Bee removal from concrete steps.

[BabcockFarms]

I received a call from my brother in-law that a homeowner he knows that is looking to get rid of bees that have occupied concrete steps leading to their house. My first question was did they used pesticides to try and get rid of them, he didn’t think so.

They were hit with a tornado a little over two years ago and their steps were moved and cracked in the process. Subsequently bees decided that the void in the steps was a great place to inhabit. They have lived with them for over two years and the homeowner has tried to get rid of them by caulking the crack which was futile as they chewed through the caulking to get out. They don’t want the steps damaged so I'm thinking a trapout would fit the bill.

My thought is to wait until next spring and do a trapout? This should give me the best chance to get the majority of the bees and hopefully the queen. If I tried to get them now I don’t have enough spare drawn frames or honey to think I could get them through winter. Since I have never done a trapout before does this sound reasonable? Am I on the right track or are there other options?

They will be calling me in the next day or two and I would like to give them their options. It is a bit farther than I would like to go for free (60 miles) but this would be my first opportunity to learn how to do a trapout, and I am afraid if they would have to pay for it they may spray them and cut their losses.

As always advice, suggestions, thoughts, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[DLMKA]

Could you put a weak but queenright hive there as your catch box? You could get the bees now and provide some extra foragers for a light hive.

[BabcockFarms]

What I have now are string hives. So fortunately this isn't an option.

[JP]

Unlikely you will get the queen on just about any trap out but not entirely impossible. Read up on some of the trap out threads on this site. You will see they take many, many trips to complete and even though you may think you might me up for the task, I don't think it possible even if you were charging for it. Doing a trap out at that distance for free you'd be a serious glutton for punishment and deserving of at least one gold medal. 

Not to burst your bubble but I don't see it happening for you. Hook them up with someone locally.


...JP                                                               

[G3farms]

To do a good trap out you will have a minimum of 6 to 7 trips, and if 60 mile is one way thenyou will have a serious gas bill for bees that might not make it. think it over!

[BabcockFarms]

Thanks guys, this is what I needed. I am reading up on trapouts and what it takes.

[yelnifok]

From what you have said I will assume the steps are the precast type- if that is the case, just pull the steps away from the house and do a proper cut out. Move the hive and push the steps back up against the house. Take the girls home and feed them. Good luck. lee...

[BabcockFarms]

If you are correct about the concrete steps being precast, and I'm guessing you are, that may be a possibility if the void is accessible.

I still haven't heard from them, so I don't have any more information yet. As I had told my brother-in-law if they had used pesticides to try and get rid of them, I really wasn't interested. So now I will have to wait and see if they call. If they do call I now have a much better list of questions to ask.

Even if they never call, what I gained from your replies and from my research into trapping out bees has given me a far better understanding of what it takes.

Probably the biggest thing I didn't understand was the unlikelihood of capturing the queen. 

[yelnifok]

If you do a cutout and are careful- you will likely see/+ capture the queen. If you have to trap them, then it is less likely you will get the queen only because she will stay within the brood nest area. The bees you end up traping out are the forage bees initally/no queen. AS time progresses (and trapping takes time) she will become aware that the colony pop. is decreasing and may go to investigate. lee...