Eden Park, Vic Bee Hive Removal

[the-ecohouse.com]

Hi Guys

I was just contacted by a guy in Eden Park Victoria.
He has a "bee nest in a tree" they are apparently situated in a large hollow in the tree.
Anyone keen to take a look. Its too far away from me.

[Birdswood]

It might suit Preston Paul.

[Woz]

I'd be happy to have a look at it. I have quite a few cutouts under my belt and am also a trained chainsaw operator which may be useful.

(Strange first post on the forum but there you go.)

Woz

[prestonpaul]

Let me know when you go Woz, i'd be interested in tagging along 

[Woz]

Nah, you have first dibs Paul, and it would be me tagging along. 

[prestonpaul]

Ether/either, I don't know if someone else dibsing me counts, but I'm not fussed.
PM me he details Eco and I'll organize a time to check it out. I'll keep you filled in Woz.
Sounds like it could be a good candidate for a trap out which is more appealing to me than cutting a tree apart but one way or the other I'm sure we'll work it out.
Paul.

[the-ecohouse.com]

cool i'll let him know we have someone to come and have a look, when he calls me back i'll PM the contact details.

[rawfind]

cool i'll let him know we have someone to come and have a look, when he calls me back i'll PM the contact details.

If you guys change your mind im in Wallan its only about 15 -20 mins up the road from me, re Neil

[prestonpaul]

I'm going for a look at 7:30 tonight as that's the earliest the home owners can get there and I am working on the weekend. Not sure how much I'll be able to see but I'll take a torch and a camera 
Paul.

[Birdswood]

Good luck, I hope they're not too high up in the tree.

[the-ecohouse.com]

hopefully a removal is achievable

[prestonpaul]

Went for a look, too dark to take any photos. Should be a nice easy trap out though, entrance is just above ground level so I can just sit the trap hive on the ground. I'm going back on Saturday week to to set the trap. Wish me luck

[Lone]

Good luck!

[the-ecohouse.com]

Went for a look, too dark to take any photos. Should be a nice easy trap out though, entrance is just above ground level so I can just sit the trap hive on the ground. I'm going back on Saturday week to to set the trap. Wish me luck

happy days...i'm just glad i was an actual bee nest, you never know sometimes!

[iddee]

Paul, I don't know what your winter is like, but isn't it a bit late to start a new hive? You might want to consider using a weaker, existing hive for the trap rather than starting a new one.

[prestonpaul]

Paul, I don't know what your winter is like, but isn't it a bit late to start a new hive? You might want to consider using a weaker, existing hive for the trap rather than starting a new one.

That is something I was a bit worried about, we don't have the harsh winters that parts of the US does, definately no snow where we are so I was hoping it wasn't too late. I was considering using a bought in queen if I could get hold of one, and feeding from the outset. The combs I am planning on using actually have a good bit of pollen in them.
I do have one hive that could use a boost, so that may be the way to go. I hadn't really thought of that.
Thanks for the tip iddee 
Paul.

[the-ecohouse.com]

good tip

I had to start a new hive only a week ago, caught a very small swarm (imagine a very large grapefruit) from one of my gang buster hives, it appears a queen cell slipped by me in my last inspection.

Pulled one brood frames from three different hives plus drawn comb, I reckon they should be fine.

[Birdswood]

That's a very valid point of Iddee's. I have a guy near me that has a hive with the entrance about 15 feet up the tree and he wants to cut the tree down because it just turned up its toes. He even had someone in to cut it down but the guy got a bit unnerved by the sight of the bees so he asked me if I could save the bees, but I've had to tell him to hold off until spring is on us. The tree has a huge V cut out of the tree, so I hope the winds don't blow too strong over winter...

[prestonpaul]

Well, we did the deed on Saturday.
The owners were very keen to have the bees gone. They actually had a pest controller booked to come out and spray them, but he didn't turn up! Lucky for the bees and me   They have just bought the property and want to run horses in the field the tree is in. If the hive was higher up I would have tried to talk them in to leaving it but I suspect a ground level hive and curious horses probably don't mix. I don't think it is a very large colony. the previous owner told them he had a swarm going in to it every spring. So either it is too small a space to sustain the colony over winter or he was mistaken and the swarm was coming out.  I am thinking the former at this point, but either way, this will be their last year in this location.
 I took iddee's advice and took our weakest hive out so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

The tree:



The bees seem very calm and are quite yellow:



2 tubes of silicone and some steel wool for filling the bigger gaps and the cone is in place:



Yes, that is number 8 hardware cloth and no I can't tell you where i got it (knocked it off from work   ):



My hive in place:



I went back out today (Monday) to check on how things are going, plenty of activity at my hive, a few lighter bees mixed in with my dark ones, and none at the cone. I couldn't see bees coming out anywhere else in the tree so I am taking this as a good sign, that I have all the field bees already. Now it's just a waiting game I guess. I'll go out for another look next week to top up their syrup and see how they are going.
Paul.

