Need help soon, immediately, really! It's Sunday 06.06.2010, 12:44 EDT. ; )
I have a medium box I'm using for a second brood box, foundationless. The bees are drawing cross comb between two frames, which I can handle — remove, cut away wayward comb, retain what I keep with string or a rubberband, and return the frame to the hive — but what I can't figure out is how to get the bees off the comb. I mean there are a lot of bees — maybe four or five hundred bees across the two frames involved in the fix.
What are tricks to clear bees off comb they're building? I tried brushing and smoking, and neither had much of an impact. I'm not sure I want to bang the frame, though I'll do it if that's necessary. I could tell them to move, but I'm not sure that'll do the trick.
My idea is to remove the two frames and leave them on a frame holder outside the frame for a while, with the expectation that the bees on the frames will find their way back in before too long. (I've checked, and have confirmed that the queen is absolutely not on the two frames.) There's a forecast for rain, so maybe a shower would accelerate the the process? (Is it dangerous to the bees to leave them out?)
Thoughts? Answers? Soon? ; )
Many thanks!
Mig
I have a medium box I'm using for a second brood box, foundationless. The bees are drawing cross comb between two frames, which I can handle — remove, cut away wayward comb, retain what I keep with string or a rubberband, and return the frame to the hive — but what I can't figure out is how to get the bees off the comb. I mean there are a lot of bees — maybe four or five hundred bees across the two frames involved in the fix.
What are tricks to clear bees off comb they're building? I tried brushing and smoking, and neither had much of an impact. I'm not sure I want to bang the frame, though I'll do it if that's necessary. I could tell them to move, but I'm not sure that'll do the trick.
My idea is to remove the two frames and leave them on a frame holder outside the frame for a while, with the expectation that the bees on the frames will find their way back in before too long. (I've checked, and have confirmed that the queen is absolutely not on the two frames.) There's a forecast for rain, so maybe a shower would accelerate the the process? (Is it dangerous to the bees to leave them out?)
Thoughts? Answers? Soon? ; )
Many thanks!
Mig