Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: gunny on August 08, 2007, 05:39:02 PM

Title: Advice please
Post by: gunny on August 08, 2007, 05:39:02 PM
Neighbor came over in a panic.  She has a flower pot on her front porch that some honey bees (probably mine) have taken up residence.  Pot is about 12" in diameter, about 20" tall and has a plant growing in it.  She said I can have plant, pot and all just get the bees off of her porch.  I'm goint to wait until dark when they are all home and get it.  Then what?  Kind of late in the year for a swarm to amount to anything.  Will probably tear up what comb they have trying to get them out. She noticed them when a good pile of potting soil appeared under the flower pot so suspect they haven't been there long.

Any ideas/comments/advice?
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: Kathyp on August 08, 2007, 05:51:03 PM
i'm not sure i understand.  the bees are in the soil...under the pot....in the plant?  seems like an odd place for a swarm unless they have just landed on the plant for a bit.
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: TwT on August 08, 2007, 07:15:08 PM
 look down the page at the 12th set of picture's,
http://www.owensapiaries.net/removals.htm

here is bill owens site, he has found one under a plant before in a oldbutter churn, you can hive them and put some frames of brood with them from another hive and then pour the feed to them, they might be fine, we still have a while till winter...
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: Moonshae on August 08, 2007, 07:16:50 PM
If it's too late to make a whole hive, you could combine them with one of your current hives, or make a nuc that you could baby over winter.
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: Kathyp on August 08, 2007, 07:24:24 PM
TwT...never would have believed it.  was trying to picture how bees would take up residence in a planter with plants in it. 
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: gunny on August 08, 2007, 08:39:34 PM
Thet are crowding in and out of the drain holes in the bottom.  Neighbor says she used a lot of rocks for drainage.
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: Moonshae on August 08, 2007, 08:43:44 PM
Tell her that the holes in the bottom provide drainage, rocks only take up space that roots then can't occupy. The rock method is an old-fashioned way of potting, but really isn't useful with well draining soil and holes in the bottom of the pot.
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: CWBees on August 08, 2007, 10:17:09 PM
Ted that was a great site on bee removal. I never thought honey bees would take up residence in some of those places.
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: TwT on August 08, 2007, 10:26:46 PM
Bill Owens is a friend of mine, he does alot of work for the UGA, he lives about 1 1/2 hour drive from me....
his OB hive is the one I have shown on here before...
Title: Re: Advice please
Post by: gunny on August 08, 2007, 10:29:04 PM
Ted:
Yup. Flower pot, about the same as the one you have in your website.  My (the one that used to be my neighbors) is bigger than yours but has less bees, for now.

Got the flower pot home and out beside the house.  Will figure out what to do with them later, they'll keep.