[dalestheman]

Attempting a cone trap out on a house. I am getting the bees to come out via the cone, but they seem to keep finding ways back into the wall. Intending to use a frame of brood from my only hive. If I put the frame in the bait box will it encourage them to stop trying to get back into the house? They seem to be getting back in very slowly, like maybe one at a time. There are so many crawling on top of each other that I can't tell where they are getting in.

 

[drlonzo]

If you have an idea of where they may be getting back in ie. the big mass of bees, smoke em down and look close. A frame of OPEN with eggs brood should be put into the bait hive that the cone is pointing into. This will allow them to find the brood, start a queen cell, and draw the bees into it.

 

[Mr.Beeman]

Only takes one 1/4" opening for them to get back to the hive. Find it and clear silicone it shut.

 

[Michael Bush]

>Only takes one 1/4" opening for them to get back to the hive.

Actually they can squeeze through a crack that is only 1/6"...

 

[Riverderwent]

Find it and clear silicone it shut.

Good advice. Steel wool or aluminum foil can be helpful for larger openings. Consider using a CAPtrap with a short length of opaque hose. Video: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EtRFJ_ejvp0
Good luck.

 

[Cub]

It has taken me about 6 trips back on both trapouts I have done to get them really sealed off. They are relentless. If possible, use white painter's caulking. Then, you can see where they are going back in, because it's stained yellow after a day or two, because of pollen.

 

[dalestheman]

Relentless is an understatement. I've used caulk, screen, spray foam, & duct tape. I'm about to give up. They are not even checking out the bait hive. I cannot put it any closer to the cone. It's a few feet away. I have not put in brood yet because I can't afford to waste any.

 

[bee hunter]

I would try using black plastic to cover as much of the wall as possable. Cut a hole in plastic and place cone back on wall, or cut hole in plastic at cone and duct tape to cone. This is the only thing I have found that works fast. By covering enough area with the black plastic this seems to discourage the bees efforts. Hope this helps, good luck!!!!

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Black plastic is the best I have found

.

cchoganjr

 

[G3farms]

They have no interest in the bait hive because you have not baited it yet. What could possibly attract them to an empty box. The bait hive entrance needs to be as close as possible to the parent hive entrance, not the end of the cone. The bees do not orient to the end of the cone they have already oriented to the parent hive entrance.

With a cone type trap out you will not get the queen, by the time she absconds the bait hive should already have a newly hatched queen spreading her pheromones.

Plug that hole and add some brood with eggs. If you are scared to rob a frame of brood from your only hive then you should abandon yr trap out or call a buddy to finish it for you.

 

[dalestheman]

Finally!!! I have bees in my bait hive. Thanks to everyone for the advice. Went out a few days ago while it was cold & rainy & added some more caulk and duct tape while they weren't flying. The first warm day I got a call from the homeowner in a panic because they were flying all around because they couldn't get back in. That evening they finally gave in & started going in my hive. Went yesterday & added my frame of brood. Today there were a lot that were just coming & going from my bait hive. I added some black plastic around the cones for the ones that were still trying to get back in the house. I must say, once I got the plastic up I was quite surprised what a difference it made. Wish I had tried it sooner. It's not pretty but it's finally working. And yes I know you are only supposed to use one cone, but that's a whole other story.

 

[G3farms]

Atta boy!!

Better keep a close eye on that five frame nuc, it will be over flowing with bees before you know it, like tomorrow or the next day.

 

[dalestheman]

My thoughts exactly.

 

[dalestheman]

Trap out is working slowly but surely. They are using the bait hive but it is not filling up as quickly as I thought. They still keep finding ways back into the original hive. They have a couple of queen cells working but at this point all of my brood is capped. I am wondering if I should add another frame of uncapped brood to entice the ones that are still trying to go back to the original hive. If so, should I keep the frame with the queen cells in there as well or should I take it and some of the bees and start another hive.

 

[WBVC]

I am attempting my first trap out from a tree that bees have just set up in.

I have 2 crevasses right at ground level that they are using to access a hollow space in the tree. Tonight I covered both these areas with wire. I then made a hole in the screen that is easiest to access and as I had nothing at I put in a tube of rolled up plastic as an entrance. As I had no duct tape I secured it with painters tape.

When I checked this evening a few..very few..bees had figured it out. Many were festooning on the wire under the plastic tube and others were on the less accessible wire covering that has no planned entrance.

I am hoping that it is just hoping to take them a while to figure it out.

Once, and if, they do then I will put in a more appropriate tube from the screen to a hive box. Later I will put in some open brood.

Question: if they are using the trap entrance/exit is is still necessary to use black plastic to darken the area except for the tube?

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

All light needs to be blackened out. If not, they will go back and forth on the screen attempting to get out, the same as they do on glass.

It is a little late for this trapout, but, if you had put the cone trap into the end or side of your trap, sealed it to the trap and the house, the bees would be using the trap as another chamber of their hive rather than just a convenient box to go into because they cannot get back into the original entrance. Allowing the bees to exit through your trap helps to keep them calm, as bees in a trap that is not sealed to the original source is a queenless hive, and the bees can become quite mean, and really determined to get back into their hive.. When the trap is sealed to the house or tree, the trap is just another chamber of their hive, or just another sealed space to traverse.

cchoganjr

 

[dalestheman]

UPDATE: Trap out was semi-successful. After the 5th time swarming, & many weeks of sealing & resealing I threw in the towel. After the 5th and what I was hoping was the final swarm, I had to leave town for a week & a half. I informed the homeowner that when I returned if there were still bees finding their way in & out of the old hive that there was no other option than to open it up. By this time they had realized how many thousands of bees (20+ lbs) have been removed already and they were willing to do whatever necessary. To my surprise I had succeeded in shutting down the colony. There was no brood, no queen, and only a few hundred workers left. There was quite a bit of honey in there, so we made the right decision. I only wish they had just let me do a cut out in the first place. They had no idea there were that many bees in there. I finally got them to understand that they were going to continue getting back in if we didn't remove the hive and fill the space up so that they had no room to rebuild it. Incredible learning experience.

 

[G3farms]

If the customer is having a hard time believing what is in the walls, show them some you tube video of some cut outs. Most times they are just thinking a hand full of bees like a wasper nest and a couple of jars of honey behind the wall.

 

[dadux]

I wouldn't use spray foam. I used it on a troublesome trap out. Bees have chewed through it several times.

My troublesome trap out is an old house with cedar shingles under layers of standard shingles. The hive scent is no doubt getting out all along the edge. 2nd story. And rotten facia. Lath & plaster interior walls. No access from attic. No permission to do a cut out. Warned the owner that the trap out may not be successful. Entrances have appeared 6 ft away from the original. It's been 2 weeks and I'm having to visit every day or 2. No good deed goes unpunished.