bee removal

Bee Removal Techniques

How to relocate honeybees without killing them.

Three types of removals

Swarm retrievalFeral hive cut-outTrap out operations

Swarms

Swarm retrieval is the easiest.

Swarm process

Bees swarm for reproduction – they split to form a new hive and fly off with the queen.

A new queen is then grown by the remaining bees.Before the swarm flies away, they gorge on honey. Since they are full of honey, and have no hive to

defend, they are normally very docile.They will land on a branch or object near the old

hive and wait for the scouts to find them a new home.

They could be there for a few minutes or a few days. It is very random.

Traditional Swarm Catching

Swarms that are within reach can be shaken or brushed from the tree branch they are hanging from into a box, hive or other closed container.

Sometimes these swarms are too high to reach. The branch they are resting on can also be cut so they can

be gently lowered to the ground and placed in a hive or box.

In the past, burlap bags were used to catch bee swarms.

Other methods

Basically – you just place the box under the swarm and shake.

You can also sift through the swarm and find the queen – cage her – and place her in your hive. In short order, the bees will swarm around her in the hive.

Tips

Use a spray bottle of 1:1 sugar water to keep bees from flying. Spray them and they will lick and clean themselves instead of flying around.

Place a tarp or plastic sheet under the swarm to catch fallen bees and to help them crawl into the box or hive.

Place a frame of brood in the hive you place them in to keep them anchored and prevent them from absconding.

If you have no brood, you can keep them sealed up for a few days.

Swarm queens

Queens produced by the swarm process are normally the strongest and best queens available.

They are a comb building factory – ready to go!

Swarms are highly sought after for this reason.

Put swarm in hive box and feed, feed, feed!

“Tanging” down a swarm

A very old folk tradition says you can drum rhythmically on a metal pot when you see a swarm flying by to cause them to land so you can catch them.

The truth of this folk tale is that the beekeepers of old would beat a pot or pan or ring a bell to claim the swarm as their own – so no other beekeeper would catch them.

Many claim success – who knows?

Cut-outs

Sometimes bees move into your house and won’t leave…

Where do they like to live?

Feral bees will move into any space that offers protection from the elements and is near food and water.

European honeybees prefer a larger nest area, such as a tree trunk or wall cavity.

Some bees with African traits nest in smaller hive spaces – such as water meters, buckets, tires, and even in the open air.

Any enclosed space will do…

African nesting traits

These bees nest in closer proximity to humans and normally prefer a smaller nesting space.

Exposed hive – usually African

Feral hive arrangement

Comb

Locating bees inside a wall

If the hive entrance does not give away the hive location, you must locate them within the wall.

Bees can be located by sound, feeling for warmth, or vibration.

Placing your ear to the wall or using a stethoscope works very well.

You may have to have a helper smoke them a little at the entrance to get them to buzz.

A cut-out in progress

Cut-out Process

Recon a day or so before-hand to get idea of what is needed.

On planned date - set-up equipment. Place tarps or sheets on floor to catch spilled honey and

debris. Locate access point and remove structure to access hive. Vacuum excess bees until comb can be manipulated. Cut comb – vacuum bees off comb. Trim comb and rubber band or tie into place in empty

frames. Place comb into new hive. Repeat until no brood comb remains. Honey comb can be pulled out and dropped into bucket

or ice chest. Too hard to put into frame - not worth it – easier to feed back.

Tie-in comb to frames

The removed comb must be secured or tied into a frame or top-bar.

These are then placed in an empty hive box in roughly the same direction they were removed.

Tying comb for a top bar hive

Top bar set-ups provide unique challenges to feral removals.

Honeycomb is very fragile.There is no easy way to tie cut comb to

top bars. Rubber bands usually tear up the removed comb.

A strip of hardware cloth can be attached to a top bar and formed into a set of hooks to hold removed comb. Works very well.

Tie-in hanger for top bar hive

But wait – there’s more…

After the all brood comb has been tied or strapped into frames and placed in new hive…

Vacuum the remaining bees until none remain in hive cavity. Pay close attention for masses of bees, or spots where the queen may be hiding.

Two options at this point

If you KNOW you have the queen, you can leave the new hive and brood near the empty hive cavity overnight to catch stragglers – after dumping the bees in from the vacuum.

If you do not have the queen or could not locate her, take the new hive and brood to their new location and return in the morning or later at night to vacuum stragglers and look for the queen.

How do you know you have the queen?

You caught her and put her in a cage.You visually saw her and sucked her into the vac.You see bees trying to get into the vac through

screened vent holes.Displaced bees will sit and fan when they located

their queen to draw others to her.Watch for fanning behavior.Displaced bees will also make a “swarm” or cluster on

the queen. Watch for these clusters.Often the queen will run and you will see a small

cluster of bees 10 feet or so from the old hive that has the queen in it. Keep alert for this!

Cleaning the hive cavity

All bees MUST be removed so that nothing is left to restart a viable colony.

This is especially important if you fail to locate the queen.

The hive cavity must have all the comb scraped out and washed with soap and water to remove the hive smell.

Seal the old entrance with latex caulk or screen wire.

If you have it, a little Bee-Go or Honey Robber placed in the old hive cavity will keep them out for quite a while. (DON”T USE MUCH!)

95% complete

Transferring bees to new hive from bee-vac

Take new hive box a moderate distance from old hive.

Make sure you have brood comb or the queen in the new hive box.

They can be dumped in similar to package bees.

If you have no brood or queen, or are too close to the old hive – they will fly back and you will have to vacuum them again.

