Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: OzBuzz on December 28, 2011, 06:58:35 pm
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Hey guys and girls, greetings from the land downunder! I need some advice if that's ok. I've got a homeowner who has insisted on a trap out rather than extermination... The bees are behind a brick wall in their house with an entrance. We've covered over the entrance and put 100mm (4inch) storm water pipe out over their balcony to give them an alternative entrance away from their door. My plan was to use 2X 8 frame boxes, base and kid, and a clearer board. I was going to 'plumb' the 100mm storm water pipe in to the top empty super and put frames and some brood in the bottom box under the clearer board. Is that likely to work?
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NO. You will get nothing in the bottom box, but a heck of a mess of wild comb in the top box.
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Thanks Iddee... A cone made out of flyscreen on the end of the 100mm storm water pipe would be ok? Rest the end of the cone above the landing board with a frame of brood almost directly beside the end of the cone exit... Should all the other comb in the box be drawn? I've got a few drawn out bits and pieces I'm going to put in there along with some foundation...
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I think you need to read this.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,20301.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,20301.0.html)
The more drawn comb, the better, if you don't have SHB, but a small piece of comb with eggs is all that is necessary.
The exit on the cone and the entrance on the trap box are NOT related. The entrance to the original colony and the trap hive entrance are related.
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Thanks Iddee, that topic gives me all the info I need... But - what if it's not feasible to have the hive right next to the old entrance? The new entrance was set up with that 100mm pipe a few weeks ago and the majority of bees have re-oriented to that...
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The entrance the bees use is where the box should be. You trap them when they return from the field, not when they exit. Where ever they return to is where the trap box is set.
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Thanks Iddee,
Out of interest, what sort of diameter should i make the exit on the cone? Also, does it matter if some of the foundation is undrawn? atleast four of the frames will be old comb with one of those being brood. Also, is it optimal to use fresh eggs or capped brood?
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Iddee's video in the above link should give you all the answers. I've watched it several times. What a great video!
As far as I know, the hole needs to be big enough for two drones to fit though.
I don't think it matters what the foundation is like as long as there are some fresh eggs included because the bees will need to make a new queen. Apparently it is very rare to catch the queen in a trap out.
I'm looking forward to doing a trap out this weekend from a colony under a concrete floor.
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So I setup the trap out today as iddee describes in his video
And using a frame of eggs... Almost straight away bees that were exiting the cone started showing an interest in the hive... I couldn't get the end of the cone as tight as I would have liked but there's no way bees can get back up it. I'm going to have to put another frame of eggs in soon as its been quite cold this last few days and I don't know that the population in there would have been sufficient yet to keep the eggs alive... I'll post some pics when I have access to a pc
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No pic.
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No pic.
Or Video :-D
Good luck with the trap-out
Tommyt
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I have preformed several trap outs using iddee's methods. Follow his instructions and you will be successful.
Good Luck,
Steve
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(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4977/photoyih.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/267/photoyih.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
It's a bit rough but it will hopefully do the trick
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It's working! I had to go around this morning to silicone up some alternative entrances that the bees had made to the old hive... whilst there I opened the box and there's about four frames full of bees. They're raising the frame of eggs that I put in there on Thursday but I didn't see any Queen Cells... i'm guessing it's possible that the low temperatures and low bee population initially would have caused the majority of eggs to die off. So i'm going to introduce another frame of eggs this week and hopefully they will raise some queens. How many days can it take for a queen cell to be visible? thanks for all of your help and advice!
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The Q cell should show up in a day of you giving them the
Larva Eggs Opps :?
Maybe not completed but in the makes
they have too feed it correctly or it won't bee a queen
Hence house it asap to fit the Q larva
Good Luck
Tommyt
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You have to make sure you put in eggs, not lava.
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I was using eggs - although there was an occasional larvae - but the day after introduction it was only 12oC (unseasonably cold weather) and I don't think there will have been enough bees in there to keep them warm to survive let alone start turning them in to queen cells... It's supposed to be in the 30oC this week so I'll introduce another frame of eggs - has anyone ever used a bought queen in a cage?
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has anyone ever used a bought queen in a cage?
Yes I have
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
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I used a 2 frame nuc with a laying queen once thrown into a 10 frame box for a trapout once. Trapped the hive out and caught the cotton bloom flow. Filled all 10 frames in 6 weeks.
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So i removed the first box of bees from the trapout yesterday and it seems to be working really well so far - they hadn't raised a queen from the eggs that i had put in there so i will have to fix that...
I put a second box there but in this one i put a queen cell that i'd removed from another hive in there along with the frame of eggs just as a back up...
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Hi everybody, just a bit of an update... The trap out is going really well! The second box I put there though is queenless... The cell doesn't appear to have been successful and they don't appear to have turned any of the eggs in to a queen. I'm tossing up as to whether I should add another frame of brood or just buy in a queen... In any case - no bees have come out of the cone for the last week. Is it ok to remove the cone to let them clean out the wall? How would their being queenless impact on the success of that? I don't want them to move back in to the wall - especially if the queen happens to be sitting in there still. The removal is in its 6th week now - is that too soon? Could there still be some capped brood that will hatch over the coming days?
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There could be brood and a queen left. I would put in another frame of eggs and wait 3 days, then check for a queen cell.
When you do remove the cone, look for bees carrying pollen in the house. If one bee goes in loaded with pollen, replace cone.
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Success! my first ever trapout and it went incredibly well! householder is happy and the bees are happy! I ended up taking two hives off the trap out and both of them raised their own queens! I've now got another two trapouts on the go and one more to set-up - although we're in march now and coming up to winter!
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Buy a lot of sugar..............
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I'm already stockpiling it hahaha... thanks Iddee for all of your help and advice!