I am new to bee keeping I have located 2 ferral colonies one in a elm tree the other in a wall of an abandoned house both owners want them removed. Both have been in the location for a few years. I can wait until spring on the colony in the house but the owner of the tree wants them gone is there a good way to get these bees and will they make it through the winter if I got them out know any advise would be welcomed I am in kansas
ferral colonies found
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Will the owner of the tree let you cut it down?
That would be the easiest way.Close the entrance off with some screen wire and cut it down,figure out where the top and bottom of the hive is.With luck you wil end up with a 2-3 foot log of bees.Load the log up and take it home and set it up in your bee yard with a bottom /top and remove the screen.Next spring split the log in half and transfer the bees to a standard hive.
If the owner will not allow you to cut it down,you will have to use the another method.Which will take longer.Could use the cone method.As I have never tried these I will refer to others in the group that have..
As far as the one in the old house be careful,you don't know what condition the structure is in,hate to have the whole thing fall down on you.
I'd start by pulling the board closest to the entrance and just keep puling them until you find the entire hive.You will need wooden frames and some rubber bands.As you cut the comb out have someone hold the frames as you put the comb in them and place the rubber bands around the frames and combs,I'd say 5 bands should hold it in place.I would also use shallow frames/body as most comb taken out of walls will only be roughly 3" wide.You can always change this out later.Another thing take your time,look for the queen more than likly she'll be on the last piece of comb hanging but not always.If you can get the queen the rest should follow her.
Find a helper and good luck.
That would be the easiest way.Close the entrance off with some screen wire and cut it down,figure out where the top and bottom of the hive is.With luck you wil end up with a 2-3 foot log of bees.Load the log up and take it home and set it up in your bee yard with a bottom /top and remove the screen.Next spring split the log in half and transfer the bees to a standard hive.
If the owner will not allow you to cut it down,you will have to use the another method.Which will take longer.Could use the cone method.As I have never tried these I will refer to others in the group that have..
As far as the one in the old house be careful,you don't know what condition the structure is in,hate to have the whole thing fall down on you.
I'd start by pulling the board closest to the entrance and just keep puling them until you find the entire hive.You will need wooden frames and some rubber bands.As you cut the comb out have someone hold the frames as you put the comb in them and place the rubber bands around the frames and combs,I'd say 5 bands should hold it in place.I would also use shallow frames/body as most comb taken out of walls will only be roughly 3" wide.You can always change this out later.Another thing take your time,look for the queen more than likly she'll be on the last piece of comb hanging but not always.If you can get the queen the rest should follow her.
Find a helper and good luck.
The house is in fair shape it is actualy an old one room school ironically the other hive in the tree is also in a yard that was once a one room school site. The owner want to keep the tree if possible. I know where the hive entrance is on the house. What time of the year would be best to remove the bees I have been told and also read spring would be best
Just a quick bit of advice if you are able to cut down the tree, and follow the rest of King's advice I would make one change. Don't split the log and pull the bees out. Instead, cut the log down to where the comb is poking out the top just a little, screw a hivebody sized piece of board to the log, then set a hivebody with frames(hopefully drawn comb) on top. Wait for the queen to move up and start laying in the box, find her in the box, slap a n excluder between the board and the hive, wait 21-24 days for the brood to emerge in the log, WALAH, you have the bees out of the log no mess to speak of no fuss. Now you can do what you want with the log. I split mine and pulled the empty combs out and rubberbanded them into empty frames and I"ll use them for swarmhive bait. PS. If you find that the queen is not wanting to come up into the box, you might need more bridge comb between the log and the box. I ended up cutting the log down to where one of their combs was sticking up an inch or 2 in the middle, then I replaced the middle frame in the box with a shallow frame. Ended up with some comb on the bottom of the shallow,but no big deal.
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