Please help - bees in a chimney

[John M]

I know the standard advice is run away and call in someone to kill them but...
There are bees in a disused chimney where I have my hives; the chimney is boarded up at the room end. They have been there about 3 weeks and it must feel very comfortable to them because a few years ago there was a colony that lived there for a number of years (no idea exactly how long).

The owner will be using the chimney as a route for a central heating flu in a few week's time and needs the bees to be gone. I am also assuming that melted wax and honey running down the outside of a boiler flu is a bad thing!

I am happy for him to use one of my hives (a spare one) on some sort of platform to attempt something like Jeff Buzz's thing The problem for me is that I obviously don't want them to be poisoned and neither does the owner (not able to seal the chimney afterwards due to the flu)

Help... any ideas please.

 

[newportbuzz]

open up the flue and have a look to see what you actually have. you might be lucky and the hive is on the room end in reach.
I have seen a invention like a folding shelf on a pole that you push through the hive and fold open under it then cut whats left from the flue and pull it all up. VERY MESSY.
best of luck.

 

[John M]

thanks - sounds like fun

any one else (please!)

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Unboard the chimney and apply some thick smoke. Might work.

 

[John M]

Ok, if it is within reach, I could cut and insert in frames (assuming I have the queen). If not within reach, I would probably try smoke. If smoke works, would the queen leave? If so, is it likely to be like a normal swarm.

by the way, I used to ask loads of extra questions when I was at school too!

 

[sugarbush]

Are you able to get pictures of the chimney for us to see. If they are actually in the flue it's self and not in the brickwork somewhere here is an old trick you can try. Pull a frame of brood from one of your other hives (uncapped brood and eggs) and tie it to a string and lower it down to the colony in the flue. Sometimes the smell of foreigner brood is enough to attract the queen onto the frame to investigate. Leave it there for several minutes and then pull it up and see if you have the queen. Once you have the queen you can place her in a brood box with some frames and trap out the rest of the colony.

 

[John M]

Unless anyone has major reasons not to, I would like to try that first. Maybe lose my brood if it gets chilled but got to be worth a go, surely.

 

[BBG]

In-laws lived with colony in chimney that swarmed often, sounded as loud as helicopter and honey ran down chimney and covered with soot, even after converting to gas fire, appeared black as it made its way over the hearth.

Bees are fine, no bother and the gentle sound of activity at night has given them a lullaby for years.

Hope you can co-exist.

Best of luck.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Are you able to get pictures of the chimney for us to see. If they are actually in the flue it's self and not in the brickwork somewhere here is an old trick you can try. Pull a frame of brood from one of your other hives (uncapped brood and eggs) and tie it to a string and lower it down to the colony in the flue. Sometimes the smell of foreigner brood is enough to attract the queen onto the frame to investigate. Leave it there for several minutes and then pull it up and see if you have the queen. Once you have the queen you can place her in a brood box with some frames and trap out the rest of the colony.

very interesting, a bit of lateral thinking there, might try that as well if i find a swarm in a chimney

 

[John M]

I will try to get photos too. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

[jimmybee]

The only way you will move them is if you move all the wax from the chimney and then smoke the bees up in to a box from the bottom i have done this many time over the last few weeks dont waste your brood!!!

 

[hedgerow pete]

ok john sit down and start reading hedgerow is in the room.

firstly can we get to the top of the chimney safely, you missed that bit out, if no try these, if yes read later on

ok, so we are proberly looking at a fresh swarm inside an old nest.

now the best thing to do is to walk away and leave it alone,

right now that we know you are barking mad as a box of frogs we will try to give you some ideas and a few tips to others aswell.

firstly a photo would help but the main point is can you get to the top of the chimney safely without killing your self,

so we will work to the no we cant route for now,

try a oily rags fire with added bicycle inner tubes to smoke them out big time, drive the swarm out or kill it one or the other will happen, after which use a chimney sweep brush to clear out the old wax render it down and sell it on and then find to where the swarm has gone to to collect it.

next try the e knocking iit down alive with the chimney sweep set and then collecting it up to see what can be saved.

i have done several where we have knocked a hole rough into the chimney from loft space and worked the swarm out from below it hard work but can be done, we did the last one by dislodging a frame of brood one at a time and then framing it and boxing it up. a bucket of compo later on to rebuild the chimney side.

now if we can get via the top down you will normaly find them just below or at the base of the chimney pot level normal about a metre inside,

i normal use two broom handles with 75mm nails driven in to the ends with one staight through the short sides, the idea works like this one handle is lowered down and between two frames of brood and then turned 90 degrees to one side, the second handle is then used to break the side seals off so releasing the now nail attached frame, this is lifted up and delt with before doing so again or we could just shuve the chimney sweep brush up below it to make sure we dont drop some thing as we work

or you can just lean in and pick them off the chimney

another way i have done is the old umbrella trick which sounds as it works slide down brolly drop nest into or try to remove nest and keep brolly to remove debre

 

[John M]

as always. Thanks very much for all the advice. I now have a picture of the general principles. I am off there this afternoon to have a look. I will let you know /post photos when something happens.

John

 

[stilllearning]

you could always get that chap from the cider advert to come and whistle

 

[RHCARR]

have you got a bee vac ?
I have had some call with bees in the same place:
I found that a bee vac works well and 8 out of 10 times i get the queen

 

[enrico]

Whatever you do don't light a fire to get smoke!. Sounds obvious but burning wax will do untold damage!

 

[For want of a better word]

have you got a bee vac ?
I have had some call with bees in the same place:
I found that a bee vac works well and 8 out of 10 times i get the queen

Is your beevac the scratch built one on the |USA beesite??

thinking of making one!!