removing a colony from an attic

[Erichalfbee]

Your comment is completely valid. In situations such as you describe I appreciate that destruction of the colony is perhaps the most appropriate action.

It's not. There are specialist companies that enjoy this sort of thing. Most of them are Pesties. There is a Facebook group with members all over the country willing to "save the bees" It's just that it's not an amateur job and the public have to realise it's not cheap.

 

[Boston Bees]

In the most recent video posted by Jeff Horchoff less than a day ago he performed a cut-out, in an abandoned house. The house had been abandoned following the damage which occurred during a storm.

Several things were of interest to me in this video:
On the day when the cut-out was performed the temperature was about 44F or 7C.
The bees had very thoroughly coated the interior surfaces of their wall-cavity hive with propolis.
The bees were not highly agitated during their removal.

I hope that this video will be of interest to you:

I think the OP will find it more useful if you give some details of your own experiences with indoor cut-outs, rather than referring to other people's YouTube videos (which are, inevitably, edited to give a positive slant to the experience and the video maker)

So, you have told us you have done several cut-outs using a beevac. How did it go? What went wrong? How long did it take? What would you do differently next time?

 

[understanding_bees]

. . . . It's just that it's not an amateur job and the public have to realise it's not cheap.

And it is just possible that someone who has a substantial brick building does not want to have it dismantled to the extent necessary to remove the bees.

 

[user 819]

First and foremost one needs to cover there backside so insurance indemnity is invaluable, no matter how accommodating the property owner is.
If professionals such as builders are involved then one may be able to work in tandem with them.

One will need to access the expanse of the colony before any major work is carried out as a simple swarm collecting cardboard box will not suffice, likely a bee vac to humanely hoover the bees up in to a bee safe receptacle and then a transfer in to a sealed BB outside, it may require 2 or more attempts to hoover up the bees.

As others have eluded to the mess, lots of it and a verrrrry sticky job. Every thing touched will be come sticky so floor covered in thick polythene (think dpc thick 300 microns or so) and a roll of strong thick rubbish bags and clean water.

 

[understanding_bees]

I think the OP will find it more useful if you give some details of your own experiences with indoor cut-outs, rather than referring to other people's YouTube videos (which are, inevitably, edited to give a positive slant to the experience and the video maker)

So, you have told us you have done several cut-outs using a beevac. How did it go? What went wrong? How long did it take? What would you do differently next time?

You said, I think the OP will find it more useful . . .

I think that the most useful thing is to give the most wide ranging advice which is available. Actually, if the OP wishes to receive more information, he is welcome to ask.

. . . . rather than referring to other people's YouTube videos (which are, inevitably, edited to give a positive slant to the experience and the video maker)

I have been careful to suggest videos which have been informative and instructive. If you think that Jeff Horchoff’s videos are inevitably edited to give a positive slant then I will just have to disagree with you.

With regard to your questions, when I first built my bee-vac I first tested it with my own bees, and found that when appropriately gentle suction was used that there were no bee casualties at all. Perhaps it will not be any surprise to you if I say that the bees tend to cling to their surface when they are subjected to that stream of air which seeks to suck them into the bee-vac. It really is very helpful to be able to carefully control the amount of suction which is used, so that the bees are “coaxed gently” rather than “forced” into the collection hose. The actual nozzle which is used to catch bees is smaller (about half) in cross-sectional area than the hose which carries the bees into the catching box. This means that the air velocity in the hose is significantly less than at the nozzle tip, and therefore the bees can have a comparatively gentle trip through the hose.

How did it go? Very well. The biggest problem is that it can easily take more time than anticipated. It could also be a problem if some essential tool was found to be needed, which had not been brought along to the job.

What went wrong? Nothing went wrong. I had taken a lot of care in designing and constructing the bee-vac, so that there would be no possibility of it disassembling during use. It worked very well indeed. The biggest problem was experienced with removal of a hive from an electricity meter box which was inset into the wall of a house, where the bees had attached their comb against the electricity meters, switches, and fuses. It was inevitable that a lot of cells which contained honey were broken, and it was a sticky, messy task, and there were bee casualties because of that.

How long did it take? How long is a piece of string? I am reminded of Hofstater’s law, which states that, “It always takes longer than you think, even when you take Hofstater’s law into account”.

What would you do differently next time? It is very helpful to have someone to assist in the process. “Four hands are better than two”.

One thing that does need to be done after a cut-out is to carefully wash and rinse the inside of the bee-vac hose after use, because it can become sticky inside if bees have got honey onto themselves before they are captured.

 

[Boston Bees]

If you think that Jeff Horchoff’s videos are inevitably edited to give a positive slant then I will just have to disagree with you.

You think there was no point in that day when he wasn't smiling happily and joking? What about the bit where he got stung, or fell off his ladder, or his helper kicked a bucket over, or one of the combs fell on the floor? He's an engaging presenter, but don't forget who edits the videos before they go out ....

YouTube is like any social media channel - it's a rose tinted window into other people's lives and hobbies - just like those photos people put on Facebook of their blissful marriages, when you happen to know for a fact that they are fighting like cats and dogs when the camera is off

 

[Anduril]

I have been careful to suggest videos which have been informative and instructive.

The videos are not relevant to the UK market!
You will find that some of the modern houses have plastic piping instead of copper for central heating and water supply. I have known of DIYers, drilling into these plastic pipes and emptying their central heating system. The usual tools for identifying studs and metal will not find plastic piping. There is a certain procedure you have to employ, but if you are new to beekeeping and cutouts without the help of someone more experienced to help and give you hands on experience, then you are entering into the unknown with many pitfalls.

 

[understanding_bees]

The videos are not relevant to the UK market!
You will find that some of the modern houses have plastic piping instead of copper for central heating and water supply. I have known of DIYers, drilling into these plastic pipes and emptying their central heating system. The usual tools for identifying studs and metal will not find plastic piping. There is a certain procedure you have to employ, but if you are new to beekeeping and cutouts without the help of someone more experienced to help and give you hands on experience, then you are entering into the unknown with many pitfalls.

The videos have relevance to the ways in which bees build comb in building cavities, and the type of method in which a bee-vac may be used to remove the bees. I have not told anything which might encourage a DIYer to do any of the kinds of things you have suggested. I have emphasized the importance and value of using a well designed, and well constructed , bee-vac.

 

[Anduril]

The videos have relevance to the ways in which bees build comb in building cavities, and the type of method in which a bee-vac may be used to remove the bees. I have not told anything which might encourage a DIYer to do any of the kinds of things you have suggested. I have emphasized the importance and value of using a well designed, and well constructed , bee-vac.

The beevac is only one part of the jigsaw and the OP have familiarised themselves with that part. But to complete the jigsaw, I wouldn’t use Jeff Horchoff as the goto method that you are encouraging, it is somewhat cavalier in approach. Again, we are not covered by our beekeeping insurance to undertake this work, it is a specialised job. By implication you are encouraging a DIYer, they would need an experienced person with them.

 

[Beesnaturally]

Well written and described as usual. I have removed several from buildings but none to date internally. Removing externally is hard enough.

I have. It was in a sealed off low cupboard of the either-side-of-chimneybreast type. It was actually pretty straightforward. I had the owners clear the room right down to the carpet so that crawlers could be found at the end, opened all windows and set to work. The bees that lifted off flew straight to the windows and didn't return to bother me. I kept them calm on the combs as I cut each out neatly, shook them into a plastic box and tied in the comb.

You find that as work proceeds, and numbers diminish they calm down and get on with the job of gathering honey.

There is another recent thread with some sound advice.