Taking the hive home

Transport when it is cool or at night. Make sure they have adequate ventilation and are

OUT OF THE SUN AND NOT IN AN ENCLOSED HOT ENVIRONMENT.

If the bees are still in the vac this is especially important.

Place the hive in its new location and feed back the removed honeycomb by placing it on the inner cover and using an empty super for space.

Watch the bees for signs of negative traits or excess defensiveness requiring re-queening.

Watch for queen cells or signs of a queen if unsure whether she was captured.

Cut-out safety

Cut-outs are the most technical and difficult removals.

No two are the same – all are unique. They are all hot and dirty work. Many cut-outs involve work on ladders or scaffolding. Always have the ladder anchored or footed properly

and pay close attention to electrical wires. When cutting into walls – watch for electrical wiring

and gas lines. Have water available for drinking – watch for heat

stress. Always wear PPE! SAFETY FIRST! Free bees are not worth your life.

Heat stress

Three types…Heat cramps – cramping due to excessive

loss of salt.Heat exhaustion – shock brought on by

heat – excessive sweating, pale cold clammy skin, nausea, etc.

Heat stroke – No sweating, bright red appearance, may be unconscious – DIRE EMERGENCY – SEEK HELP ASAP!

Vicious bees

Some feral bees are very defensive.Ensure your suit is totally sealed, and all cuffs are

taped or bungied where crawling bees cannot enter the sleeves or pant-legs.

If the bees are unworkable aggressive, you may have to work at night with a red colored lamp. Bees cannot see red and will not fly at night – but they will crawl!

Do not feel bad to destroy a highly defensive hive. These bees can become a public safety hazard if they are in close proximity to humans.

If this is the case, do not worry about strapping comb to frames or vacuuming bees.

Use soapy water to destroy vicious bees

If we cannot save them and they present a public safety hazard due to proximity to humans – we are obligated to take action.

Do not use poisons, as they will creep into other wild hives as the removed hive is robbed out by the locals. The surrounding feral hives will thus be poisoned too.

Trap-outs

Why do we trap-out?

Sometimes a hive cannot be accessed for removal or the owner does not want the structure damaged.

A trap out is needed in this case or full extermination will have to take place.

Trap-out process

The feral hive is scouted to locate entrances. All entrances are sealed except for one. A small wire cone (6mm) is placed on the hive entrance. A hive containing a frame or two of brood and adhering

bees is placed within a foot of the feral hive entrance. The feral bees will be able to exit but not return and will

move into the new hive. The trap out must be left in place for at least two brood

cycles to be effective (at least 6-9 weeks). They will grow a new queen from the brood given. A caged queen can also be given and later released, but

requires more work for the beekeeper.

Trap out in progress

Complications

Trap-outs are not difficult, but suffer a high failure rate.

Often two brood cycles are not enough and they must be left in place for a very long time.

The trap hive may need to be supered for the honey coming in.

This causes more work and expense for the beekeeper.

Many times, all the entrances cannot be found and sealed making the trap-out impossible.

Sometimes the trapped bees simply abscond with their new queen and cause the process to take even longer.

Hogan style swarm trap

These are very useful and can be left in place long term to make hive starts.

Hogan trap inner workings…

The trap has an integrated wire cone and a trap door above it. Place the trap on the feral hive entrance with the trap door

opened. Place brood in the hive. When the bees get used to it they will use it as another brood

chamber. You can use it like this for a very long period to periodically

harvest hive starts. If it is wished to totally trap out the hive, the trap door is

closed forcing the bees to use the wire cone and it becomes a standard trap-out operation.

This is my preferred method and I have my own enlarged and modified version of the Hogan Swarm Trap.

Safety hazards

Trap-outs usually involve even more difficult to access locations than cut-outs.

You will be manipulating 100lb hives on ladders and platforms.

Ladder safety is even more critical doing trap-out operations.

Abandoned Hives

Neglected hives…

While not usually considered type of removal, you will eventually be called to remove an abandoned or neglected hive.

Normally, the removal process is fairly easy – after sunset, seal all holes and entrances with wire mesh, then move like you would a standard hive.

Problems specific to abandoned hives

Things to watch out for.

Rotten bottom boards or top covers.Hive loaded with 20 years or more of

propolis.Frames unable to be removed without

breaking them.Possible disease (though unlikely if hive

has been there for many, many years).

Defensive bees in abandoned hives

Many abandoned hives have been there for many, many years.

The bees have an established hive and will defend it vigorously in most cases.

Prying out heavily propolized frames does not make bees happy!

In my experience, bees will be more aggressive when removing an abandoned hive that when performing a cut-out.

Heavily propolized hive.

Disease

If while examining an abandoned hive, you suspect signs of disease, remove the bees and burn the hive and frames.

If you cannot get them out, you may have to perform a trap-out or connect the hive entrance to a new hive box via a makeshift tunnel and flush them with Bee-Go.

Use wire screen, wrapped in landscaping fabric, to make the tunnel.

Do not introduce a diseased hive to your yards.

Summary

Catching swarms, cutting out, and trapping hives can be fun and exciting – though it is also difficult and dangerous.

All can be performed safely if proper precautions are taken.

The bees can have a new home and the transition for them will be much easier if done properly.

All beekeepers should understand the basics of catching swarms.

Cut-outs and trap-outs are more specialized, but all beekeepers should understand the basic fundamentals.

Thank you!

You can contact me at honeybees@lus.com

Paul McCarty – Black Mesa Honeybees