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Offline Robo

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« Reply #20 on: January 27, 2005, 10:14:34 am »
Quote from: Jerrymac
Hey Robo,

 I wasn't jumping down anyones throat, and I know Finman makes his living from bees and expresses his oppions along those lines.


Jerrymac,

My statement wasn't directed at you per se.   It was just a fact that I think a lot of contention on this site is based on people not considering what other true beekeeping intentions are.   If anything, I believe what you plan on doing is probably the best approach for you.

Sorry for any confusion
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Offline Jerrymac

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« Reply #21 on: January 27, 2005, 10:26:29 am »
That's OK I'm a confusing person, I think I am any way... OH I don't know. :lol:
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Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #22 on: January 27, 2005, 12:32:38 pm »
Hey Jerry-
This is getting to be a really long post.... one of those "beating a dead horse" things. But, I had a thought.

Noticed something a few posts up. These are active hives right? Just hives in the wrong place, or in a place that a person doesn't want them. Not really swarms.

I'm not sure on the answer to this, and wondering about it, so there's the thought. Don't both swarms AND active hives being moved need some brood to make them stay in the new place?

I could be wrong about that - for instance, a package of bees you buy doesn't need brood to start their hive.

Any-hoo...... if you DON"T need the brood, then you have lots of options on frames/wax/foundation. And if so, then yes, you can use just strips of wax for starters on the frames. Certainly not the most efficient way. They'll take a long time to build up the wax, but you're mostly just looking to buy some time till your frames come in the mail from somewhere, right? I've done Top Bar frames in my hive, and didn't even use a strip of foundation. I only melted a little bit of wax onto the top bar - and only on about half of them. It's alot more work for the bees. I'd much rather use foundation when I can. But in a pinch, I'd use top bars.

 :?: The basic thing I'm getting at, is what makes the bees STAY in the hive you placed them in? (Not so much asking you Jerry, but just dropping that question out for ANYONE to answer.) With a swarm, I know they really want some brood in there to make them stay. Maybe it's not a full requirement, but very helpful. I've read of people starting a swarm in a box with no brood, but I believe they used SOMETHING to make it SMELL like an active hive so the bees would think it's a good home. I even read of someone taking brood and comb, smashing it up, putting it in a cheesecloth sack, and laying it in the new hive box. They said this would actually draw a swarm into the box.

For my own experience, we tried to hive a swarm with bare foundation, and the bees wouldn't stay. So is it different with an active hive that is caught?

Beth

Offline Robo

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« Reply #23 on: January 27, 2005, 02:33:05 pm »
Beth,

Yes brood does help keep the bees in place.  When you don't have brood,  you can put a queen excluder between the bottom board and the first deep to keep the queen inplace until she starts laying and you do have brood.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline Jerrymac

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« Reply #24 on: January 27, 2005, 03:44:55 pm »
Hello Beth,

I do believe all of these are active hives, not just swarms, and I am hoping they have some brood I can get out and place in the box. I just figured if I ended up with a couple of frames of stuff from their hive then I would have a vast empty space that those bees would go helter skelter with. If I wasn't going to come up with any foundation then perhaps I could get a sheet or two of the stuff I saw at Hobby Lobby. I'm pretty sure it is bee wax. WOW!!! Just remembered that they do have bricks, bars, chuncks, of bee wax. Anyway thinking of getting that as emergency back up as I have no other source of wax close by, and run a beed along the fromes to guide them where to start.

Also hoping there is brood incase I squish poor queeny.

I would say brood will make them stay. Perhaps if you had the queen in there and she couldn't get out they would stay. Also incase of swarm, if the empty box suits there needs and they have no other option at the moment they would stay. After all they did move into a plastic box that covers controls of the well and stayed.
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Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #25 on: January 27, 2005, 05:53:50 pm »
Ok.... it looks like you've got a pretty good handle of what your plan is. I think it all sounds good.

And yes, if you had a frame or two of brood from the old hive location, wired or tied on in some way, then "open space" isn't a huge problem. You could do like you were thinking - make top bar frames. It's not the best way to do things, but it WILL work (or CAN work).

Beth

Offline beesharp

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« Reply #26 on: January 27, 2005, 10:37:36 pm »
I've been following this long post... let's not lose site that doing bee removals takes some experience and there's sustantial risk at someone's residence.

Jerry, Please be careful. I get the feeling that you don't have a lot of experience handling bees. There's a million variables when you do a removal at any residence/structure. Without having your basic fundamentals down with beekeeping my *opinion* is that doing removals is not a good place to get your bees.

