a mercy removal

[TwT]

got a call the other day asking if I wanted a hive in a old home that is going to be tore down, I usually charge for removals but I decided to get the bee's, this is one of the biggest hives I have ever removed, it is 3 foot wide and 7 foot 10 inches long, the Floor Joyce are actual 3x12's on 18 inch centers, the house was built in 1919, nobody has lived there for about 25 years, they said the hive has been there about 15 years but when I went in the hive most of the comb couldn't have been more than 3-4 years old but it is full of bee's.... here's some pic's, in the pic's you can see that I removed so comb already on the right side.

here the entrance over the door on the right side
and that's me removing the ceiling







here's a close side view, now remember this is 3 foot wide

[Jacmar]

Wow Ted that is some good looking comb. It looks like you might have been able to make up a couple or three hives from the quantity of bees.  Can you give us some detail on how you went about quantity, how much wax etc etc. I would sure like to have been on that one with you. Probably took more labour to remove the lath and plaster than getting the combs out.

Jack

[Jerrymac]

Are you sure that isn't two different hives? One on each side of that beam?

[TwT]

Are you sure that isn't two different hives? One on each side of that beam?

nope just one the joyce had 4- 4x4 notches through it and comb running through the notches, it was just one hive. that is just a joyce, it has a 1x6 nail under the joyce, looks like a beam but the joyce is notched like at one time 4x4's ran through it...

I ended up filling 22 deep frames with brood comb, got about 2 1/2  5 gallon buckets with honey comb, but this hive is about as big maybe just a touch bigger than one I removed last year.

[ZuniBee]

Man! That is huge! Good thing you had the deeps...don't know what I would have done.

[DayValleyDahlias]

How on Earth did you remove that?  Looks nearly impossible ( to me anyway )..wow!

[Shizzell]

Wow TWT, that is a massive hive. I have a question however. You say you saved the brood. How did you go about that?

Jake

[TwT]

Wow TWT, that is a massive hive. I have a question however. You say you saved the brood. How did you go about that?

Jake

get wood frames with no comb or foundation, cut the brood comb to fit in the frame and then stretch rubber bads around the frame to hold the comb in the frame.

[pdmattox]

Man Ted that is a nice colony.  That should be a good one to raise queens off of.

[Understudy]

So I have a few obligatory questions. 8-)

Did you end up covered in honey?

Did you get the queen? (I am sure she was easy to spot in that crowd :-P)

How many boxes did you fill up?

What was the temperment of the bees?

What tools did you use?

Do you plan on a follow up visit?

Did you have fun?

On a side note. I think that looks excellent. Congradulations. I hope they become some of your best bees.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[TwT]

Did you end up covered in honey?

I was Black and sticky when I was finished

Did you get the queen? (I am sure she was easy to spot in that crowd :-P)

don't know, had to leave, ran out of time, there was still bee's and some comb left.

How many boxes did you fill up?

2 deeps and a partial

What was the temperament of the bees?

not to bad, I got hit about 8 times

What tools did you use?

hammer, cat claw,bee vac,hive tool, scraper

Do you plan on a follow up visit?

yup because they dad some comb against the outside wall I didn't have time to get

Did you have fun?

at first when I seen the size of the hive, but not when all the honey and dirt started falling  ;) , took about 5 hours start to finish, but still have to go back.

[thegolfpsycho]

That's a whopper Ted.  Great pics

[asprince]

Man what a hive!

Ted.....want to come to Reynolds, Ga. and help a newbee cut out a couple? I have two to remove in June. One is small and will probally be easy. The other one???????. Steve

[Understudy]

Man what a hive!

Ted.....want to come to Reynolds, Ga. and help a newbee cut out a couple? I have two to remove in June. One is small and will probally be easy. The other one???????. Steve

By June they won't be small anymore.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[asprince]

The new owner does not close until June 1. The present owner may not appreciate me tearing up his house although the bees are the only ones living there. Steve

[TwT]

Man what a hive!

Ted.....want to come to Reynolds, Ga. and help a newbee cut out a couple? I have two to remove in June. One is small and will probally be easy. The other one???????. Steve

sure, but i charge for removals and the farther away the higher price, i have a dodge deisel and it cost ;) , just pm me when you want to do them. and like understudy said, it want be small in june....

[asprince]

Will send you a PM and we can discuss details.

You need to convert that Dodge diesel to run on waste vegetable oil. I have a Ford Powerstroke that I feed a steady diet of WVO.

[Scott Derrick]

Ted,

Thanks for the pics. Nice. Bet you sweated a gallon. I know I would have.

Scott

[AllanJ]

The new owner does not close until June 1. The present owner may not appreciate me tearing up his house although the bees are the only ones living there. Steve

I am not sure I would not close on a house that had bees in it.. I would expect the current owner to get them out, fix all the damage and show that all comb, honey etc is cleaned out. No telling what state the inside is in..

[dpence]

Nice,

     You certainly have patience.... :)  And thanks for the tip on how to hold the brood comb in empty frames. 

David