Bee's in a log (HELP)

[stevebrowning]

I have been asked to remove some bees from a chopped down tree, i have a primed hive next to them and they entered, then left back to the log.I have been told they must be removed from the tree owners garden, dead or alive. Can anyone help? I did ring a well known company for advice and was told "call pest control"
THANKS Steve

 

[merylvingien]

Cant you cut into the tree to expose the comb? I mean if the tree is already down, it shouldnt be much of a problem getting access to them. Bee suit and chainsaw job.

If you go steady, you should be able to remove the combs and cut them into frames.

 

[Dishmop]

How big is the log?

 

[nottingham]

Cant you cut into the tree to expose the comb? I mean if the tree is already down, it shouldnt be much of a problem getting access to them. Bee suit and chainsaw job.

If you go steady, you should be able to remove the combs and cut them into frames.

The only problem you might find with doing it this way, is that the vibrations of the chainsaw going through the log might drive them nuts. You might find that bees are going for you in big numbers and if you are unable to move the comb first time the chainsaw might put to much stress on the queen. If the log is rotten in places it might be a idea to stick a tape measure in the hole, to see how far you could go with a hand saw. Taking your time with a hand saw might put less stress on them.

 

[whizzwheels]

Can you split the log with an axe? The bees will probably fly at you with the sudden noise and virbration but then calm down and fly back enabling you to remove the comb and the majority of the bees including the queen.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

You could try making a passage from the log through your primed hive with a one-way valve in the passage. Then all the foraging bees would end up in your hive. But, the rest would be unlikley to abandon the brood unless you give them a reason to leave - is there any way to smoke them from the other end?

The other option - if the log is not to big, why not move the whole lot to your apiary and leave it as an experiment?

 

[Frisbee]

I did this here:-

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxFmxGKWcE8&h=be2bc

Well not completely on my own. Hope it is of some help.

Oh and the bees didn't go wild at the sound/vibration of the chainsaw, but beesuits are necessary

Frisbee

 

[nottingham]

I did this here:-

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxFmxGKWcE8&h=be2bc

Well not completely on my own. Hope it is of some help.

Oh and the bees didn't go wild at the sound/vibration of the chainsaw, but beesuits are necessary

Frisbee

That was a very good video Thank You

 

[Heather]

I also got bees out of a tree- they were not too bad with chainsaw- I covered with towels every few minutes to allow them to settle back on the comb. Be prepared to cut the comb and tie each into a frame.

 

[Midland Beek]

Surely this is not rocket science. What point removing the bees from the log?

You seal up the log containing the bee nest when the bees have stopped flying in the evening. Spray water to get them inside and seal up with duck tape. You take away the log and put it under a hedge. You make sure this location is more than 3 miles away. You stand up log with a couple of supports so that it is orientated the same way, ie. not upside down. And then you open the entrance.

 

[psafloyd]

Surely this is not rocket science. What point removing the bees from the log?

You seal up the log containing the bee nest when the bees have stopped flying in the evening. Spray water to get them inside and seal up with duck tape. You take away the log and put it under a hedge. You make sure this location is more than 3 miles away. You stand up log with a couple of supports so that it is orientated the same way, ie. not upside down. And then you open the entrance.

That was one hell of a log in that video...

 

[susbees]

....so we need a comparative amount of hell. Log hives are way cool. If it's moveable I like MB's idea.

 

[psafloyd]

....so we need a comparative amount of hell. Log hives are way cool. If it's moveable I like MB's idea.

Fair enough, but I wouldn't want to be lifting the one in the video.

 

[Heather]

Surely this is not rocket science. What point removing the bees from the log?

You seal up the log containing the bee nest when the bees have stopped flying in the evening. Spray water to get them inside and seal up with duck tape. You take away the log and put it under a hedge. You make sure this location is more than 3 miles away. You stand up log with a couple of supports so that it is orientated the same way, ie. not upside down. And then you open the entrance.

If I hadn't removed the bees last November when the tree was being demolished they would have been dead in a month. No stores, some brood on two slices of comb, loads of wax moth. They are now a vibrant colony. Most satisfying.

 

[stevebrowning]

Thanks for the help, the log is way too big & heavy, i think i will go down the axe/saw route and just take my time!
THANKS Steve

 

[Frisbee]

That was one hell of a log in that video...

Yeah....it was a kind of tree sized log and also unmoveable except by machine.

The tree had to be felled as it was rotten in the middle and by a roadside. The tree surgeon sprayed commercial wasp nest killer into the entrance....the foam which sets hard, but the nest was way higher than the entrance, 3 days later the bees had found another way out. The field/tree owner said once it was felled I could do what was necessary to get them out.

It turned out the colony was one of mine which had swarmed the year before, they overwintered in the tree. That video was done nearly two years ago.

The queen is still going strong and hasn't as yet this year shown any inclination to leave again. She is now in her 4th year.

Frisbee

 

[mandabow]

You could try making a passage from the log through your primed hive with a one-way valve in the passage. Then all the foraging bees would end up in your hive. But, the rest would be unlikley to abandon the brood unless you give them a reason to leave - is there any way to smoke them from the other end?

no need for one way valve, actually works much better without.. make your brood and extension of their home

if you place a hive (with drawn comb if possible) above the hole (or too the side if you cant place it above.. but with large diameter pipe leading to it and connect it to the hole)

in the tree and block all the gaps between it and the hive with aluminium foil and thick fabric so they have to go through the hive and exit through the top they will move in relatively quick...

there's a pretty high chance in felling the tree the comb will have been buggered in their colony, it probably isnt at a good angle for brood laying or honey storage on both sides anymore and the queen will be happy to move up to nice vertically alligned frames.

Once the bees have claned and (re)drawn the frame she will begin to lay there, place qx below the brood box once you have a good brood pattern. from then on all hatched inside the tree will gradually come out to tend to new brood. provided you supply enough supers the forragers won't bother to store in the log as it's a hassle to go in that far when theres comb ready narere the entrance laving more forraging time.

once all brood in the log has hatched the last of the nurse bees keeping their temp will also come out with them to the new brood and you can move the hive a short distance from the log and remove any links to it, then after a day for stragglers to make their way in (and for old colony to ahve lost sent etc), break a bigger hole or poke stick in old hive and wiggle it around and the forragers should "rob it" of it's stores into the supers on your hive. then your free to chop tree up + collect wax if you even want it..

this takes a fair amount of time though. depends where tree is and if they need to chop it up and remove it soon.

 

[rae]

No photos, but I'll make some suggestions.

Get the log down in length until it just approaches the colony. If you cut 1" slabs off each end, then you will hit rotten wood before it actually becomes hollow. Do this at both ends, and it may be more manageable.

Depending on the size and shape of the hollow section, you may be able to split it open with a pair of wedges. Unless the wood is very weak this is unlikely to work and the two halves will be held together with a mess of fibres.

I have no idea how qualified you are with a saw. If you have to look up what a plunge cut is....don't try it yourself, get someone who knows what they are doing to do it. . I'd aim to take a 1/4 section out of the trunk. Mark out the lines, then plunge a few times to determine the depth of the wood. Then rip it out. If you've trimmed the length down, it should split out easily. You now have access - and can see what is happening. Cut further as required.

My experience is that bees are not that fussed by small chainsaws. They hate mowers a lot more....

 

[stevebrowning]

Bees in a log - part 2

Log update, i went back to check on the bees a couple of weeks after my first post with a car full of tools thinking i would have to chop the log in half, but guess what? They had moved into the bait hive and were going strong!! just took a bit of patience. I have since moved them back to mine and are the picture of health!!
Thanks for the advice
Steve