bees in ceiling, is it going to collapse tonight?!

[ilikewoodinsc]

Bees breathe through spiracles, tracheae, and air sacs in their bodies like most other insects, not their legs. Sevin is toxic to bees. They collect and use it like pollen and it contaminates the bee bread, their food, that is made from pollen. A little bit of Sevin can kill an entire hive over time.

If bees build a hive in a building, killing them is not a good idea. Honey comb, honey and bee bread left behind will attract wax moths and other insects and make an even bigger mess.

Removing bees from a building (called a cut out) is NOT inexpensive because in most cases the wall needs to be opened up to remove the bees AND comb. Once everything is removed, it will have the scent of a bee hive and will attract another swarm. The space once occupied usually is filled with insulation to make the space less attractive to bees for a home. Depending on the size of the hive, removal can require extensive repair. Most beekeepers aren't carpenters so the may not be able to do the necessary repairs....but some are and do. A cut out can take several hours depending on the size of the hive and how much "demo" is required.

I've been a beekeeper for 12 years and do not do cutouts from buildings because I can't do the repairs. I'm not a carpenter.

To the non beekeeper bees, wasps, hornets are all the same. I understand that bees look scary when thousands of them are hanging from a tree branch after swarming. The truth is most of the time a swarm is quite docile and quite easy to capture and get to a proper hive box. I did it 4 times this spring.

Sorry for the long off topic post. I just want to pass on a tiny bit of what I have learned as a urban backyard beekeeper.

TonyC

[MstrCarpenter]

To the non beekeeper bees, wasps, hornets are all the same. I understand that bees look scary when thousands of them are hanging from a tree branch after swarming. The truth is most of the time a swarm is quite docile and quite easy to capture and get to a proper hive box. I did it 4 times this spring.

Sorry for the long off topic post. I just want to pass on a tiny bit of what I have learned as a urban backyard beekeeper.

TonyC

No apology needed. Exactly what is involved in "capturing" a swarm of bees?

[Bob10]

No apology needed. Exactly what is involved in "capturing" a swarm of bees?

This one was vacuumed that ended with me using a coffee cup and my hands to move them into a hive box.  Most of mine were shaken into a hive box or into a bucket on a long pole and then into a hive box.  I have used lure to get some to move down a tree and into a box

If you want to watch it done Jeff Horchoff or 628DirtRooster are entertaining.

[ilikewoodinsc]

My wife and I spent the spring in our back yard working on various projects and managed to see all of the swarms as they happened. I describe a swarm as a hurricane of bees. The swarm occurs when a hive gets too crowded and the queen has no place to lay eggs. The workers prepare the hive and about half of the bees and the queen leave to find a new home. They first collect close by while scout bees go find a new home. The bees left behind have one or more queen cells to tend to so they will have a new queen.

All of the swarms I caught this spring were pretty easy. The bees collected on branches low enough that I could put a hive box either on the ground or short platform under the bees and shake the branch so the cluster of bees fell into the empty hive. As long as the queen gets in the box, the rest of the bees will usually say and make it their new home.

One of the swarms was on a branch in a neighbor's tree about 8 feet up. With the neighbors permission I cut the branch with the bees out of the tree, carried the branch and the bees to a waiting hive box and shook the bees into the box.

YouTube has tons of videos of beekeepers capturing swarms and doing cutouts.

Bob10 +10 on vacuuming that swarm. That "branch" would be a bit hard to shake!

TonyC

[fixtureman]

Years ago I printed Gleans in Bee Culture.  One article was how to capture swarms with a shop vac.  They would put a screen over the outlet then suck the bees in and then put a screen over the inlet.

[Bob10]

Years ago I printed Gleans in Bee Culture.  One article was how to capture swarms with a shop vac.  They would put a screen over the outlet then suck the bees in and then put a screen over the inlet.

Key point you probably forgot was the vac had to be decreased in suction a great deal to avoid having the bees splatter upon entry.  
There are several videos on how to make them, the bushkill vac is available for purchase










 and is probably the best.  The Everything Bee Vacuum is supposed to do a great job too and is cordless