Bees in a tree

[JimBee463]

Where I work the gardeners have just found bees in a tree - not hanging in a tree as in a swarm, but flying in and out of a hole at the base of the tree (so nesting inside the tree). They seem to be very docile as i stood very close to the tree and didn't get pinged once, and hey were also very busy with workers full of pollen continually returning, with other workers continually flying out.

I presume the only way to get them out of the tree is to cut a section out and find the queen to remove her into a hive?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Where I work the gardeners have just found bees in a tree - not hanging in a tree as in a swarm, but flying in and out of a hole at the base of the tree (so nesting inside the tree). They seem to be very docile as i stood very close to the tree and didn't get pinged once, and hey were also very busy with workers full of pollen continually returning, with other workers continually flying out.

I presume the only way to get them out of the tree is to cut a section out and find the queen to remove her into a hive?

Why get them out?
Surely the best thing to do is to leave them alone and let the tree live too.
Perhaps cordon off a circle round it so nobody disturbs them unawares

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bit extreme though - cutting down a tree just to get a colony out of it.

 

[Goran]

I have one tree at my apiary with bees.. Now I have to take the ladder in summer to treat them against varroa, how " happy" I am..

 

[Boston Bees]

Where I work the gardeners have just found bees in a tree - not hanging in a tree as in a swarm, but flying in and out of a hole at the base of the tree (so nesting inside the tree). They seem to be very docile as i stood very close to the tree and didn't get pinged once, and hey were also very busy with workers full of pollen continually returning, with other workers continually flying out.

I presume the only way to get them out of the tree is to cut a section out and find the queen to remove her into a hive?

There's an identically positioned colony next to a busy footpath near me. No issues.

 

[JimBee463]

Why get them out?
Surely the best thing to do is to leave them alone and let the tree live too.
Perhaps cordon off a circle round it so nobody disturbs them unawares

Not as easy as that as it's in an area used by many people a lot of the time (it's a military establishment and right next to a recreational area, so they are concerned about people being stung). The establishment are discussing culling the colony which, obviously, I'm against, so just asking opinions as to whether they can be 'got out' of the tree without too much problem

Bit extreme though - cutting down a tree just to get a colony out of it.

I'm not suggesting the tree is cut down to get them out! - i'm seeking alternatives.

 

[ericbeaumont]

seeking alternatives.

Not many, and none quick.

The colony may die out in the winter, at which point access holes can be sealed after no flight is seen on warm spring days.

A trap hive fitted with a one-way valve may work (takes 6-8 weeks) but needs to be done by someone with experience of the method, and even then it doesn't always work.

Termination of honeybees is no longer possible as the chemical was withdrawn from legal use about 3 years ago.

Suggest you put in posts and a mesh screen a couple of metres in front of the tree, to make the bees fly up, rather than across the recreation ground.

concerned about people being stung

How long has the nest been there, and how many people have been stung?

 

[JimBee463]

Not many, and none quick.

The colony may die out in the winter, at which point access holes can be sealed after no flight is seen on warm spring days.

A trap hive fitted with a one-way valve may work (takes 6-8 weeks) but needs to be done by someone with experience of the method, and even then it doesn't always work.

That's what I thought (having done some rudimentary web searches.

Termination of honeybees is no longer possible as the chemical was withdrawn from legal use about 3 years ago.

They were looking to call a pest controller

Suggest you put in posts and a mesh screen a couple of metres in front of the tree, to make the bees fly up, rather than across the recreation ground.

That's what they are going to do I think, with some signs to make people aware.

How long has the nest been there, and how many people have been stung?

I don't know how long but i'd suggest not too long as the gardeners just found them today.

The 'problem' is, it is a training establishment so regularly have a lot of 'the public' in that area when we run pass out parades (I think there is a worry about people jumping on the compensation bandwagon with MOD if they are stung).


Thanks for the constructive reply, if i'm asked again i'll be able to advise with a little more info.

 

[ericbeaumont]

They were looking to call a pest controller

Years ago a pest controller was prosecuted for terminating a nest incompetently, and since then (and for other good reasons) they have been reluctant to terminate.

That reluctance became obligatory when the chemical was withdrawn from use, and they'll likely decline the work and suggest you contact a beekeeper.

 

[JimBee463]

Years ago a pest controller was prosecuted for terminating a nest incompetently, and since then (and for other good reasons) they have been reluctant to terminate.

That reluctance became obligatory when the chemical was withdrawn from use, and they'll likely decline the work and suggest you contact a beekeeper.

To be honest, they are now reluctant to euthanise the colony anyway, so i've suggested a fence to make the bees fly up and over the heads of any passing public.

 

[Erichalfbee]

To be honest, they are now reluctant to euthanise the colony anyway, so i've suggested a fence to make the bees fly up and over the heads of any passing public.

That’s wonderful news. Well done.

 

[JimBee463]

That’s wonderful news. Well done.

I used all my powers of persuasion

 

[thorn]

Are you sure they're honey bees? Could they be tree bumbles?

 

[JimBee463]

Are you sure they're honey bees? Could they be tree bumbles?

Yes, definitely honey bees, I got right up to the entrance (as I say, they were docile) so confirmed that.

 

[blackcloud]

Best plan- but it will have to be child/vandal proof
Guard bees don't see humans and go to Def-con.
In any case what has the tree done to anyone!

I had first hand of the pest control situation this morning with a chimney swarm.
She got irate when I told her no.
The pest control had referred her to me.
It will spiral out of control when homeowners start to do it themselves

 

[Boston Bees]

Best plan- but it will have to be child/vandal proof
Guard bees don't see humans and go to Def-con.
In any case what has the tree done to anyone!

I had first hand of the pest control situation this morning with a chimney swarm.
She got irate when I told her no.
The pest control had referred her to me.
It will spiral out of control when homeowners start to do it themselves

Did you refer her to the Bee Removers Facebook page?

 

[blackcloud]

She mentioned facebook (I don't do any of the digital cesspits) so I assume she had been rebuffed from there.

 

[Boston Bees]

She mentioned facebook (I don't do any of the digital cesspits) so I assume she had been rebuffed from there.

I suspect she hadn't been on that actual page, just found some pest control firm on Facebook that told her they wouldn't do it.

My advice - to avoid frustrated householders, it's always worth a beekeeper having the details of a couple of local cut-out people so you can pass their number on when contacted. Alternatively you can just recommend that people find the "Bee Removers" page on Facebook.

 

[blackcloud]

But that's (becoming)the problem BB.
No-one wants to get sued or prosecuted so these groups are referring the 'victims' back and forth like a tennis ball.

I still do collections bordering on extractions and every time reflect on what could have gone wrong.
Never again -until the next one.

 

[JimBee463]

In any case what has the tree done to anyone!

Absolutely nothing, which I why I asked if there were another way to get them out (and have explained again in previous replies)!

Although, having said that, it is a large Oak that has a huge bracket fungus at its base (which is probably why there is a cavity that the bees are using), so its days are probably numbered anyway, unfortunately.

In any case, it's sorted now as they are fencing the area off.