Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade  (Read 4861 times)

Offline mtnb

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 510
Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« on: October 04, 2016, 12:40:30 pm »
I was hoping you all would share what should be in my bee removal toolbox and also maybe share some tricks you've learned while doing removals that would be useful to a new person just starting out in this field. ?
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2016, 02:03:35 pm »
A ladder longer than they say they are high (they lie).  A long knife.  A circular saw.  A sawzall.  A hand saw.  A keyhole saw.  A wood chisel.  A catspaw.  A bee brush.  At least four but preferably five plastic buckets with lids.  One of them filled with warm water.  Rubber bands.  Empty box and empty frames.  Cover and bottom board.  Lemongrass Essential Oil.  QMP (either queen juice or Psuedo Queen).  Pinesol in a spray bottle.  Smoker and fuel.  I usually don't like rubber gloves, but for cutouts, they are pretty nice as you can wash them from time to time when things get too slippery.  Use the circular saw set to the depth where it just barely touches the studs.  Cut the area where the colony is.  Remove boards.  Use the chisel for the corners where the circular saw isn't quite through the wood.  Cut combs out and brush bees into the new box.  Put all the honey combs in one of the buckets.  Put all the empty dark comb in another one.  Put the empty white comb in another one.  Scrap the small pieces of brood in another bucket with a lid to keep the bees out.  Tie the larger pieces of brood into frames.  If you don't have enough bees to cover all the brood when you get done, scrap some more of the brood.  Keep brushing the bees into the box.  Wash the brush when it's too sticky to be useful.  Wash your gloves when they are too slippery to work.  Keep lids on the buckets to keep the bees out of them.  Put some of the Lemongrass oil in the new box.  Put one of the Pseudo queen strips or four drops of the queen juice in the new box.  These will help attract them to the box.  I usually try not to use the smoker as I want them to get organized on the smell of the queen and the nasonov (theirs and the lemongrass oil) so I'd rather not interfere with their sense of smell.  Every cutout is different.  You'll have to adjust.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline mtnb

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 510
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2016, 08:27:20 pm »
Awesome! Thank you both! Very helpful information.
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline mtnb

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 510
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2016, 01:46:38 pm »
One more question...when you do your cut outs, do you guarantee results? When you google removals, several companies give guarantees new bees won't relocate in that space. In that case, they take care of everything, right? The removal and sealing of the space and then putting everything back together? I'm just doing the removal and the home owner does the rest so obviously I would only tell them what can be done but it's up to them to seal everything up properly...
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2016, 02:00:34 pm »
Only guarantee is the bees will be gone. Maybe covers 2 weeks, going back for stragglers. After 2 weeks, they are gone, warranty is gone. I never do the repair and recommend other beeks to never do repairs. Do both, and you are liable for the new swarm. Let a contractor do the repair, or the home owner. Then you aren't responsible because you didn't do the repairs. The contractor isn't responsible because he knows nothing about bees.

The home owner pays for the new swarm.

PS. I do tell the home owner to be sure the cavity is filled with insulation, or something, as sealing it off is nearly impossible. They need the open space to build comb and will not use the area if no open space is available. If the space is left open, they will rebuild through a 1/4 inch entrance 20 feet away.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline mtnb

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 510
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2016, 09:37:30 pm »
Ok thank you iddee. I have told people that too about space. If you take the space away, they won't be interested.
I'd rather be playing with venomous insects
GO BEES!

Offline chorrylan

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 61
  • Gender: Male
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2016, 06:33:14 am »
Some additions:
. a small mirror to get a look into areas 'around the corner'
. one of the electric or preferably battery powered oscillating 'multitools' are a lazy/convenient  way to do the kind of cutting Michael does with a chisel and can get into some spots like close to walls where the circular saw has difficulties


Offline paus

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 660
  • Gender: Male
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2016, 08:26:39 am »
I would like to add my "two cents",  The multi-tool or oscillating saw is every thing and more, that Chorrylan mentioned,  you can get them from $19.95 at harbor freight to about 40 dollars.  Today I am going to get a name brand one  because I have worn the el cheapo one out, mostly on a truck door cutout.  The next thing is a "Bore-scope"  $169 at Harbor Freight, there are other brands, industrial quality that I used in my honest job that are more expensive and have very good resolution but is not necessary for cutouts.  These allow you to see several feet or about a meter in places here to fore impossible to see.  It is self lighted and you can see what is going through a half inch or 12 mm hole.

Offline stanisr

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 103
  • Gender: Male
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2016, 11:25:49 am »
To follow up on Michael's answer, I have performed several cut-outs, many of you guys have more under your belt then me, and I have yet to have everything I need at the job site. So the answer, in my opinion is, take everything your could possibly need and your still will lack something. :grin:
Rick

Offline BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2016, 12:15:43 pm »
One addition:
I like to pre-survey the job and figure out what I need. Too many time the customer tells a good story that does not match what you find on arrival.

One case, I asked what he sprayed the swarm with. He told me nothing. Come to find out he threw gas on them and burned thousands of bees and his neighbors fence. :oops:
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline stanisr

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 103
  • Gender: Male
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2016, 06:17:59 pm »
One more follow-up thing I would like to add. Ask as many questions at possible, on two occasions I asked numerous times to make sure we were talking about honey bees, only to find out when I arrived that in fact the homeowner had yellow jackets. Then on both occasions, the homeowner asked me to take them anyway. :angry:
Rick

Offline Acebird

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 8110
  • Gender: Male
  • Just do it
Re: Removal Toolbox and Tricks of the Trade
« Reply #12 on: November 08, 2016, 10:07:30 am »
If you take the space away, they won't be interested.

I wouldn't bank on that 100%.  If the house had space there to begin with there is no doubt there is another space close by.  In new construction up here houses are insulated so bees don't go in new construction (usually).  Old construction when oil was 5 cents a gallon and trees were plentiful houses were not insulated and knob and tube wiring insured that there is passage between each upright or stud, floor joist or ceiling joist.  Unfortunately older homes are owned by people who do not have the means to pay for bee removal or whole house insulation so the battle with raid continues.
Short of not allowing hives to be within 2 miles of 100 year old home I don't know what the solution to this problem is.
Brian Cardinal
Just do it