BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Collecting a Swarm

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #4074  by Japey Edge
 13 Jul 2019, 18:17
Ah that's fair enough. My allotment offer is still pending approval of siting an apiary there. They're having a meeting next week and invited a local "bee club" who have theirs on an allotment in a nearby village. I suspect they will want some form of qualification from me first.
I'm not too fussed now. Mine behave well and the allotment is too close to take them if they misbehave. An association apiary is just outside the 3 mile rule from me so is ideal really. Would rather use that and not pay for my own allotment :lol:
 #4117  by Alfred
 16 Jul 2019, 12:48
I've been invited to a "cut out" party
Two "nests" as the guy calls them in a barn conversion project just underway.
He says he doesn't want them destroyed,which could translate to not wanting to pay for pest control.

Or that everyone else has given up or is steering well clear...

Any tips differential from plain vanilla swarm boxing?

No one's sure how long they've been there so I'm doing double nitrile and marigolds...
 #4118  by Patrick
 16 Jul 2019, 18:20
Alfred wrote:
16 Jul 2019, 12:48
He says he doesn't want them destroyed,which could translate to not wanting to pay for pest control.

Or that everyone else has given up or is steering well clear...

Any tips differential from plain vanilla swarm boxing?
Alfred, by the sound of it you already know the answer mate these are not swarms. They are colonies within structure and will take the disruption of having all their combs removed very personally.

You don’t need the bees and the “guys” are just making their problem your problem. I would politely decline and refer them to your local association swarm collectors. Do yourself a favour.
 #4119  by Japey Edge
 16 Jul 2019, 18:23
Established colonies in a barn will be very different to the clumped up swarm I knocked off a trampoline so you have some research to do Alfred :geek:

Take some pics and post them on here if you can.

I watched a few cut-out videos on YouTube, would love to do one for real though - cutting comb and using elastic bands to keep them in frames. I can't afford a bee vac yet though ;)

Really interesting, but heed the advice of the experienced here - if it looks to be too much, leave it.

I, personally, will not be doing any swarm collecting or cut-outs on anything higher than stepladder access, or anything that requires removal and replacement of brick or plasterboard. Forget it :lol:
 #4120  by Chrisbarlow
 17 Jul 2019, 10:45
I suspect that would be a cut out party with one guest... You.

Building materials are very different here to the USA. Over there lots of buildings are wooden, so cut outs are just that. Over here it's bricks and mortar, that to me is more demolition.

I personally suggest any colonies in walls are refered to qualified pest control.

Good luck if you go along.
 #4125  by Alfred
 17 Jul 2019, 15:20
Oh dear
Thanks for the warnings chaps but I got them too late
Apart from a bit precarious it went ok
They were in the floor joists of the barn loft at the gable end.
He cut away the old cladding and there they were x2
The combs were about 180 mm deep and neatly done diagonally to the joists
The bees were absolutely fine until the last comb of stores at the back about 18"in.
Everything got soaked in honey and woodworm dust.
They got annoyed at this but nothing near what I've had from my own lot sometimes.
Job done ,walked back to car,took suit off and got nailed under the left eye.
Thank you.
In the absence of a spare pair of brood boxes and I haven't yet assembled the ekes I have been cutting,I got them back and stacked the combs as best as I can to resemble frames ,in supers directly on floors.
They seem fairly placid at this point.
I've put brood boxes on top then CBs and roofs.
If I get royal bias in the proper brood frames I leave them a month to populate then when queen is in the upper box install Qx between and wait for the loose comb to empty.
What do you reckon?
 #4127  by NigelP
 17 Jul 2019, 16:03
Brave man and well done. Not an easy job.
My temptation, depending how straight the original combs are would be to fix them in normal brood frames with elastic bands or string and stick them in a brood box as per normal....if you can.
Otherwise your plan sounds fine....
 #4128  by Alfred
 17 Jul 2019, 16:23
Nigel I actually did have super frames ready with strings cut to length to hold the combs which turned out to be up to 2' wide.
In the end I couldn't summon the energy and my left eye was starting to close up,with the right one streaming sweat and smoke tears..
Ive given them a repreive as far as I'm im concerned otherwise they'd have been squirted with chemicals if they had stayed there.
 #4131  by Japey Edge
 17 Jul 2019, 21:14
I've been approached today about a colony in a an old lady's house - ceiling cavity. So I'm guessing smoke is off limits.
Can take the plasterboard panel off easy enough - 4 screws.
Any hints or tips on how to get them out with minimal fuss and minimal flying about, taking minimal time?
 #4132  by Caroline
 17 Jul 2019, 21:38
Japey Edge wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 21:14
I've been approached today about a colony in a an old lady's house - ceiling cavity. So I'm guessing smoke is off limits.
Can take the plasterboard panel off easy enough - 4 screws.
Any hints or tips on how to get them out with minimal fuss and minimal flying about, taking minimal time?
Jazz, leave it to the professionals. BBKA does include liability insurance BUT it won't cover taking apart any part of someone's house. If any damage was caused the householder's insurance would not cover it either; leaving you to cover the costs of repair.

Taking swarms or established colonies from buildings can land you in unexpected trouble. That's why a decent pest controller will tell a householder to employ a builder to gain access to a cavity and then to 'repair' once the bees have been removed.

It all sounds exciting when first approached, but it is not something many established beekeepers will take on, and for good reason.