whilst every one is right with there answers, just to be completly differant hedgerow is going to answer the question a completly differant way.
I collect swarms when I am called apon, and most of the ones i get are the pain in the back side ones that most people have refused.
So lets talk basics and then get complicated after wards.
Just to be realy insulting to the neebees first, if its your first few times collecting swarms , only do the easy ones as these are easier to make and recover from a mistake with so stay on the ground or at the very most a few feet off the ground , but only if you are realy realy comfortable doing the swarm a few feet off the ground, at the end of the day why break you neck for a £100 swarm of poor quality bees you could also say that a few weeks of work will cost you easily a feww thousand pounds which is a new level of price for a swarm £1,000 or a box of bees is a little much realy
now lets start getting higher!
Steps are great to use if you have a decent pair of them i have some that i use for work these are exspensive class one grades one at 6 foot (£100) and another pair at 10 foot(£200) B and Q dont sell class one steps only domestic ones which are a little wobbly for safe use by me
sounds great so far but lets put soft grass under them and evan I am off the top head first so a couple of strong scaffold planks under neath the foot will steady us up, try seeing if we can fix(safely ) the top to the tree we are climbing up just as a belt and braces jobbie, now we are starting to get far beyond most peoples comfort zone when we get over 5 foot tall and i dont blame them, stick to what you are safe and comfortable with, and never over reach your steps, to be on the sfafe side you should never have less than three pooints of contact on your steps two feet and one hand, any less and your asking for trouble
want to go over 6 foot lets start talking ladders
I say this with as father of a family in mind, DONT BOTHER, unless you realy do use them so offten that you are very staedy as ladders are very deadly evan to hairy builders you can be as macho as you want but why be a dead macho man
Beings very used to working at hieght as part of my job i can work with ladders scaffolding and steps daily and can be very safe doing it , i also know my limits and my equipent limits, the highest i have ever gone with ladders is to look at a swarm 30 foot up, and thats all i did , I looked and then left, empty handed as i was not going to kill my self for a swarm of bees that i dont realy want
if i was going to use ladders you have to be very certain that what you are leaning them against will hold your and the ladders weight and you will have to tie the top rung to your tree to be safe
next up scafolds
being a hairy builder it is exceptable for me to "borrow a tower scafold from work for the night and to return it in the morning so thats my prefered way of going over 5 foot as i will have a safe flat platform to work from, how far up can i go easiy up to 40 foot if i have enough frames and out riggers to build it safely ( yes i have a training card and licence to know what i am doing is right and proper
the other part we have yet to talk of is what you are planning on doing when your up there, but thats another thread with a hedgerow massive speach to be attached
pete
