Smoking a colony in wall

[Fahey]

Hi good people,

My colleague (not a bbk) is going to try and smoke a colony out this weekend. It's a 300 year old stone house, so no cavity, probably just enough space for the bees.
My question is: anyone know the success rate of smoking out swarm that's been there about two weeks now.

 

[susbees]

What's a bbk?

First they may be some way inside the structure.
Second, the space may leak smoke to random rooms inside.

Last half accessible stone space we did they had been there about a month, used someone else's beevac and then the builder made good. And won't use it again. Our own will be in use next season (I hope).

Plenty swarms around this season.

 

[BeeNice]

I have never tried as I think it will be a waste of time, when I tried to smoke a cluster of bees in an air duct they just sat there. Got most out anyway and you see how hard it is getting bees off a branch when you have taken the rest of a swarm away. Once there and after 2 week will have comb, brood and a laying queen. Get the queen out and you may have a chance.
Good luck and take plenty of fuel and time!!!
Steven

 

[Chris Luck]

Two things, firstly 300 year old stone houses often have large cavities in the walls and the bad news is that after two weeks it's more likely, (although not 100% certain), that the Queen and core of the colony will suffocate and die rather than exit. Suffocating to death using smoke was the traditional way to get the honey from feral colonies in France right up to and during the second world war.

Expect some very distressed bees, not at all pleasant.

Chris

 

[madasafish]

We don't live in a 300 year house: it's younger - by about 100 years.
Older houses do have cavities: the structure is usually an outer wall - of expensive stone, an inner wall of cheaper stone and (possibly) loose rubble in the middle. The ceiling joists often protrude into the cavity.

So smoking will smoke some rooms... and may force the bees into inaccessible areas.

Also be aware that any voids may have highly flammable dead or rotten timber - a likely fire risk.

If the homeowner has insurance, smoking bees could invalidate it if there is a fire...

Personally I would run away from bees in voids - old houses in my view are such a potential fire hazard..

 

[broandy]

take a tent to camp out its going to be a longggggggggg job

 

[Fahey]

Long but successful broandy????????????????

 

[broandy]

Long but successful broandy????????????????

Hope so please report on Monday how your buddy is doing please

 

[Fahey]

If he does manage to get them out, I hope there will be some nice beek around Bishop Aukland who will come and pick them up for him.

 

[Jeff Buzz]

I would expect them to just go deeper into the wall. In my experience if you want to stop them coming out while setting up a cone and trap then smoke them.
Only way you will get the queen out is to go in and get her.

 

[Poly Hive]

After two weeks?

Frankly two chances slim and none.

PH

 

[MuswellMetro]

only a oneway valve and box works , as PH a slim chance with smoke but if the queen is in there with brood they will all return

 

[Chris Luck]

only a oneway valve and box works

Only for the foragers, not the core colony.

Frankly it cracks me up that people that supposedly like bees are willing to dish out so much distress to them.

Chris

 

[Luminos]

Yes, can't they just be left there?

 

[Outlander]

Yes, can't they just be left there?

Why mess with them, Just leave them if their not harming anyone.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Only for the foragers, not the core colony.

Frankly it cracks me up that people that supposedly like bees are willing to dish out so much distress to them.

Chris

so have you ever seen it done, or just sumizing

the foragers are given a frame of eggs, they biuld a new queen cells and go on just as normal, collecting and rearing the eggs/brood, The hives run in parallel until the Queen cells is capped but after that the wall queen and her retinue get less food and the wall queen stops laying but the existing brood hatcjhes and nurse bees exits to the new main hive to look after the new queens brood at about week 4

after week 6 all that is left in the old hive is a slimmed down non laying queen and a few attendants, stores and empty emerged brood cells The old queen is starved by the retainer bees just as in a normal supercedure as they have a new queen in the front hive

the front hive by then is remove, new queen and 99% of the bees

The alternative is Rentakill injecting poisson and killing 99% of the bees..and possible poison a further thousand of more bees as they never seal up the old hive properly and the hive gets robbed out

what is crueller me or renatkill, i kill only a few attenants and the queen by supercdure, a normal hive process

you can speed it up by adding a new queen in butler cage with a capped brood frame instead of eggs...that takes about 3 weeks but more bees are left in the wall

 

[mbc]

so have you ever seen it done, or just sumizing

the foragers are given a frame of eggs, they biuld a new queen cells and go on just as normal, collecting, the queen and her retinue get less food and the queen stops laying but the brood hatcjhes and exits to the new main hive

after about five weeks all that is left in the old hive is a queen and a few attendants and the old queen is starved just as in a normal supercedure as they have a new queen

the front hive by then is remove, new queen and 99% of the bees

The alternative is Rentakill injecting poisson and killing 99% of the bees..and possible thousand of more bees as they never seal up the olsd hive properly and the hive gets robbed out

what is crueller me or renatkill, i kill only a few attenants and the queen by supercdure, a normal hive process

Has it ever run to script with you ?

 

[Poly Hive]

The one time I tried it, on a roof, a four story one I might add in my years of over keeness, they promptly exhibited the minor detail that they had at least another fifteen entrances, and block them sir and another thousand or so to choose from.

Bees one me nil.

PH

 

[mbc]

The one time I tried it, on a roof, a four story one I might add in my years of over keeness, they promptly exhibited the minor detail that they had at least another fifteen entrances, and block them sir and another thousand or so to choose from.

Bees one me nil.

PH

Lol. me too, never had a satisfactory outcome where time and effort were rewarded with a pied piper magic removal of the bees

 

[Chris Luck]

Yes sir Mr Metro, been there, seen it, done it and it sucks.

All you do is raise a new Queen with eggs from a colony that you already have, no more than a walk away split except that you boost it with the bees from the colony that you are going to kill, because that is what you are doing, killing the existing Queen and her genes AND it doesn't take the time you have stated. The existing Queen and a large number of bees will remain in the original colony for months if they have sufficient stores, but of course you don't have time for that so they have to be entombed or poisoned anyway, otherwise they will just kick off again. It isn't "supercdure" and it still requires killing a lot of bees, not "a few".

Call it how it is.

God, this really is a sad place sometimes.

Chris