Bees in wall(another cutout)

[Understudy]

http://www.brendhanhorne.com/coppermine_dir/thumbnails.php?album=99

I had a call about a neighbor down the street from me who had some bees in the wall.
I went down there and boy did he. Looks like they had been there a while.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[annette]

Brendhan

I really admire you for doing these cut outs. They really look complicated and it seems the bees are always aggressive. I ask myself if I would ever attempt anything like this. Yes, I would try if it looked pretty easy.

Thanks for sharing all these wonderful experiences
Annette

[Understudy]

On the contrary. Most of the time the bees I deal with are pretty nice. But no one likes having a bulldozer taken to their house. These bees were pretty good.

Those one's in the tree are some of the meanest I have dealt with so far. I have had other locations that have been hot but the bees in the tree took the cake.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Lizzybob]

As someone exploring the possibility of getting a hive or two, perhaps you can answer a question regarding this.

Being that these are neighbors down the street, were they at all wondering if their bee problem stemmed from you keeping bees??

[JP]

Brendhan's bees all have a little red dot on their heads where he marks them, so they couldn't be his. :-D

[JP]

Annette, you should try doing a removal sometime, its a very rewarding experience in most cases. They are tons of fun, challenging, never a dull moment and teach you how bees survive under a variety of conditions. Also, performing removals will help you hone your skills as a beekeeper, it has for me. Most hives are not mean.

[Understudy]

As someone exploring the possibility of getting a hive or two, perhaps you can answer a question regarding this.

Being that these are neighbors down the street, were they at all wondering if their bee problem stemmed from you keeping bees??

Shhh!!!

I bribe the neighbors with honey to keep their mouths shut.

I don't know what bees you are talking about. :-X

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[annette]

Well, we shall see!!!!!!  I'd rather catch a swarm first.

[Farmdon]

So far my cutouts in walls have been better than trees. I did another tree today just to add bees to a weak hive I have. I know that the trees have just as much potential, but walls have been better, cleaner and less wax moths.

[UtahBees]

Wow - that's a nice job you did - taking out the comb and bees and replacing with insulation.

You do all of that?

How did the bees get there in the first place, if the sheetrock was there? A hole?

Regards,

UtahBees

[Understudy]

The bees were flying in and out of a section of sophet where the roof angle meet the roof flat. I was very worried they were in the roof section which would have been a pain. I went into the attic and saw they were not there but it appeared they were in the wall. One side of the wall was the bathroom shower tile wall. The other was the master bedroom which was just drywall. I decided the the path of least resistance and went into the drywall of the master bedroom side.

I removed all the comb, sucked up the bees and put insulation in the wall so that the bees don't come back. I may have to seal the entrance a little tighter they may still be hanging out there. But everything went pretty well.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Robo]

On the contrary. Most of the time the bees I deal with are pretty nice. But no one likes having a bulldozer taken to their house. These bees were pretty good.

I have to agree, I do quite a few removals a year and most of the bees are very gentle.  Kinda makes you wonder how "we" are making bees hot when we keep them.

Being that these are neighbors down the street, were they at all wondering if their bee problem stemmed from you keeping bees??

This is a very interesting point.  I run into a lot of customers that are referred to me by pest control companies who tell them it is illegal to kill honeybees. The pest control people just don't want to deal with honeybees, they want the quick in, spray, and quick out jobs.  When I explain to them that killing them is a bad idea, but NOT illegal, and I wouldn't want it to be,  they are somewhat amazed. But your analogy is exactly the reason I wouldn't want it to be illegal.  You would then have people forced to pay for removals and open to all kinds of problems.  There would be more pressure on towns to outlaw beekeeping, or even shysters intentionally letting hives swarm so they can get paid to remove them.

[JP]

Rob, I find there are way too many home owners and exterminators in my neck of the woods who try and kill off hives, and then leave the rotting mess in the wall or ceiling. etc... They don't understand how adaptable the honeybee is and just like you say, try and spray and get paid type of thing. Of course most times they leave the job unfinished because they hardly ever entirely shut down the hive. I just think that if you haven't done your research or don't have the experience, refer the job to someone who has been there.

[Dubhe]

Howdy folks, & thanks for the great information I always find on this board.

Question: Sounds like if you keep bees long enough, despite the best practices of the beek you're going to have a hive that throws a swarm.  Can you place a swarm trap in the apiary as insurance so that they don't go for the neighbor's wall?  If so, what kind of equipment do you use & does it need a lure pheromone?  I recall seeing barrel shaped traps for rent by some outfits in bee country.

[Understudy]

Swarm traps are wonderful and yes they look like recycled paper mache` pots that you put a few drops of lemongrass oil in.

Here is the thing you can put a swarm trap in your yard with your bees and the likely hood of catching you own swarm is slim and none.

Bees when they swarm want to diversify the genetics and not interbreed. They want to get a good distance away from the old hive location usually up to a few miles away.

However a swarm trap will draw in bees that come from far away looking for a home.

There is every possiblity that these bees came from a swarm off my hives but the odds are that they did not.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Robo]

Rob, I find there are way too many home owners and exterminators in my neck of the woods who try and kill off hives, and then leave the rotting mess in the wall or ceiling. etc... They don't understand how adaptable the honeybee is and just like you say, try and spray and get paid type of thing. Of course most times they leave the job unfinished because they hardly ever entirely shut down the hive. I just think that if you haven't done your research or don't have the experience, refer the job to someone who has been there.

Couldn't agree more.  When I do an intitial isnpection, I spend the majority of the time explaining the pitfalls of trying to kill the bees with poison.  I am actually amazed by the amount of people who want to just save the bees.  I would assume the talk about the rotting mess attracting rodents and the honey fermenting and staining walls would be more of the deciding factor.  Of course not contaminating the house with chemicals is also a big plus, but this is expected.

I have worked out a good relation with some of my local exterminators and probably get 1/2 my jobs as referrals from them.  I keep the good relationship by thanking them for every referral and some complimentary honey.