Dealing with bee's

[MattyF]

have an ash tree to take down but on inspection there is a bee nest about 7ft up in a perfect round 3" hole presumingly going in to a hollow trunk.

The client has had the tpo lifted and its going to be a very awkward dismantle any how but any ideas for dealing with the bees???the last thing i want is a load of stings!!!

 

my first idea was to cover the entrance hole with fine mesh and just take the tree down untill i reach that point then get a bee keeper to come and take them away,if i wait untill early winter i presume it would be better as nests i have disturbed before seem very inactive and it was easy to retrieve the queen.....and loads of honey!!

 

Any ideas or tips would be much apreciated

[Bundle 2]

Hi Matty,

Im certainly no expert with bees but I am cultivating a bit more than a passing interest in them; I have some 40,000 insects in my back yard!

Nests are significantly "subdued" during the colder winter months . Bees do not hibernate as such . Rather they reduce their levels of activity and survive in a large "group hug".

The downside, potentially, with dealing with them in winter is that if they are disturbed into activity, they put themselves in the situation they are trying to protect themselves from...using much needed energy and so compromising the "over winter " reserves.

Sounds like you know a bit from your comments. It would be favorite to get the bees moved as a colony imo. They are not unduly worked up about chainsaws. It sounds a bit crazy but they are likely to give you more problems if you block their entrance during the dismantle (IMO )

Get yourself a back up plan though. They vary in temperament quite alot too. If they get knarly, you will need to take action somehow. Alot of people will have not discovered the hive until they are right there in front of the bees.

Contact your local BeeKeeping Association for further advice and support. They are likely to have members who will be only too happy to rescue a colony as they are a valuable asset in their own right. Most areas have a "swarm helpline"- You are probably going to be able to assist in their removal and relocation if access is at height anyway so why not call up for some expert assistance and support? ( Not to mention veils and other protective gear, smokers etc....) Id aim to remove the colony in a one hit move, complete, the way you may have seen bat habitat lowered carefully to the ground perhaps. They are actually not interested in what you will be doing and stinging kills them...It is a last resort for these creatures!

Hope it helps. Thanks for posting Matty. Good luck with it and I hope you find the patience and people to make it possible to do the right thing!

Tim

[gibbon]

We have dealt with bees a few times. From my experience bee keepers were unable to remove a nest from a cavity within a tree. We have used a crane to remove the whole section with the nests inside. Advice at the time was to move the nest less thean 3 feet or more than 3 miles. We relocated the section of trunk to a safe place and left it.

 

On another job the bees were in a cavity close to ground level. We sectioned the tree down normally. When were got close to the nest we borrowed a couple of bee suits from the bee keeper who came to site. Smoked the bees then chogged the stem down untill we had exposed the top of the cavity. The bee keeper placed a hive ontop of the stem, apparantly bees will move up a cavity and move into the hive. The hive can then be relocated.

 

Both times the cavity was sealed using hessian the night before. Both times hundreds of bees which had apparantly been out for the night returned and were all around. No one got stung on either job, even when sawing inches from the nest.

[MattyF]

I like that idea about the hive on top gibbon! is there any reason why it has to be over 3 miles to relocate???we have two willing keepers and they are both within a mile of the hive.

cheers for the info guys

[James Cantle]

matty have you thought about asking them nicely if they would relocate?

[gibbon]

Bees aint my bag, but I think the theory was that the bees would return to the old location of the hive unless they were moved far enough away.

 

Thinking about that job gives me funny memories of driving through Yoevil town center in the middle of summer, with a huge cloud of bees buzzing about the truck. People were crossing the road to avoid us.

[MattyF]

Had a go and they were not up for it mate !suprisingly the nest has survived an extermination attempt all ready as the lady thought they were wasps ....i pointed out they are definietly bees! and se was horrified!! and no way wants to try and get rid of them again....neither do I ,shame there is no accsess for a crane.

[rapidlee]

is there any reason why it has to be over 3 miles to relocate???

 

i think its to do with bees will fly upto 1 1/2 miles. if you move the hive within 3 miles they will return to original place.

[MattyF]

I see, best try some keepers further away pretty sure the guy that wants them has any way.

[VEG]

Hi all I am a beekeeper unfortunately too far from you. The best way is to get in touch with a local beekeeping association tell them what you want to do.

If the section the bees are in could be taken out in one piece then you could block the entrance hole up with some gauze/mesh small enough to stop the bees coming out but will still allow them to breathe. This should be done as late in the evening as possible. Then when the section is cut out it will need to be moved over 3 miles away ASAP. If you dont move them 3 miles or more they will fly back to the same spot when allowed out. They can be moved to another woods or similar if no beekeeper wants them but again 3 miles or more away.

Hope this helps.

One more thing check carefully that there is just the one entrance into the bees nest.