Attic Removal

Haddon · August 21, 2011, 06:30:05 PM

Greenville, MS Removal

It was a nice removal at least till I was done. Duck taped the vac hose and tape came lose in the back of the truck but it was night so they just all rode on the outside of the vac. So at 12am I was out there revacing the bees off the side of the bee vac. At 1:36 am I was banding comb in frames and gave up after 6 frames of brood. I then put the 2 boxes together and it went just as good lol. Now this morning I look out there at the hive and see this picture.

So do I add more frames today or just leave them alone and hope they settle in or do I brush them back in and screen the bees off for a day or so??

AllenF · August 21, 2011, 08:12:24 PM

Mess of comb there. Good job on the video. Hopefully the bees will stay in that new hive you gave them.

JP · August 21, 2011, 09:52:33 PM

Mike, you deserve a gold star for that one my friend. That was painful to watch, much better you than I on that messy catastrophe! God bless I wouldn't wish that one on my worst enemy! :-P

I can only assume that a good many in your pic are on the outside of the hive because its quite messy on the interior of the hive. If its a real mess they are likely to abscond.

If its one big mess inside you would do better to set them up in another hive body and transfer what clean brood comb sections you have framed into another set up along with the queen and let them rob out the messy hive pictured.

...JP

montauk170 · August 22, 2011, 02:03:49 AM

What a sticky mess! Be careful when sucking up the queen when there's that honey mess around.

G3farms · August 22, 2011, 07:38:50 AM

DANG what a mess, glad to see you took it to the end, some would have abandoned it after taking a gander of what was under that plywood.

Good job for sure, hopefully they will settle in for you.

Haddon · August 22, 2011, 10:49:12 AM

It really wasn't that bad down in the hole the majority of the honey stayed on the floor board.

The hive had very little capped brood or larva so really there wasn't much to frame up most of it was empty brood comb what brood I did see was dead looking. Now they did have some live brood hatching but it was very small. I saw eggs too I wonder if it was just too hot right now for them to raise a large amount of brood the floor board was 114 degrees and they only had a 2 inch hole to get air from outside to cool that huge room.

Oh they were still in the hive this morning. I went out there and covered the vac top with a sheet of plywood to keep rain out if it rains.

Next I have to get some feed on them will try tonight. Oh JP I don't put the mess back in the hive I will empty frames before putting mess in the hive and I don't frame it up till I get home. I will crush and strain the honey then feed it back to them.

I pretty much do this alone the wife comes but she is just there to call the ambulance she helps tote a few things and helps with the stuff that just tires me out like zipping my veil no joke if I am hot and tired zipping a veil can really kick my butt its the point less fights that kill you in heavy hot work.

yockey5 · August 22, 2011, 11:29:32 AM

Job well done!

Scadsobees · August 22, 2011, 01:50:39 PM

Yuck...what a mess.

But that reminds me of the OTHER reason never to do a removal after MAY. (#1 is hive survival). That's a lot of honey!!

I hate cutouts too, and only do them if I have somebody else with me who can do as much as I'm doing.

Haddon · August 22, 2011, 03:19:42 PM

If they stay they might get a box of honey super cell.

My birthday is soon and I might ask for it for my bday.

Haddon · August 24, 2011, 11:56:21 AM

Well the bees went bye bye there at lunch gone by super.
Just another reason to charge and charge good for removals.
This is the first removal I have done that the bees absconded I wonder if that means the queen was alive and healthy.
Its sad but I can't get to upset I got paid well, and so far this year has been my best on survival rates knock on wood.

Now what do I do with 5 gallons of uncapped honey from that hive. I worry about feeding it back to my hives like I said earlier the brood pattern was not the best on the hive I removed. I would hate to be spreading AFB but what do I do with it.

Kathyp · August 24, 2011, 12:28:37 PM

crush and strain it for you. if it's not so great, make mead! i do a little extra filtering of cutout honey just because it tends to have more stuff in in it from my efforts.

BeeMaster2 · August 24, 2011, 12:56:15 PM

Great job. Jim (the other Jim :)) and I have 2 hive removals set up. 1 is in the space between the first floor and the second floor, up against the out side wall of a very nice house and the other in in the wall. We will access both of them from inside of the houses. I don't think I would ever want to do a removal from the attic.
Jim

Haddon · August 24, 2011, 01:16:45 PM

A box fan one foot from you does wonders but you will still dehydrate and it has taken me two days for me to rehydrate and God knows I felt it the next day. Just as much pan from dehydration as there was from me having to drag all my junk up those stairs. If I had not felt so bad the next day bees might not have left because I would have add more comb and trapped them in with feed if I had too, but I just hurt to bad to get in the suit Sunday and Monday.

yockey5 · August 24, 2011, 01:19:24 PM

If I had to suit up to work bees, I do believe I would quit.

Kathyp · August 24, 2011, 01:32:51 PM

i did an attic once....once was enough :-D

schawee · August 24, 2011, 10:42:15 PM

nice job hadden.man that was a sticky job.the box fan do wonders. .....schawee