Going to do a cutout in a half finished attic. The nest is supposedly totally exposed. I really don't want to leave this lady with bees flying around her attic (and possibly house). Do I vacuum the bees off the comb as I proceed? Do I put all the comb in buckets and install at home or do I rubber band into frames on site? Will flying bees settle and cluster where the hive used to be on the rafters after a while so I can vacuum them up? I need to do this in one shot as it is a far drive. I'm planning to get there very early in the morning so that most of the bees are still in place. Any and all tips gratefully accepted. Thanks!
JC
It's hard to give advice without actually surveying the job because all cut-outs present their own little problems to overcome. If they are calm and staying on the comb as you work, I would try to not use the vac. If they seem flighty, no pun intended, I would say vac them up before you begin. You may want to rubber band them there, but outside the house to avoid spilling honey inside. The bigger mess you make, the more you'll have to clean up. Returning bees will no doubt return to the original site. Others will add their advice, but as I said earlier, each job is a new challenge.
I often ask home owners to e-mail me pictures. I tell them to get the pics and get out, stay out of flight paths. If I were you, I would request pictures. Attics can be tricky. What if you can't access all the combs from within the attic?
If its quite hot in the attic, comb sections may not be easy to handle, especially a new colony. Expect a messy removal.
If all systems are go, place something (plastic, wood, etc...) under the colony so as to catch any combs that may fall.
If you have full access to the comb sections see if you can transfer combs with bees. If top sections are loaded with honey, you may need to cut the combs where the honey ends, then you can remove the top portion.
Best scenario would be if you got the queen, framed usable brood sections and placed the set up as near the hive entrance as possible.
Do this with time to spare to allow the bees to orient to the new set up.
You could also apply a little bee quick to the area to run them out to the new set up.
Hope this helps.
...JP
be VERY sure that you can easily access the hive. as JP said, attics can be really hard. I did one last year (i think) and the owner said it was easy to get to. not so much. i ended up flat on my stomach, face in the insulation, reaching into the farthest corner of the eve space. bees up my pants, in my jacket, etc. it was not fun and not to be repeated!
is this your first cutout? if so, i'd recommend starting with something easier unless this one is hanging out in the middle of the space and can be reached without much effort.
One of the reasons I want to try this one is because there is flooring down, and I won't be trying to hop around on rafters. Thanks for the tip of e-mailing a photo, and also the cutting between the brood and honey section on a single comb. I would probably not thought of that myself, or it would be half way through a sticky mess with a Duh-Oh! moment.
JC
take something with a long handle so that you can reach in if the space gets tight. i had a long handled tile scraper, but i think a narrow flat shovel would have done. we pushed the tarp in and scraped the comb off. it was messy, but the tarp caught it.
i hope your's will be easier! :-D
If you do get usable combs to transfer and you do cut them below the honey, you most likely should house them in a medium super as the combs may wind up being too short for deep frames.
I hope you are able to do this one comfortably and have full access to all comb sections.
Best of luck!
...JP