthy hives and may get a harvest off some of them.

I make 'special' frames. I have made both deep and mediums. Deeps work best most of the time, however I had one colony that all the comb was about five inches high and the mediums would have worked better.

Make an empty frame and on the side without the wedge glue and staple/nail a strip of wood 1/4 inch thick and 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide across the frame. One strip on a medium and two across a deep.

If you would like, before tacking the strips across the frames, you may also drive a couple of one inch nails through the strips that will help support and keep the comb from moving in the frame.

Before you start your job it is helpful to apply two rubber bands on each end of the frame. I use the hook on the end of my hive tool to pull the bands across the frame to secure the comb. The honey makes the bands slide easier on the wood. The strips of wood on one side also keep you from damaging the comb and are the reason I use only nine frames in a box.

After the colony gets a couple of boxes of PC started strong and you know the queen is on the new brood, move the old comb above with an excluder inbetween the old and the new and after the brood has all hatched out, shake out as many of the bees as possible and remove the box out of the yard to feed back to the bees. After feeding back to the bees, scrape the wax and save the frames for next year.

Got some other tips too, but it's too late right now.

Bill

[Michael Bush]

I have one to do right now, and I could always use more tips. I like the frame idea. I was considering making the "swarm catching frames" in the plans, but I keep thinking they are too complicated and not worth that much work for as often as I'd use them. You idea is simpler and provides a lot of help.

For rubber bands, I like the hair tie rubber bands, they are about the right size for a medium frame and are easier to slide and handle with gloves on.

[Russ]

Bill, Could you post a picture of the swarm catching frame. I have some frames that I might modify. I seem to get the idea better from a picture. Dale

[RegotBee]

I recently did an extraction and used the "swarm catching frames" found at http://www.beesource.com/plans/swarmframe.htm

The frames were very simple to make and worked extremely well.

I made two sets--the first from the directions, the second from memory...on the second set I cut the bottom bar 1/2 inch too short (so much for my memory skills). In order to reestablish bee space I went back after assembly with a 0.5 x 1.5 x 8 inch wood block. I cut one "I"-shaped and one "L" shaped groove into the block, side by side, made to fit protruding woodscrews. One woodscrew held the block in place, allowing it to slide up and down on one side. The second woodscrew was in the other side bar and could slip into the "L" groove, allowing the frame to be closed then slid down to latch. It turned out to work extremely well. In fact, my improvised latch was much easier than trying to drive a nail or even to wire the sandwiched frame shut (hard to do with gloves on).

The bees took to these frames very well, quickly sealing the comb to the frame and comb pieces to one another.

[Michael Bush]

Any chance of a picture?

[Russ]

Got a question on the Feral Comb. Do you leave it in the hive permantly or do you remove it after the brood has hatched out. I have been told to remove it and replace it with Foundation. I have been using rubber bands to hold it in place and I noticed that the bees carry them out the front door. Dale

[BULLSEYE BILL]

If that question was to me, maybe.

I have the camera and now a computer again, so maybe when I get back after the weekend.

In the meantime, Dale, the frames I made had a wedge of wood on the top rail, I snap that piece out, it becomes the side I insert the comb on. Having that ridge on the top helps wedge the comb and secure it. On the other side of the frame running lengthwise, I glue and nail one or two strips of wood centered across the length of the frame. That's one on a medium or two on a deep. It is also helpful to drive a cople of nails through the strips to spear into the comb to help stabelize it.

When I get back after the weekend, I'll post my way of setting up and hiving a colony. I just did on this evening, wish I had someone to opperate my camera. It was classic, a large squirrl house with a beard completely surrounding it at least one foot high all the way around it.

Got to hit the road, will also post some interesting stories that happened to me this last month when I get back.



------------------
Bullseye Bill
Smack dab in the middle of the country.

[Jason G in Tennessee]

I would hate to throw away all of that good wax and honey. I know if I put them out in front of the hives the other hives will clean them out, but I don't want them getting into robbing each other. I suppose I could salvage the honey and just render the wax through a strainer after melting.
I hate to do that when they are so beautifully made and could fit medium size frames so well. Will they be spoiled by now with the brood not being cared for?
M Bush et al: How much do you all charge for extractions generally?
Jason

[Michael Bush]

I've never charged for extractions, but I would now. When I was doing it, I was just getting started and wanted the bees. I always try to cut the brood from the honey comb and sqash the honey comb into my uncapping box and strain it. If there is a lot of brood comb with honey, I just feed it to the bees. If there is a lot of white comb with honey, I keep it and eat it.

[RegotBee]

I have placed some pictures of the comb capture frames here:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/regotbee

The frame shown is the basic Swarm Capture Frame found on this site, except that it has the latch described above (made with one "I" groove and two "L" grooves for greater stability). Also shown is a cheap option for a hinge--made of screening material and staples.

These frames worked great for me. They are probably not as easy as a rubberband...but they do the job.

[kayakdg]

Take old comb and place it in a solar melter. Salvage what bees wax you can and use the honey to feed a weak hive. Thanks, Dan

[Michael Bush]

RegotBee,

Thanks for the pictures. That clears it up a lot.

[Greysmoke]

Jason G,
I'm glad that ya made out on some bee's. Funny... when I read that article I realized that I lived right down the road from the area (Tobacco Rd area)@ Pembroke Place 3yrs ago.
...small world, eh?