Bees In Chimney

[Iainwilk01]

Hi All,
I stayed at a friends house last night, only to be told that they have bees in the chimney/wall, high up near the top. They say they have been there since at least Spring last year. I think they are unreachable without taking half the house apart.
My idea is to set up an empty hive in their garden in the hope that the bees will find it and set up home in it. Could this work?

 

[snelgrove]

Hi All,
I stayed at a friends house last night, only to be told that they have bees in the chimney/wall, high up near the top. They say they have been there since at least Spring last year. I think they are unreachable without taking half the house apart.
My idea is to set up an empty hive in their garden in the hope that the bees will find it and set up home in it. Could this work?

You mite catch a swarm from it if you put some old comb in your hive, but the bees won't leave the chimney for your hive. Doubt if the bees will survive long due to varroa, in the chimney

 

[oliver90owner]

Could this work?

Not a chance! Well, there would be the slimmest of chances that they would move in if they were forcibly expelled from the chimney - like being smoked out, similar to a forest fire in their natural environment. Highly likely, of course, that the adjacent hive would not be used.

The chimney would need to be cleared (of remnants) or capping, lest more bees take up residence.

 

[JWF]

Could this work?

Not a chance! Well, there would be the slimmest of chances that they would move in if they were forcibly expelled from the chimney - like being smoked out, similar to a forest fire in their natural environment. Highly likely, of course, that the adjacent hive would not be used.

The chimney would need to be cleared (of remnants) or capping, lest more bees take up residence.

And the remnants would need to be removed to stop the wax running down the chimney and catching light!

 

[oliver90owner]

And the remnants would need to be removed to stop the wax running down the chimney and catching light!

A good idea if the chimney is in use. This one does not seem to be?

 

[Iainwilk01]

I thought as much. Maybe leave a bait hive and hopefully catch a swarm in the coming months. Thanks for the advice though

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Do you know they are honeybees?

 

[Itchy]

They will be honey bees if still there now. Probably in flue to upstairs chimney that has been sealed off.

 

[Iainwilk01]

Definitely honey bees. I found out that they swarmed last year and someone came round to get them out the tree. The place where they are is weird. It looks like a chimney on the side of their house but it isn't, if you know what I mean. Not sure if it's something to do with the boiler. The bees use an air vent at the very top to get in and out.
They are new friends and only found out about the bees last night. Might need to pop round with my suit on and check the loft as they haven't.

 

[oliver90owner]

if you know what I mean

The only thing I know now is that you don't know!

Bees inside a chimney will almost invariably enter very close to the pot or cappig. Bees in a wall will enter through a gap around the wall plate or some other gap.

 

[bpmurray]

Read this - a good synopsis of the problem. In particular, see the section "Removal by trapping".

 

[wessexmario]

Read this - a good synopsis of the problem. In particular, see the section "Removal by trapping".

that was worth reading for this tip: (can anyone confirm if it works?)
A preferred sting remedy is to place a mound of common table salt on the point of sting entry and dampen with water. By osmotic pressure, most of the venom will be withdrawn from the body tissue if the treatment is applied within 3-4 minutes following the stinging incident. When working outside, it is advisable to carry small amounts of salt such as the packets found at fast food restaurants.

 

[BeeBeeKa]

that was worth reading for this tip: (can anyone confirm if it works?)
A preferred sting remedy is to place a mound of common table salt

AFAIK a spirit is the best remedy for poisons of biological nature. The main acting compounds of these poisons are enzymes. All enzymes are proteins. Spirit makes the proteins to coagulate (the same process happens at boiling), thus destroying their main active properties. Spirit also pretty good penetrates through a skin into the tissues.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I stayed at a friends house last night, only to be told that they have bees in the chimney/wall, high up near the top. They say they have been there since at least Spring last year. I think they are unreachable without taking half the house apart.
My idea is to set up an empty hive in their garden in the hope that the bees will find it and set up home in it. Could this work?

Definitely honey bees. I found out that they swarmed last year and someone came round to get them out the tree. The place where they are is weird. It looks like a chimney on the side of their house but it isn't, if you know what I mean. Not sure if it's something to do with the boiler. The bees use an air vent at the very top to get in and out.
They are new friends and only found out about the bees last night. Might need to pop round with my suit on and check the loft as they haven't.

It may be an old chimney that's been capped off, the air brick is to ventilate the flue.

Read up on bait hives and put more than one in their garden, try to make them high enough off the ground for them to be attractive. See if you can put a frame of old comb inside and perhaps bait it with some lemongrass oil - you can get it from H&B. Don't bother buying swarm lures, they're more expensive and don't work any better.

 

[wessexmario]

While bait hives may work to catch a swarm, that won't necessarily remove the resident colony. Yes, sometimes the whole colony takes off, but most often it's a split.

 

[Iainwilk01]

Thanks guys. I've kind of resided to the fact I won't be able to remove the colony but if I can catch a swarm from them I'll be more than happy.