Swarm removal from inside a flat roof

[pargyle]

Beware a subsequent increase in premiums.

Yes .. and some (possibly most) don't cover for insect infestation and if they do, by the time you've paid the excess and are facing the inevitable premium increase as a result of claiming the economics don't often stack up ... Insurance ? Essential but annoying !

 

[Aneebe]

Have they checked their house insurance? Quite possibly that may be their best option.

That definitely hadn't occurred to me OR them! Thank you - I'll pass it on.

Yes .. and some (possibly most) don't cover for insect infestation and if they do, by the time you've paid the excess and are facing the inevitable premium increase as a result of claiming the economics don't often stack up ... Insurance ? Essential but annoying !

I literally treat it as "if the house were to burn down" but otherwise just suck up the price of anything else. I agree. Peace of mind for a premium. Sort of.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Sounds ideal! Most of the bees should still be in a cluster below any new comb. There could of course be the remains of an old colony up there.


Yeah I can understand that. I've only done the one extraction from a building and the homeowner was super handy and well up for anything. I went home to get some bee suits, and by the time I'd returned there was already a hole in the wall. Made it very easy and only took half an afternoon with an hour followup the next day. He put everything back together. If I'd had a bee vacuum it would have been very quick. There is though the potential to make more of a mess in a kitchen. Don't melt the worktop with the smoker etc.

Revisiting this thread. It's the sort of job I would have relished a few years ago but arthritis has put a crimp in my style.

I've just visited a young couple who watched a swarm (2 days ago) enter their flat roof above the kitchen extension. The narrow soffit type space does have a wire mesh fitted presumably to stop insects entering but it's a terrible job and has left a bee width slit stretching almost the length of the wall.
They are absolutely cash strapped and asking for options. They tried to call pest exterminators but are finding a call out a 3 week wait typically.
So.... (and I hate this) - could they spray them/ entombed them? Surely quite apart from being a horrible thing to do, the mass of bee bodies/brood and wax might decompose and cause a mess. Would it smell and or stain through the plaster board.
OR (I'm recalling vaguely) does sealing the slit and then fixing a one way mesh cone over a small remaining entrance work to bleed them off? I seem to recall a method mentioned doing this and also giving them a nuc with a frame of open brood hanging close by to go in to.
Sorry I'm sounding vague. I'd always left this to others but now it's close to home and causing considerable distress to this couple. It's directly above their kitchen door which doesn't help. I'd gladly give them the materials and help if this would save them a financial blow.
Any suggestions very gratefully received (and no, they're NOT my bees lol).

Revisiting this thread. It's the sort of job I would have relished a few years ago but arthritis has put a crimp in my style. However if the ceiling is plaster board it's not that tricky a job. Builders merchants or Wickes will sell sheets of same plus galvanised plaster board nails (or plasterboard screws). Identify where the bees are and cut a hole in the ceiling to get at them. Scoop or vacuum them into a hive or box and remove all wax/debris then spray the void with bee-quick or other repellant. Remove the box of bees and close off their access with mesh so ventilation is maintained.
Cut back the hole to the adjacent joist or rafter making sure there's half the width of timber clear to fix to. Cut a piece of new plasterboard to fit the now tidy edged hole and nail it in place. Cutting plasterboard can be achieved by scoring one side with a knife, turning over and bending so it snaps, then score the bend and flip back to bend the other way. (Or ruin a woodsaw to cut the sheet). Plastering is an art. Thistle plaster is the usual material but it's unforgiving so maybe skimming the board is best left to a plasterer if you haven't done it before.

 

[Aneebe]

Revisiting this thread. It's the sort of job I would have relished a few years ago but arthritis has put a crimp in my style.
Revisiting this thread. It's the sort of job I would have relished a few years ago but arthritis has put a crimp in my style. However if the ceiling is plaster board it's not that tricky a job. Builders merchants or Wickes will sell sheets of same plus galvanised plaster board nails (or plasterboard screws). Identify where the bees are and cut a hole in the ceiling to get at them. Scoop or vacuum them into a hive or box and remove all wax/debris then spray the void with bee-quick or other repellant. Remove the box of bees and close off their access with mesh so ventilation is maintained.
Cut back the hole to the adjacent joist or rafter making sure there's half the width of timber clear to fix to. Cut a piece of new plasterboard to fit the now tidy edged hole and nail it in place. Cutting plasterboard can be achieved by scoring one side with a knife, turning over and bending so it snaps, then score the bend and flip back to bend the other way. (Or ruin a woodsaw to cut the sheet). Plastering is an art. Thistle plaster is the usual material but it's unforgiving so maybe skimming the board is best left to a plasterer if you haven't done it before.

They would so have loved you. I have a feeling that, although the funds are tight, someone in the family would come to their rescue but it's finding competent workers and getting them to come out any time soon. There are very few takers for this kind of job around here it seems. Thank you for the great detail!