I have a friend who has a dead tree that is close to the house and is split in the middle. The tree needs to come down and it Has a active hive in it. This is my first time doing this so, I did some research on how to go about getting the hive out of the tree and it is not an easy task to get the queen out.
So here is what I have accomplished to date. It was cold and windy on Sunday so I thought it would be a good day to cover it up while the girls were not flying. I used some old screen and stapled it over the crotch in the middle of the tree to seal off that entrance. There were other spots on the side where I did the same thing leaving a entrance about six feet off the ground. The tree had splits on both sides so I used some expanding foam to allow only one way in and out.
I put a swarm box with six drawn frames next to and a few inches higher than entrance of the hive. I made swarm paste with lemongrass oil and put it inside the box and on the top bars.
I went to check it today and it and the one entrances the one they are using and nothing going in the box.
So I have an idea. If I take a piece of clear plastic hose and affix it to the tree and the front of the box I figure they will have no choice but to go into the box. Now if Drilled another entrance whole on the back side near the top of the box, they would go over the comb to go out and forage and get water.
So any advice on them going through the box if that will work or ideas on how to get them out without cutting the tree down first. I am still learning and having fun with the six hives I have now.
Thanks
Dennis
A fellow on the right coast has used just smoke to make the bees come out, Continuous smoke for upwards of two hours. Finally the queen comes out and everybody left then followers her. He uses a bee vac to collect them.
I have seen a couple of videos and it appears to work.
Joe
So let me get this right you have the sealed off except for one entrance/exit and you have it to where the bees can still go in and out. If I read this right and that is what you have you will never get them out.
You must put a screen cone over the last exit so that the bees can get out but not back in. With that said old comb is not going to work you need frames of eggs in the bait box think of it as setting up a nuk with out a queen grab a frame of eggs with bees on and maybe a frame of brood then empties.
Idee has tons of great info on it. I have only done one but you have to make sure that the bees cant get back in.
Dennis,
If you know the tree is to be destroyed, you've got to ask yourself what you're driver is, experimenting, or saving time. If you want to experiment to capture the queen put a box on top (only you know the set up so you'll have to figure that one out) with no other exits except through your box with drawn frames. Once the hive begins to occupy the upper box start watching for eggs to show up. If you check enough (once a day) you'll eventually find her up there laying. Once you've got her dismantle the hive with a chainsaw as gently as possibly and recombine with the queen. This could take a couple months
If you're wanting to save time leave the hive relatively protected from the elements and wait for a calm warm day... and begin to dismantle the hive with a chainsaw as delicately as possible. This will take 4 to 8 hours depending on your experience level. There's a little more risk that you'll lose the queen but I've found they are remarkably tough and always seem to show up.
Either way relax and enjoy, you'll learn quite a bit either way. The straight up cut out will be something you'll use the most often.
Ditto to Dcoates.
If the tree must come down, why mess around with trying to get the queen out. 9 out of 10 times she will abscond.
Or you could smoke them out -> http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,37074.msg311175.html#msg311175 (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,37074.msg311175.html#msg311175)
I would cut them out of the tree. If you take your time & use your smoker wisely you can stay in control & perform a nice removal. You have a good chance finding her if you don't go at it like a mad man. ;)
If the colony had recently entered the tree I would try & smoke them out or run them out with something like bee quick. You can also do a trap out but it is really tough & in my experience not possible to smoke an established colony from a tree or structure for that matter. They simply do not want to abandon brood.
If you have your doubts on going at it alone by all means get someone who has done this before to assist you.
Best of luck!
...JP
Thanks for all the advice. In the way the tree is split, I think that the safe way out is to smoke them out. I have a friend who is just getting started with bee's and going to help. The video was a great help. So if the weather is good on Saturday in the am, we will give it a try. I will let you know how it turns out.
Dennis
The video was of a swarm being removed that doesn't yet have a home with larva to defend. A hive is a whole different ball of wax. However, a great way to learn what works and what doesn't is by doing. Be sure to have a set time of how long you're willing to pursue a plan. Even more important is back up plan if the original plan fails and the fortitude to change tactics when the time comes.
I've found removing a hive of bees is like a roller coaster or being pregnant (wife was actually). You can't half commit if you plan to succeed, it can be fun and frightening at the same time and once you've committed you're not done until the end.
Success! It was a cool day here and we waited for the temperature to climb up in the 50's and we went to work. We smoked them out and used the bee vac I made. After about two hours we had almost all of them. There were some field bees collecting on one of the top vents on the bee vac box so we knew the queen was in there.
So they are all set up in their new location and should be fine?
It was my first experience on getting a hive out of a tree. It was fun and a learning lesson all in one.
Thanks for all the advice.
Dennis