One Tough Feral Hive

[Devbee]

Howdy friends,

I wanted to share this story with you about a hive of bees living in a hollowed-out oak tree trunk 25 feet off the ground.

My friends found out I am getting bees (in exactly one month!), so they told me that their next-door neighbor has a tree in his backyard with a "huge" hive of bees in it.  It has been there for at least 13 years because when the houses were being built, this hive stung the homebuilders, but they didn't chop the tree down because it is a beautiful old oak tree (that just has one big hollowed-out branch).

A few years ago, their neighbor got tired of the bees and really wanted them gone, so he found some beekeepers who came out and apparently sprayed some kind of foam that hardens into the top of the hollowed-out part of the branch (the only known entrance to the hive).

Well, the bees had other entrances, so the foam didn't stop them, and they have continued to do fine.  Then their neighbor himself started cementing all the entrances he could find, but still they are thriving!

I was thinking of putting up a swarm box somewhere around this hive to get a swarm from it if it throws one off.  I probably won't try this until next year when I have experience with my own bees, but I thought that this was quite an amazing story.

Any thoughts on how likely that the same hive of bees has lived in this old tree for 13+ years?

[Billy The Beekeeper]

Idk i would probably say go ahead and get them down cause it dont seem like owner wants them there and he is probably just gonna burn it down or somethin and completely destroy it so if i was u get them down as soon as u can i know ur new at this but it dont seem u have that much time to wait so im just givin u some kinda lil advice im newer to ive only been doin well goin on 2 years so i know what ur fearin but this is just my opinion good luck  :)               :mrgreen:

[Drone]

BillyK

Man, that was one hard to read, rambling sentence.

Don't be afraid to use those keys with the funny symbols like , .? ;!  :-D

Just messin'

[ktbearpaws]

I saw an ad in the local paper last year.
Seams, some people had a hive in thier chimney.
I didn't know anything about bees at the time, so I didn't mess with it.
I wonder how they got them out. :-D

[Billy The Beekeeper]

Lmao i dont like ?.! or any of that rofl when im doin messages but ill try to use them lol  :), but anyways all they really had to do to get rid of them is to start a fire in chimney and the smoke and heat would have drove the bee's out. They probably just called an exterminator though                   :mrgreen:

[Understudy]

I have a hive I have to remove from a tree in about two weeks. The problem for me is they are in the trunk. What I am lucky is that it was a tree that was once home to termites. So all the wood around them is brittle.

Here is what I will ask in order to help you.
1. Is the tree alive or dead?

2. Are they in a branch or the main trunk?

3. Have you ever done a cut out of any kind?

4. Do you have protective clothing?

5. Do you have a way to get up 25' safetly, such as a bucket truck or scaffolding?

6. Do you know how to safetly operate a chainsaw?

Let's start there and then I will ask more based on those answers.

Sincerley,
Brendhan

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesferal.htm

You can try trapping them out.

[Brian D. Bray]

Remember that in trapping out the bees you still may be queenless.  Using cones as a one way escape works great for getting the workers out.  Running a pipe from the cone to a hive or nuc so the returning bees have something to remain in will work for getting the majority of the workers and the bees will build in the hive as an extension of the original hive.  The queen, however will probably stay in the original hive within the tree so adding a frame of eggs or introducing a new queen maybe necessary.

[Devbee]

1. Is the tree alive or dead?
2. Are they in a branch or the main trunk?
3. Have you ever done a cut out of any kind?
4. Do you have protective clothing?
5. Do you have a way to get up 25' safetly, such as a bucket truck or scaffolding?
6. Do you know how to safetly operate a chainsaw?

Thanks for your reply, Understudy, but I think I can already see the answer is: I should be NOT messing with them!  But here are the answers:

1. The tree is alive--probably a 60 year old oak tree
2. They are in a thick branch off the main trunk.
3. I have never done a cut out of any kind, and I don't even have my first package of bees yet.
4. I do have protective clothing.
5. No, I don't know how I would get to the tree safely; it is in their backyard.  They may have a big ladder though.
6. I have never used a chainsaw.   :-\

I think I will just wait until next year, and if they are still there, as I think they will be, I will ask again how best to get at them.

Thanks for the advice on trapping them out, too, guys!

[Jerrymac]

One question not asked or answered. Do these people want you to cut that big branch off of the tree? If not then trapping them out is your only option.

[Drone]

Hmmmm....

I can't think of many things I'd rather have in my back yard than a big 60 year old oak tree with a huge, healthy colony of bees in it.

-Drone

[Understudy]

1. Is the tree alive or dead?
2. Are they in a branch or the main trunk?
3. Have you ever done a cut out of any kind?
4. Do you have protective clothing?
5. Do you have a way to get up 25' safetly, such as a bucket truck or scaffolding?
6. Do you know how to safetly operate a chainsaw?

Thanks for your reply, Understudy, but I think I can already see the answer is: I should be NOT messing with them!  But here are the answers:

1. The tree is alive--probably a 60 year old oak tree
2. They are in a thick branch off the main trunk.
3. I have never done a cut out of any kind, and I don't even have my first package of bees yet.
4. I do have protective clothing.
5. No, I don't know how I would get to the tree safely; it is in their backyard.  They may have a big ladder though.
6. I have never used a chainsaw.   :-\

I think I will just wait until next year, and if they are still there, as I think they will be, I will ask again how best to get at them.

Thanks for the advice on trapping them out, too, guys!

Your answer is sound. However it is not a lost oppurtunity but insight to where your knowledge levels may need some more input or practice.

Since they are not in the trunk the tree is safe sort of. If you were to remove the big branch you would probably ruin the apperance of the tree. It may also call into question the health and structual integrity. Also no experience with a chainsaw means you may end up coming out with a few less appendages. Who needs those nasty fingers anyway.

So my recommendation is to start playing twenty questions with a tree doctor in your area. Start learning how to use a chainsaw and landscaping tools related to pruning trees. That will help with other cut outs in trees. Also if you tell the tree doctor you are interested in this because you want bees he will give you the referals. If you did this over the next year you will come out smarter wiser and with all those nasty arms and legs still attached. Also when you have to prune your tree you be able to save the $600 it would normally cost you.

Also if you can throw up some swarm trap within a 1/4 to 1/2 mile of the tree so if it throws off swarms you get them.

Do not be discouraged, you get to learn new things and that is the fun of it.

Sincerey,
Brendhan

[wtiger]

and don't forget the kevlar leg protectors.  If you hit yourself with a chainsaw it'll almost always be your legs.  Oh and remember not to stand under the branch you cut.