Honey bee hive..... Anyone have any suggestions

Polar

wd40 and a lighter

Madbeach

nofishtoday wrote: »

I'm a hobby keep
I do removals my starting numbers is $400
Nothing is free
Many times the removed bees abscond
Or just dont make it
Don't think the keep is getting a deal by removing them

I know a few beekeepers that would do it for free in my area (I'm a hobbyist as well). Not everyone is looking to make a $ and would be satisfied with a colony. I'd be willing to bet that there are queen cells in there which could be worth some $ also.

Signaturestrike

Madbeach wrote: »

I know a few beekeepers that would do it for free in my area (I'm a hobbyist as well). Not everyone is looking to make a $ and would be satisfied with a colony. I'd be willing to bet that there are queen cells in there which could be worth some $ also.

Thanks Madbeach I appreciate all the insight. You have me enough of a base knowledge to begin researching better.
I may be sending you some PMs to get some guidance along the way.
As for the Hive I have decided to relocate it to a hive box and begin honey collecting when ready.
I'll make a new post and show the process and how the hive is doing.

fish_stix

I sure hope you'll get in touch with a couple commercial beekeepers who have been doing this business for a long time. I'm 72 and started working for a large commercial beekeeper when I was 15 and in high school. I personnally have caught literally thousands of swarms and I've removed hives like yours from houses and sheds many dozens of times, usually with no success. Usually, taking a hive out of a wall or tree or other cavity is unsuccessful because you're going to kill a large number of the young nurse bees that housekeep and feed the queen and other hive members, in addition to destroying most of the brood in the existing combs. If you kill the queen, which is a real possibility, the bees need brood which is less then 3 days old to raise another queen and the queen raising process takes up to 25-30 days before you have a new laying queen. As far as moving the hive to a hive box and keeping them in your yard, there is a rule of thumb about moving an existing hive; move it at least 2 miles from the current location and leave it there for a week before moving it back to your yard. Why? Bees normally will fly in a radius of 2-5 miles from their hive hunting for nectar and pollen. Since they know where the hive is they return to that location by nature and there's nothing you can do to stop them! After a week at the new location they will have "memorized" the new location and won't return to your house if you move them back to your yard. If you try to put them in a hive box in your yard immediately, they are going to return to their home in your house! You can glean all the info you need at www.beesource.com/forums/ which is probably the largest of the beekeeping websites.

hooknline

fish_stix wrote: »

Wrong!! It's not a swarm, it's an established hive that's living in the wall of a house and has been there for a couple years! He's tried to get beekeepers out there; one showed and never returned! And I couldn't care less how you know about nucs, which BTW, are selling for a lot more than $75-125 each. It's far easier and cheaper for a beekeeper to go out to his beeyards and split a hive and make 2 or 3 new hives, in addition to still having the original, than it is for him to chase around the country catching swarms or ripping established hives out of walls.

You're looking at it from a commercial keeper pov. Of course you don't see the value of trying to get them. Lots of hobby type keepers will remove that hive. I've deliver bees as far as Missouri and removed a colony from a guys house while I was there. Didn't charge him a dime.

fish_stix

Well then why don't you volunteer to remove these bees! If you can drive to Missouri and remove a colony surely Palm Beach is a cakewalk!

hooknline

I don't play with them anymore. I'm sure the op can find someone to get them and make an attempt at trying to get them intact.

jad1097

Baits Out wrote: »

One quick comment.

I hope you can find someone to save the hive and bees.

The mostly ignorant applications of now-available pesticides have destroyed far
too many bees and other beneficial insects, resulting in people in some areas
of the world having to go out with a small brush to hand pollinate their
crops, etc -- one flower at a time!

Bonus is to enjoy the honey from your hive. Honey is an amazing food stuff
and I could rant on much further.

yep. We have been discussing getting some here.

mustang190

Looking at those pics why not take those boards and install some hinges and have yourself a beehive and honey?

Baits Out

Local prices at our local produce stand for a one-pound container of Orange Blossom honey in this area have increased almost 50%
within the last several months.

Much more in the grocery stores -- if they even carry.