[Lone]

Thanks for the photos.  It looks good.

Iddee, what would happen if the queen eventually made it out?

Lone

[iddee]

Paul, the setup looks good. I think I would lift the hive about 50 MM and let it rest against the plywood. Also, back it up 25 MM if the cone is touching it.Sometimes, if they can walk to the tip of the cone, they will walk into the entrance. The hive gives the cone a wall and they can see the exit. It then becomes an entrance.

Lone, the queen does make it out, but most times heads for parts unknown with the last cupful of workers. In rare instances, VERY RARE, she will go in the hive.

[Lone]

Thanks Iddee.  By the way, I like your "downunder" measurement conversion!

Lone

[iddee]

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. 

I can use the metric system when needed. I just try to use what the other side of the conversations prefer.

[bernsad]

I like to work in cubits.

[the-ecohouse.com]

great work mate, i told them to keep their pants on, they were buggen out about having them there, so great to hear things are going well. let us know hoe you go!!! great to save another bee colony.

[iddee]

bernsad, everybody likes a little, nobody likes a wise................      

[bernsad]

Thanks iddee, I'll keep that in mind.

[the-ecohouse.com]

how is this going?

[prestonpaul]

how is this going?

Cruising along nicely. Last visit there were still a couple bees coming out. (probably  2 in half an hour) I'll give it another couple of weeks before pulling the cone off to let the old hive get robbed out. I've not seen any other exits in the 3 times I've been out there so hopefully there isn't one and everything is good.

Paul

[Geoff]

    Whats wrong with tanging them out Iddee?.   All you need is a plastic bucket and a big stick.
For a good example of tanging try this link   

log swarm @ Bud3.wmv

Sorry Wally I should have said the best example !!!

[iddee]

Hello, Geoff. Glad to see you. Where have you been?

Now, you know tanging doesn't work. No more than trapouts do.      

[prestonpaul]

I went to check on the trap out yesterday. When I checked last week, they had found another entrance under the bark & were bringing in pollen, so I sealed that up. This week there was no activity at the cone so I gave it a couple of good puffs of smoke and a few minutes later, this happened:

Exodus

The bees boiled out of the cone for a good fifteen minutes and made their way in to the trap hive. There was a bit of fighting at the entrance but not as much as I would have expected. Did we just witness the last of the hive leaving or was it something else? Whatever it was, it was very cool
Paul

[iddee]

Link says private, keep out, no trespassing, violators will be shot...... 

[Birdswood]

That's right...and lynched from the nearest tree and tarred and feathered.

[prestonpaul]

fixed
it was very cool, the bees flew out of the cone, landed at the base of the cone and marched around it anti clockwise until they hit the landing board of the trap hive, then the marched straight in!

Exodus

[annette]

This is very exciting, Can't wait for the rest of the story 

[iddee]

It looks like the queen came out. I would give it a day and if all is quiet, remove the cone and let them clean the tree out.

[the-ecohouse.com]

great to hear this looks to be going well

[prestonpaul]

Went out for a quick peek last night, still plenty of bees in the hive the cone stays on for a bit longer yet I guess.

[prestonpaul]

Finally finished this trap out today, what a marathon effort it was!
The bees found their way back in to the hive twice which set things back no end but today when I went out to check up on them the tree hollow was empty what a relief.
 I am treating this trap out as a learning experience. When I applied the cone I was sure I had a good seal but due to the stringy nature of the bark the bees found other ways through.
What I would do next time:
Strip as much bark as possible away from the edges of the board that holds the cone.
Use more steel wool to fill larger gaps instead of just pumping on more silicone.
What I wouldn't do:
Take on a trap out in autumn 
Give the customer a time frame. I told them 8 to 10 weeks but this didn't take in to account the limited flying days due to the weather or the sneaky bees finding thier way in behind the cone.
What did I learn?
Bees will do what bees do and there is no sure way of making them do any different
Tell the customer it usually takes 8 to 10 weeks but can take up to 6 months.
Don't take on trap outs just before winter.
Paul.

[Lone]

Did the queen go in the trapout, or did you supply some eggs at some stage, or what?


Lone

[prestonpaul]

Did the queen go in the trapout, or did you supply some eggs at some stage, or what?


Lone

I used a weak hive as the trap as it was going in to winter and the chances of making a new queen were probably fairly slim.

[bernsad]

So that hive is doing alright now?

[prestonpaul]

So that hive is doing alright now?

I bought them home last night & haven't had a chance to look inside yet but there are plenty of bees flying. This hive is probably getting a new queen soon anyway as it's never done particularly well. It's from a small swarm I picked up around November last year and it's never really built up to decent numbers.
Paul.

[the-ecohouse.com]

glad it all worked out in the end!