Honey bees Removed From Office Building-June 8, 2010-Youtube

JP · June 09, 2010, 02:15:26 AM

This was not an easy removal. These bees were on the underside of a porch. Some idiot removed tile and concrete in order to run a downspout directly against the porch, without bothering to seal any gaps whatsoever. The bee's entrance was one of these gaps directly above the porch.

Sometime in the past there was another colony here that had been sprayed, so I can only assume this colony inhabited the dead out a few years back.

Water has been seeping into this area for quite sometime. There were water stains, the plywood attached to the underside of the porch had rotted out and one joist in particular was toast.

The bees had been living in a very harsh environment. It was time for them to find a better place to live.

...JP

Youtube: Honey Bee Removal In Office Building

montauk170 · June 09, 2010, 02:50:46 AM

Dang, I wanna be like JP when I grow up. :-P

Check out those roaches!!!

JP · June 09, 2010, 04:15:50 AM

Roaches and bee hives go hand in hand. First time I've ever seen a roach eating a bee. I did kill it, in case anyone is wondering.

...JP

montauk170 · June 09, 2010, 04:17:34 AM

How long did it take you to complete this job?

jhs494 · June 09, 2010, 07:32:42 AM

Nice job JP. The whole job being overhead, very hard on the neck and shoulders. It looks like a nice size area, with a lot of bees. The comb looks pretty uniform in size.

I noticed that it appears that you put rubber bands on ahead of time. Any number of rubber bands you start with?

Thanks for again sharing these videos with all of us!

KD4MOJ · June 09, 2010, 08:59:42 AM

Sounds like that office was next to the airport!

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

JP · June 09, 2010, 04:58:14 PM

This job took six and a half hours to complete. I still have to go back and remove the set up. I left it there to get the remaining bees.

I put a few rubber bands on each end of the frames.

This job taxed my neck and it became very stiff, needed 800 mgs of ibuprofen as my neck was so stiff I had headaches.

I got one sting on the tip of my nose.

...JP

bull · June 09, 2010, 05:48:02 PM

i would have liked to see your new pet eat that roach and all his friends.
my girls need a pet like that.

iddee · June 09, 2010, 05:49:41 PM

What a beautiful set up for a cutout. A remover's dream. Wish I could have been there to help on that one.

WHERE'S THE UMBRELLA?

montauk170 · June 09, 2010, 06:12:39 PM

JP - how many combs did you frame?

AllenF · June 09, 2010, 09:04:14 PM

Good job finding that queen. And I was glad to the smoke on film. I would never have believed that roach would have eat a bee. No way no how, until you see it on the video. Sorry to hear about the neck and your nose.

JP · June 09, 2010, 09:18:42 PM

Quote from: iddee on June 09, 2010, 05:49:41 PM
What a beautiful set up for a cutout. a remover's dream. Wish I could have been there to help on that one.

WHERE'S THE UMBRELLA?

This was no remover's dream Iddee, I assure you. What made it a pain was the rotten wood I had to break away in pieces to access pockets of bees and comb.

Because of the rot it was difficult to detach comb sections as some were attached to the underside of the plywood and some of these same sections were encased with tar and rotten wood and even the concrete underside of the porch.

The overhead stuff wasn't a problem, but the combs over the outer beam were difficult to access and this is where the majority of the rotten wood was. It was difficult to avoid honey drippage in these areas.

I went back this evening and added a medium atop the deep and checked on the queen. She is fine.

The bees are still robbing some of the spilled honey (a plus!) so I will remove the hive tomorrow night.

...JP

iddee · June 09, 2010, 09:34:59 PM

Sure it is, JP.

1...It makes you feel like you are really worth something.

2...It runs off the competition when they get one like that.

3...It makes the customer feel like they got there money's worth..and then some."They did"

4...It makes you appreciate the easy ones.

:-* :-* :-* :-D :-D :-D :evil: :evil: :evil:

pondman · June 09, 2010, 09:41:16 PM

JP

Thanks for shareing with us I really enjoy watching when you do cutouts. I have learned alot from what you do that I will try on my next cutout. Thanks again an keep the videos coming.

Pondman

hardwood · June 09, 2010, 09:48:15 PM

ewww, that was a good one :-D

Scott

annette · June 09, 2010, 11:23:19 PM

I just love watching these cutouts. I also feel I learn so so much from watching you JP remove these combs so calmly.

I hope I never have to do a cutout like that, but good to know it is possible to do and save all the bees. I still can't get over how you always find the queen in all those bees.

wildbeekeeper · June 09, 2010, 11:41:23 PM

JP,
I was wondering, when you put the brood comb in the frames, how long do you leave it in the hive before you rotate it out? Do you wait till the brrod hatches then replace taht frame with fresh foundation or do you let them use it for a year or so? Nice job on the cut out!

JP · June 10, 2010, 12:04:58 AM

Quote from: wildbeekeeper on June 09, 2010, 11:41:23 PM
JP,
I was wondering, when you put the brood comb in the frames, how long do you leave it in the hive before you rotate it out? Do you wait till the brood hatches then replace that frame with fresh foundation or do you let them use it for a year or so? Nice job on the cut out!

I let them have it, albeit at times its difficult to work. Surviving a colony and its genetics is paramount when performing a removal. If a queen is not found I want them to have the resources to make a queen from their own stock.

Removals can be quite stressful on bees and you will lose some. By adding their own brood sections they get re-enforcements from hatching bees, it helps curtail absconding and as stated they have the ability to make a queen, provided eggs/young larvae is present.

...JP

Bee Happy · June 10, 2010, 12:21:31 AM

I know a few real (building) construction guys who would be flabbergasted to see that rain gutter installed that way,self included but I did electrical. Looks like the lowest (probably unlicensed) bidder got you a bee job.

JP · June 10, 2010, 12:31:28 AM

Quote from: Bee Happy on June 10, 2010, 12:21:31 AM
I know a few real (building) construction guys who would be flabbergasted to see that rain gutter installed that way,self included but I did electrical. Looks like the lowest (probably unlicensed) bidder got you a bee job.

I'm just glad I don't have to do the repairs. What a nightmare that would be. This was one of those situations where you just have to say $^* (can I say that here?) were they thinking.

...JP