- Joined
- Jan 1, 2018
- Messages
- 5,070
- Reaction score
- 4,970
- Location
- Fernhurst Sussex
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 40 plus 23 that I maintain for clients.
I had an interesting day today. Last night I got a call from someone who had found a rotten Elm tree that had fallen across a bridleway with a bees nest now exposed in it. I later found out it fell on Boxing day!
With temperatures below freezing last night and not getting much above zero today I was not going to attempt to remove them so I decided to wrap the tree up with a plastic bag full of glass fibre insulation and a waterproof covering until the temperatures rise.
I knew that the council would be looking to remove the tree and reopen the bridleway so I contacted them and explained the dilemma. They have said the land owner is supposed to remove the tree asap and certainly within 7 days (They did say they could stretch it to 14 days in the circumstances). The council is arranging for the landowner (a large estate) to liaise with me to arrange the best time to carry out the bee removal while they remove the tree.
Temperatures at the end of next week are forecast to be between 5-9 degs which is likely to be the warmest we are likely to get in the next two weeks.
The bees look well clustered and tucked up in the cavity with what looks like combs of honey.
I was thinking of removing the combs and bees as quickly as possible directly onto a poly nuc then taking them back to my heated shed to rearrange the combs into frames. Hopefully any bee that starts flying in the shed will return to the nuc as the temperature drops in the evening and I can put the dummied down nuc outside after ensuring they have enough food. (I'll nick a honey frame from long hive if they are short)
Any Thoughts?
With temperatures below freezing last night and not getting much above zero today I was not going to attempt to remove them so I decided to wrap the tree up with a plastic bag full of glass fibre insulation and a waterproof covering until the temperatures rise.
I knew that the council would be looking to remove the tree and reopen the bridleway so I contacted them and explained the dilemma. They have said the land owner is supposed to remove the tree asap and certainly within 7 days (They did say they could stretch it to 14 days in the circumstances). The council is arranging for the landowner (a large estate) to liaise with me to arrange the best time to carry out the bee removal while they remove the tree.
Temperatures at the end of next week are forecast to be between 5-9 degs which is likely to be the warmest we are likely to get in the next two weeks.
The bees look well clustered and tucked up in the cavity with what looks like combs of honey.
I was thinking of removing the combs and bees as quickly as possible directly onto a poly nuc then taking them back to my heated shed to rearrange the combs into frames. Hopefully any bee that starts flying in the shed will return to the nuc as the temperature drops in the evening and I can put the dummied down nuc outside after ensuring they have enough food. (I'll nick a honey frame from long hive if they are short)
Any Thoughts?