Get some experience with packages or catching swarms before venturing into the exponentially more complex world of removals. I don't want hear about you on the news for a serious stinging incident with yourself or the public. None of us want bad press for beekeepers in general.

I've done some easy removals and they have never gone as planned. I'm no expert. I've been a hobby beekeeper for 5-6 years and helped dispatch an Africanized hive, but would not touch bees in a residence/attic because of the liability and risk.

Are you going to cut away their siding? Who will do repairs? How high up? Is it a populated area? Who will seal up the area to ensure bees don't return? When you start cutting into a hive everything is sticky, angry bees are everywhere - everything needs to be ready for the removal.

Jim

Offline TwT

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« Reply #27 on: January 27, 2005, 11:17:55 pm »
this is a long post and :

      :twisted:

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! :wink:
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Professionals built the Titanic

Offline Jerrymac

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« Reply #28 on: January 27, 2005, 11:22:43 pm »
Hi Jim,

I appreciate your concerns and take them to heart. It isn't set in stone that I will do all of these captures. And I do have a habit of make plans B, C, and sometimes D. Plan E is leaving the scene while using a beevac to pull the bees from the vail to see where I am going. I will have the areas evacuated for peoples safety. I have a full bee suit and plan on wearing extra garb under it. Got bee gloves from Betterbee, a helmet and zip on vail. I will double duct tape any openings and around the boots and gloves. If anything I will be over protected. I don't want to be stung.

As far the ones in the walls they are in an old barn and old pump house. The owners have said they will cut/tear out the walls. I mentioned the plan of approach for the pump house. I went to see the barn today, it was too cold and damp for the bees to be flying. Again the outside is currogated metal on 2X4s. Thw inside wall is the slotted wood type where one side of the bottom board slips into a slot on the side of the upper board. This only extends about six and a half feet up from the floor. So it is not a full inner wall. I believe the boards can be removed one at a time with no damage to the wood and later nailed back up.

I am really debating about the one under the house. There is a way to get under there I just wasn't able to check it out today. I am a small wirery guy. But the thought of having to crawl out if things go wrong isn't to appealing, but again I will be bundled up. The big thing is how will this big round hat work under there????

I haven't gotten to see the attic one. I imagine it is simply going through the attic opening and over to where the bees are. Pretty much standing up. And shouldn't be any walls or stuff to remove, if this attic is made the way many other attics i've been in were made. Just as long as I don't fall through the ceiling. Been there, done that.

As I said, I can always back out anytime.
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Offline Beth Kirkley

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« Reply #29 on: January 28, 2005, 02:06:35 am »
I suppose both you and the other person could make up some small contract stating - any damage is not your resposibility, and any injury is not their's - and stating that if the job is too much you have the right to back out - job undone.

????

Beth

Offline wanabee

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« Reply #30 on: February 06, 2005, 02:31:23 pm »
I know   a way that you can take care of the feral  bees with no foundation. all you need is a hive and some empty frames. It can be messy  but thats ok.  find the combs and cut them out put them in the empty frames and wrap 100 percent cotton string around the frames to hold the combs in place. feed the bees some sugar water. they will draw the combs to fit in the foundation. You probobly won't be able to fit ten frames in there depending on the width of the combs but that is ok. The reason the string has to be 100 percent cotton is because the bees will chew thru it eventually. Then when you do get your foundation in the mail,put ten frames in a deep super, find the queen and put her in there. put on a queen excluder so she can't get back up in the old comb. keep feeding sugar water so the bees draw out the foundation quicker.The nurse bees won't abandon the brood so when they all hatch out of the old comb if the old comb is to messy or whatever just melt it down for the wax

Offline Robo

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« Reply #31 on: February 06, 2005, 07:22:53 pm »
Quote from: wanabee
 find the combs and cut them out put them in the empty frames and wrap 100 percent cotton string around the frames to hold the combs in place.


Rubber bands work well too.  String tends to let the combs wobble to one side or the other unless you get it tight, which can be a chore in itself when your dealing with stick combs.  Rubber band provide tension that keeps the combs in place.  

Once the bees chew thru them, just pick them off the bottom board.
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Offline Jerrymac

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« Reply #32 on: February 06, 2005, 07:52:03 pm »
Wonder how the bee feels biting through a tight rubberband.

 zpwang!!!! :shock:
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