Just a bit of info please

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

tkwinston4

Field Bee
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
535
Reaction score
1
Location
WBC/Smith/National/nucs in Horsham, West Sussex.
Hive Type
Smith
Number of Hives
7
Afternoon all

Just been out to a local vicarage and they have honey bees in their roof. The property is two storey, i guess built around 70's/80s and well maintained. Its currently empty and we got up in the loft for a look around and there was no sign of any bees dead or alive in the loft so it looks like they are in under the fascia board and living in between the soffit and the tiles in the eves. They are going in from the outside at more of less the highest point of the roof so if being tackled from the outside a temp scaffold would be required.

He has asked me to give him a rough idea of how much it would cost to remove them so that he can put it to the parish tonight so they can make a decision about what they want to do.

I am not going to even attempt to do it but said i would see if i could find out a guestimate price and maybe a recommendation of someone reliable.

I dont really know how someone would go about getting rid; maybe spray something in the hole they are getting in, seal it up and hope they are gone?

Can anyone advise a rough cost and suggest anyone local to Horsham in West Sussex?

Thanks :coolgleamA:
 
Why get rid of them?

If they aren't going in the parts of the building to be used by people what's the problem?

IMO the best thing would be to leave alone.

Chris
 
Hi just an idea but have you tried "dudley" on here he seems to do allot of that sort of stuff. ai suggest pM him and see if he replys. His i.d says he is in Kent i dont think thats far from West Susssex is it.
M
 
Just got your PM

Sorry if its a bit late but I have just got home from work, I have replied to your pm. Regards Steve.
 
If they are in the cavity it is going to be a hard or impossible job. I had a call only this week because bees had entered an air brick. I quote, "yesterday the bees just landed on my house wall, smothering an air brick, the wall was black with bees, and then they gradually disapeared through the air brick into the cavity, I do not want them killed, what can you do please?"

The following day I was removing brickwork, I had no other choice as internally there was a massive fancy georgian plaster cove, picture rail and lathe and plaster walls.

After removing the air brick and about 15 bricks I was 18" into the building back to the lathe and plaster.
I found the cluster, only a tiny peice of comb drawn, but hindered by a timber plate and the lathe and plaster of the back of the lounge wall.

I could not brush or knock the bees into anything so have placed a nuc box in the hole I made. I have sealed up all round the nuc so the bees can only enter and exit through the nuc box. I also placed a frame of brood in the box in the hope of enticing them off the lathe and plaster to my nuc.

Checked it the following day and although my brood frame was covered in bees the majority of the colony was still hanging on the lathe and plaster.

That was Wednesday, I have left it as is and tomorrow I am going to have another look and hope they have colonised my nuc properly. If they have not, my ony option is to take what i can and kill the rest.

This job is going to cost the householder about £450. Costed as follows;- One day to remove the brickwork, two short check visits, a few hours to remove either the colony (fingers crossed) or whatever I can and kill the rest, and one more good day replacing the brickwork to a grade two listed building status. (should not even be doing it without listed building consent)
View attachment 1950

View attachment 1951

View attachment 1952
 
Last edited:
Blooming heck, I should be in the UK at those prices.... relax only half serious, but do people really pay that sort of money?

This is in no way a criticism of your approach but have you considered using a vacuum system to suck them into a collection box?

Chris
 
And I've offered to do it for free for someone not many miles away.

Not doing any masonry removal, only a trap out.
 
Blooming heck, I should be in the UK at those prices.... relax only half serious, but do people really pay that sort of money?

This is in no way a criticism of your approach but have you considered using a vacuum system to suck them into a collection box?

Chris

I do that as well, I built a 600mm cube in ply with a perspex lid so i could see in side. It is divided down the centre with verroa mesh to act as a filter to stop the bees going right into my vacuum. On one side of the box I attached a dust extractor outlet and to that my vacuum suck hose, and the vacuum itself to the other side of the box.

I used it to remove bees from a chimney where the colony was too far for me to reach, It worked well in sucking out the bees (sucking did not harm them) but they did not do well after as it had also covered them in soot other muck.

I did not use it for this cavity job as the lime mortar was so soft and crumbly that they would have been smothered in it.
 
Last edited:
Oooop's, sorry, I thought you may have already thought of that, and yes, I understand about what can get chucked around in there with them if you vacuum. I had the same problem with a swarm that had gone down a metal flue for a wood-burner. For the first 10 - 14 days after retrieving them I had bees walking away from the rushette, (mini hive?), unable to fly. Not huge numbers but enough to notice, probably several hundred in total. Anyway it settled down with no continuing issues and was obviously a result of the fine crap from inside the flue getting into the breathing tubes of some of the bees in excessive quantities.

Chris
 

Latest posts

Back
Top