Bees in a Cotton Reel

[region2]

Just been to see a swarm that has established (at least 3 weeks but less than 6 weeks) in the centre of a timber cable reel in a council house garden. Cannot move the reel as it's full of armoured cable - it's lying down with the opening pointing skywards. Volume seems to be about the size of a national brood box!

Cannot get them out so I've placed a super over the opening with a modified cover board to create an entrance just under the roof - bees were confused at first but are now using their new entrance. Hopefully they'll move up and I can move them away as owner wants them away from 8 cats, 2 staff-type dogs and grandchildren.

Bees were very calm with tons of pollen coming in - lots of flowers in the gardens all around in this urban setting!

Any other suggestions welcome!

R2

 

[region2]

Does anyone have any other suggestions as to how I can get them out please?

R2

 

[For want of a better word]

use a nice sooty BROOD box with some old blackened drawn comb, plus a crown board and roof.. leave a space for bees to enter propping brood at front
The super may bee too small

 

[drstitson]

"a timber cable reel in a council house garden."

natural habitat for cable reels?

makes a change from burnt mattresses and rusty Fords!!!

 

[eric]

"a timber cable reel in a council house garden."

natural habitat for cable reels?

makes a change from burnt mattresses and rusty Fords!!!

hummmm full of copper wire

 

[topbar]

"a timber cable reel in a council house garden."

natural habitat for cable reels?

makes a change from burnt mattresses and rusty Fords!!!

You shouldn't be so suspicious there could be a perfectly honest reason for having somthing like that in your garden, there might just be an electrician living there.
Or a magpie mmmmm shiny things.

 

[region2]

An electrician. House is full of the stuff so probably dodge.

Why sooty? Why super too small this time of year?

R2

 

[drstitson]

why a super?

because you are aiming to rehouse a whole colony ready for winter.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Possibly a crazy idea, but how about....
You put a brood box full of drawn comb above the reel separated by an inverted clearer board (so the bees can move up into the BB but not back down again. Once you have got the majority of the flying bees up into the box you could put it to one side and cut out the comb in the reel and shake/brush the bees into the BB.

 

[susbees]

"a timber cable reel in a council house garden."

natural habitat for cable reels?

makes a change from burnt mattresses and rusty Fords!!!

I've got one of those as a stand for a dozen apideas. And yes those left after the last batch took refuge in the holes for a couple of days til the new batch arrived. So it looks just great in a 3.5 acre field thanks

 

[sugarbush]

If there is no way to lift it up enough to smoke them up through, try putting some open brood frames into your hive body on top. The smell will make the queen come up to hunt for the invading queen... Leave it about 15 minutes and then throw an escape board under the hive body for a few days so the workers can come out, but not return except to the hive body.

 

[johnandyrob]

"a timber cable reel in a council house garden."

natural habitat for cable reels?

makes a change from burnt mattresses and rusty Fords!!!

Im off to find a mattress to burn in my garden ill scratch the paint of my car and wait till that goes rusty and put that in too.

 

[region2]

2 weeks on and they're using my super as a corridor into their well established home in the drum! No access to the comb without a chainsaw so will just keep an eye on them...

R2

 

[newportbuzz]

gota be said but with the price of copper these days thats a well protected cable .
Over here they just have security guards. Can you imagine if they decided this was a good idea???

on a side note try a dead queen.
its suposed to work for finding a queen that you put a dead queen on a frame in a hive and close for 30 mins then the queen will be on that frame trying to see whats going on. so stick a dead queen on a bit of drawn wax preferably with brood ie (apidea frame ) lower this through the entrance for 30 min lift and see what you have caught. when you get her put her your super with a queen excluder under it they should abandon the hive after the larve are all hatched.

i have not tried any of this myself just read it but its got to be worth a shot.
hope it helps

 

[drstitson]

just giving them a box to transit won't work - you need to knock up a double entrance system whereby bees can enter the box from the reel via a bee escape and likewise those from outside enter via an escape.

in theory after 6 weeks the queen will be all alone and die.