Hi all,
I did my first cut out three days ago from a wall in my house. I'd let them go for a long time since they were in a brick wall and not hurting anything, but we had some workmen coming and they weren't comfortable with a hive so close. The cutout didn't go perfectly by any means: I was able to get all their brood comb and put it in frames, but their honey comb was higher in the wall behind concrete. I had no choice but to stick my arm up there and scrape out the honey comb with a flat putty knife, put it all in buckets, and set the bucket near their new hive, which is about 150' away in a different part of the yard. They have been taking that honey since the cutout, and the new hive seems fine (though there are some ants trying to get into the hive, and I spread cinnamon to discourage them.)
The problem is there are still a lot of bees in the area of the cut out. I've tried leaving the opening wide open, covering it with a tarp and sealing the edges, and in desperation before the workers came I even took some organic bug repellent and sprayed the edges of the wall, thinking if I made it stinky they'd leave. I thought maybe I missed a section of comb, but I've probed the surrounding sections with a drill and found no other comb. I thought after a day or two their number would decrease, but it hasn't.
I am eager to learn what I've done wrong here, and most importantly right now, how to discourage the girls from hanging out at the old site - the workmen are here but they're clearly terrified even though the hangers-on are not being particularly aggressive.
Thanks,
Deirdre
I did my first cut out three days ago from a wall in my house. I'd let them go for a long time since they were in a brick wall and not hurting anything, but we had some workmen coming and they weren't comfortable with a hive so close. The cutout didn't go perfectly by any means: I was able to get all their brood comb and put it in frames, but their honey comb was higher in the wall behind concrete. I had no choice but to stick my arm up there and scrape out the honey comb with a flat putty knife, put it all in buckets, and set the bucket near their new hive, which is about 150' away in a different part of the yard. They have been taking that honey since the cutout, and the new hive seems fine (though there are some ants trying to get into the hive, and I spread cinnamon to discourage them.)
The problem is there are still a lot of bees in the area of the cut out. I've tried leaving the opening wide open, covering it with a tarp and sealing the edges, and in desperation before the workers came I even took some organic bug repellent and sprayed the edges of the wall, thinking if I made it stinky they'd leave. I thought maybe I missed a section of comb, but I've probed the surrounding sections with a drill and found no other comb. I thought after a day or two their number would decrease, but it hasn't.
I am eager to learn what I've done wrong here, and most importantly right now, how to discourage the girls from hanging out at the old site - the workmen are here but they're clearly terrified even though the hangers-on are not being particularly aggressive.
Thanks,
Deirdre