thoughts on removing bees from a building.
Cut outs or Trap outs are never plain sailing.
I think the first decision you have to make with the home owner is how disruptive to the fabric of the building will the job be ? cutting timber, roof panels etc etc you putting a foot through a ceiling you name it it can happen especially if the colony is in a confined space
then you also have to deal with the issue the bee entrance is a long way from the colony so there will be alot of bees returning to the combs once you've removed them.
I presume you have a colony or two on frames anyway...
I would construct a frame to support a brood chamber and frames with foundation on to sit adjacent to the current entrance/exit to the colony. I would then make a 6" (15cm) square plate to go over the entrance and fit a one way bee escape (not a cone) in the centre. stick it to the wall with instant grab adhesive.
Then install the hive on the frame that is fixed to the wall (or on scaffold) with the entrance as close to the bee escape as possible and put a half frame of brood with bees (liberally dusted with icing sugar) in the centre of the brood box and close it up.
As morning comes the flying bees will exit the colony and when returning will find their way blocked and enter the hive where they should be accepted as they have full bellies. You'll get an inital influx from the current flying bees.
Then over the next 21 -30 days the bees inside will hatch and mature and start flying and do the same, leaving a dwindling colony of a queen and a few nurse bees and brood.
When you feel the brood chamber is 'full' and by now they may even be drawing a queen cell out as they don't have a queen, remove the colony min 3 miles (5km) away and then seal the 1 way entrance.
at this stage it might pay to remove the combs inside and with luck you may even find the old queen - (if so make up another nuc) but it will be less messy and fewer bees to contend with.
Remove all traces of comb and seal the entrance.
Cut outs or Trap outs are never plain sailing.
I think the first decision you have to make with the home owner is how disruptive to the fabric of the building will the job be ? cutting timber, roof panels etc etc you putting a foot through a ceiling you name it it can happen especially if the colony is in a confined space
then you also have to deal with the issue the bee entrance is a long way from the colony so there will be alot of bees returning to the combs once you've removed them.
I presume you have a colony or two on frames anyway...
I would construct a frame to support a brood chamber and frames with foundation on to sit adjacent to the current entrance/exit to the colony. I would then make a 6" (15cm) square plate to go over the entrance and fit a one way bee escape (not a cone) in the centre. stick it to the wall with instant grab adhesive.
Then install the hive on the frame that is fixed to the wall (or on scaffold) with the entrance as close to the bee escape as possible and put a half frame of brood with bees (liberally dusted with icing sugar) in the centre of the brood box and close it up.
As morning comes the flying bees will exit the colony and when returning will find their way blocked and enter the hive where they should be accepted as they have full bellies. You'll get an inital influx from the current flying bees.
Then over the next 21 -30 days the bees inside will hatch and mature and start flying and do the same, leaving a dwindling colony of a queen and a few nurse bees and brood.
When you feel the brood chamber is 'full' and by now they may even be drawing a queen cell out as they don't have a queen, remove the colony min 3 miles (5km) away and then seal the 1 way entrance.
at this stage it might pay to remove the combs inside and with luck you may even find the old queen - (if so make up another nuc) but it will be less messy and fewer bees to contend with.
Remove all traces of comb and seal the entrance.
