[ceebee]

So I'm a new beek rapidly getting myself in over my head, but I have the support from my future in-laws to get good guidance on this fun new hobby. one of the big things contributing to this is from the family that I purchased a swarm from earlier this has had two more swarms land in their bushes and they called me first and let me have them as it saved them from hassle, and they have deemed me to be a normal person, which can be hard to find on craigslist haha. so today when I responded to the text that they had a third swarm (which I figured was an after swarm as the second swarm I got from them, had been filling frames with sugar water, and no eggs, like the original swarm had done). The couple noticed that there was a decent sized group of bees on their house "where there are always around 15 hanging out" this piqued my interest as the first time I came they mentioned that one time that wall was covered with bees, which then alter had left. upon close inspection I looked at the transition of the lower story brick to the siding on the upper story and noticed some holes in the bottom of the siding transition, and some pollen laden bees heading into the holes. I felt it was best to let them know that there was most likely a hive up in their and that's most likely where these swarms were coming from. from talking with them, I think they would be willing to let me do a trap out, to get the bees, but I'm worried about that wall full of honey they probably have, I warned them that the best route would be to have the hive cut out due to the honey, but they weren't too excited about that (and as a home owner completely understand that too!) I've included a crappy cell pic of the hive entrance, if anyone has suggestions on doing a trap out I'd appreciate it, a concern of mine is knowing that getting the queen is difficult, if I smoked them with some sugar would the queen come out with the rest of them? (which still leaves a honey mess, but at least they will limit the growth of the current colony)

 

[ceebee]

so it seems like their is some dissent in opinions (which never happens among beeks right?) regarding live and let live, or cut them out. The reading I've done indicated that bees should be cut out as the comb can leak or attract vermin, but it sounds like that may not be necessary. I prefer the capture the swarm route, and the home owners I'm sure would prefer to avoid cutting the house up. are there any more pros and cons? (I really wanted to tell them no big deal and keep getting the swarms, but I was under the impression that the cut out was the right way to go, and would rather be straight and honest with people, even if it sets me back a little. As a first year beek, that now has a couple outyards and now 8 hives, a setback not be a bad thing. It's a lot of work, but that's mainly due to my rapid expansion from planning on getting two to now sitting at 8 (and I'm not complaining, I'd love to go full time).

 

[ceebee]

Hogan's trap looks relatively straight forward, I'll have to figure out a good way to mount it up near the house (it's 8-10 feet up to that transition) that should be pretty do able, one concern I have relates to what Mr. Beeman mentioned up top with Honey dripping from the ceiling, if they are trapped out there are no bees keeping vermin out of the comb, and honey might start dripping to mess, is there a way to prevent this or is it just part of the process that would need to take place after the trap out?