Established Colony

[grizzly]

There is a slight possibility i may visit a farmer who claims to have bees in his barn, havent spoken yet so do not have any details.

However, for arguments sake, i am confident in taking a swarm, but if this colony is established, what is the best way to remove ?

assuming again they wont be reachable without a ladder, do you cut the comb away and then brush them into a nuc box ?

i might try and get some pics and post them on here for advice.

UPDATE : they are apparently in a stables, about to be demolished, they are in a gap between some boards and the roof itself, i think he said the gap was 6".

 

[Finman]

.
You put a larva frame into a bee box and bees will move to take care of brood. The queen will be soon on larva comb.

 

[grizzly]

Went up to see them and yes its definitely bees, i tried my very best to get to them but on my own it proved to be too much.
The stable is very well built, i simply did not have the tools to get the boards off, trying to balance on the top of a ladder was also not very sensible.

I am gutted, i can hear them behind the boards, they must be quite a well established colony, they have been there for quite some time, there must be quite an amazing mass of comb in the roof and the wall.

Should i enlist some help and try and save them, or do i admit defeat and let the owner who wants to demolish the building kill them ?

(not that it matters but i have never met people quite so rude in my life, the daughter reminded me of that spoilt thing in charlie and the chocolate factory)

 

[hedgerow pete]

i get to deal with quite a few people like that durring the swarm season and me personal i would walk away, if you got the tool if you did not fall off ladder if you did not say something back to the daughter, no thanks far to many if's for me

 

[Poly Hive]

Are they insured if YOU fall off the ladder?

Life is full of little hiccups.

PH

 

[Jenxy]

I feel sorry for the bees, and I'm sure you are gutted you can't save them, but if they really are rude, they are not going to care less if you hurt yourself doing them a favour, so unless you have a beek mate that lives close to help you, or a scaffold tower that you can borrow for free...then perhaps it's best to walk away.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Demeping on how and when they knock it down, if they are using a mini digger for example, could not use this to help you, but in a bit more of a controlled way that can help you?

 

[davemacdon]

If they had been closer, I'd have helped. As a fire officer, I know a few ways of breaking things!!! But as a beek, I would have needed your help once we had them!!

Dave.

 

[MrTrueman]

I would have thought you could work with the builder/demolition crew and get them out, as I am sure they wont want to be dealing with them!

 

[grizzly]

Thanks all
its a bit like a pound coin someone has superglued to the pavement, you can see it but just cant take it away.

I will just tell the nice chap who called me that i am not able to get to them safely. if they want me on hand when they demolish i might return.
From now on i am only going to respond if they are visible and within reach.

 

[hedgerow pete]

be carful i do a lot of turned down swarm work durring the season for the council and the police. trees and roof spaces, some time a little bit of latteral thinking works wonders. take for example your swarm there at the stable it is above the cieling i take it so if the place is being leveled and nothing kept i personaly would have got a bloody big ladder made an ancorage point on the wall to stop it sliding away and fixed it on the top to stop it sliding away and just ripped the roof off and if i needed it i could use a cat ladder to have got further up the roof till i was inside the nest each pice of comb cut to fit inside a frame held in place with three elastic bands dont worry about the odds and sods they can get melted down later on if you want as you collet you store the frames inside a covered brood box on the roof when the most of it is inside leave it alone for a few hours to see if the bees are working the enterance or the queen is somewhere else and you will see them grouping there insteed once the lot is in come back about ten or eleven fill the entrance with something strap around the lot tightly bloody tightly and lower the lot to the ground with a rope once on the ground go three miles away at least tie a pice of string to the rag in the entrance set it up and in the morning not tbefoer pull the rag ot from a distance leave them alone for three weeks to get themselves together angain and then have a very good look through, if you have lost the queen the new cells will be on show ect ect