[Nmace]

Got a call about three weeks ago concerning bees in a Hickory Tree about 5 blocks from my house.

The landlord had just paid a pest control company to do a big cutout of his brick facade to take care of a colony in his duplex.

Afterwards, they noticed this about 13 feet up in a hickory tree.


It was a long opening with a lot of bee activity.

A lady I had helped remove some bees from the eves of her house suggested that he give me a call. (Being polite always pays off!) He said he also called the pest company and they wanted to just spray and seal. He thought that was a bit draconian and wanted to save the bees.

I had to go to Indonesia from the 9th through the 18th but he agreed to let me put up the transition and then address it when I got back.

So, tonight, I build the trap and install it soon. Will update as things progress.

Putting up the trapout after dark....once I smoked them, they all went inside the tree and I worked without hood or gloves.


A flying squirrel came to visit about halfway through the install...he seemed unhappy we had taken over the tree.

The transition in daylight with my feeble attempt at disguising it.



Overall, things went really smoothly for my first attempt. Hopefully the future updates will show the good luck continuing.

 

[ken rice]

Nmace, I have done hogan trapouts and am currently doing one with a long split as yours. The most important thing is to make sure you have every entrance sealed up so the only way in is thru the transition.

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Ken rice.. nmace... The most important thing is, ALWAYS wear a veil, please, pretty please. I cannot stress that enough.

cchoganjr

 

[ken rice]

I just thought that went without saying. Although I didn't notice he wasn't wearing one.

 

[Nmace]

I had worn the veil for the first hour and everyone was quite calm. I will be less cavalier in the future. For the past 2 weeks, they have only used the transition I put in. Had friends checking on it and have checked every day this week. I am looking forward to the install of the trap (while wearing my veil)

I am using black vinyl paint block double folded for the wrap. It seems to be very thick. I also used quite a bit of caulk tie around the wood and gorilla tape to tie everything together.


Thanks for the input.

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Good Luck Nmace. Sounds like you are on the right track. It can be a lot of fun trapping bees. If I can help you in any way, contact me at [email protected]. Always happy to help anyone.

I am on a crusade to get everyone to always wear a veil.

cchoganjr

 

[Nmace]

Constructed and installed the trap. The transition fit like a glove. I made the hang-on stand to hold the trap. Screwed it on and then used a ratchet strap around the tree. I also have a strap holding the trap to the stand. Put five frames of drawn comb in the trap.



In a couple days I will put a frame of brood in the trap. Then hope to catch the queen and transfer to another hive. Once I do that, I will close off the exit and use the cone to trap all the bees in the box.

The land-owner said that a lady told her that it was the ugliest bird house she had ever seen.....

 

[shannonswyatt]

That lady obviously hasn't seen my handy work!

Good job, I hop you get the queen!

 

[Nmace]

Thanks Shannon.

Checked it today and they are using the box and bringing in nectar and pollen. I am probably going to put the brood in on Friday.

Here is a picture looking down into the box. There are three frames with bees working and some work on the others.

 

[Nmace]

Is it ok to use drone brood to draw the queen?

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Nmace...I never thought about it, but, I don't know why it wouldn't work. It is the smell of brood that attracts her attention, and puts her on guard for another queen being in the colony.

I have never tried drone comb. Be interesting to see what happens.

cchoganjr

 

[Nmace]

Thank you Mr. Hogan. I will give it a shot and report back.

 

[Daniel Y]

I love seeing these traps. Best of luck getting that queen.

This thread brought a thought to mind. once the bees get trapped out of the tree. they have lost all of their honey, brood etc inside the tree. Is that so? I can see that saving the brood could be dealt with by simply letting them continue for 21 days after you know the queen has moved to the trap. I was thinking you might start getting the honey as well if you just keep adding empty comb every few days. Will the bees start moving the honey closer to where the brood is being laid?

One reason I am thinking about this is that I am starting to run adds for bee removal in my area. I suspect to be finding lots of bees in homes and other structures. I like the trap out for removing the bees and the threat they pose to the customer real or just perceived. Also removing the bees from the comb opens up a lot more possibilities in how to remove the comb. If there is a way to get the bees in the trap to rob out the old comb it would be even better.

I also realize that any trap only accomplishes so much. So I am not suggesting this trap be improved to do the impossible. just wondering if it does have any effect on also getting the honey the last of the brood etc from the hive or if that still requires a cut out.

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Daniel Y.... I have no data to support this, so it is just my opinion, take that for what it is worth.

If you remove the queen, they will immediately try to make themselves a new queen. And in early Spring they most likely will. Later in Summer they may not. If you don't get the queen, and as you remove bees, the size of the colony decreases until it cannot sustain itself. If they make a queen, as the stores of honey and pollen decreases, there is less to keep them in the tree, and more to point them toward staying in the trap. If you allow the workers to return to the tree/house to rob out the honey, you may inadvertently let the queen back to the original colony and defeat your trapout. As the bees dwindle in the original colony, there will be less honey since no nectar is coming in, but, some buildings have huge quantities of honey, and it would take a long time for a weakened colony to rob it all out. A better system might be just let any bees in the area rob it out.

The comb will be easier to remove if the bees are all gone. Unless the comb is removed, wax worms and small hive beetles will normally take over very soon after the colony is weakened. Perhaps while it is being weakened.

My experience has been that if you remove three starts, rather quickly, the colony will be severely weakened. But that is not always the case. In 2001 I took 9 (3-5 lb.) starts from a locus tree before I weakened it enough that it died. Most often tho, three to four starts will weaken the colony to the point that it cannot sustain itself.

If anyone can improve on the working of the trap, I welcome that, and I think most beekeepers would also welcome it. The whole purpose of the trap system, is to help the bees be safely removed, or to help beekeepers obtain starts to increase their hive count. My main purpose is to help beekeepers. This trap system is just an improvement on the screen cone funnel method that has worked for years, and will still work.

Hope this is helpful.

cchoganjr