fruitful vine Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 (edited) Hi, We have honey bees living in the very large cavity under our bay window. We called every local bee keeper in our area, but none would help remove the bees, so we were hoping to move them out during the cold winter months. Can this be done? Also, is their a way to move them and use them for honey? Any ideas or information is wonderful. Thanks! Edited July 30, 2009 by fruitful vine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Are they inside the siding? Is it a really recent swarm that landed? Yes, you can harvest the honey if you cut into their nest during the winter but you will kill them by trying to get rid of them in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Are they inside the siding? Is it a really recent swarm that landed? Yes, you can harvest the honey if you cut into their nest during the winter but you will kill them by trying to get rid of them in the winter. We bought our house last fall (late Sept.). We didn't notice them till this spring. So I'm not quite sure when they came. But we did see a swarm in May. That was after we found the bees going into the hole. There is a cavity under the window. It would be large enough to fit a 10 to 20 gallon tank. It is covered with wood siding and the siding has a quarter size hole in it. We need to replace the window. So one way or the other the bees need moved out. Thanks again for any information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Sorry, I don't have any information to share but you may try The Department of Agriculture for your state. Extension Service A local University if they have an agriculture department. The Master Gardeners association in the area. Organic gardeners in your area (they may know someone who is interested in starting to bee keep) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Sorry, I don't have any information to share but you may try The Department of Agriculture for your state. Extension Service A local University if they have an agriculture department. The Master Gardeners association in the area. Organic gardeners in your area (they may know someone who is interested in starting to bee keep) Thanks! We did try some of your ideas you listed above. I wanted to try to save them since we keep hearing about the bee shortage, but I'm beginning to think we won't be able to save them. We just can't seem to find a way to move them without hurting the bees. But I'll keep trying for now. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHGrandma Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 There aren't many beekeepers who will get them out of a house like you have them. Keep trying to find one, but you will probably have to tear out a bit of the siding to remove everything, and as a result they'll die. Be sure everything is sealed up good when you are done replacing the window, the smell of honey will probably remain and draw more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 There aren't many beekeepers who will get them out of a house like you have them. Keep trying to find one, but you will probably have to tear out a bit of the siding to remove everything, and as a result they'll die. Be sure everything is sealed up good when you are done replacing the window, the smell of honey will probably remain and draw more. Thanks for all your help and information. I will continue to search for a safe, bee friendly solution, but if none are found by January the bees will just have to go. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty Social Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Is it possible to get a hive (one of those upside down cone things, or one of those white boxes) and move them there? I think that if you can get the queen, the others will follow her to the new nest. Look into smoking them, and moving them. It might save some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Is it possible to get a hive (one of those upside down cone things, or one of those white boxes) and move them there? I think that if you can get the queen, the others will follow her to the new nest. Look into smoking them, and moving them. It might save some. Thanks for your thoughts. We also checked into that option, but we just don't have the equipment, money, and knowledge to do it. The hives cost about $200 and removing wood siding from a second story window would take a lot of work, which would upset the bee quite a bit. (sounds painful!) Smoking them out would be nice, but it would be hard to smoke them the entire time we are trying to remove all the siding, especially since we don't have a smoker. While I LOVE THE IDEA, it would end-up costing us up to $500 (total~including the hive) just to buy the equipment we would need to do it safely. We just can't pay for that right now. That's why we were hoping to remove them in the winter while it's too cold for them to fight back, but it sounds as if that's not safe for them. Thanks for the thought, I really wish we could do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnL Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 the key is to move the queen, as I'm sure you already know. I don't know a lot about moving bees, really, but there just has to be someone who would be interested in helping. When I was a kid, on a spring or summer day, the sky out side our home was filled with a huge swarm of bees. Apparently, they liked the big tree in the yard of the house next door. A little while later, a truck pulled up, and a guy dressed in something like a space suit got out. He managed to get the queen, and somehow get the bees onto his truck. But, that was a freshly landed hive, in a tree. I'm sure it would be much more difficult to get an established hive out of the siding of the second story of a home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 the key is to move the queen, as I'm sure you already know. I don't know a lot about moving bees, really, but there just has to be someone who would be interested in helping. When I was a kid, on a spring or summer day, the sky out side our home was filled with a huge swarm of bees. Apparently, they liked the big tree in the yard of the house next door. A little while later, a truck pulled up, and a guy dressed in something like a space suit got out. He managed to get the queen, and somehow get the bees onto his truck. But, that was a freshly landed hive, in a tree. I'm sure it would be much more difficult to get an established hive out of the siding of the second story of a home. Thanks for your thoughts. I also thought finding someone to take/remove the bees would be easy, but all the bee keepers I talked to said no one wants to do it anymore due to the fear of lawsuits! That's so sad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 We are new beekeepers (just harvested our first honey last week!), and we're involved with a hobby beekeepers association. Most of the members would remove that hive, if only to try to save the bees. Keep trying to find someone, but it'll cost a couple of hundred dollars. About smoking the bees: when there is smoke, the bees think there is a fire approaching. They go into the hive to get the honey to prepare to leave. They aren't put to sleep or relaxed by the smoke like we used to think...they are actually very active, just pre-occupied.:001_smile: I sure hope you find someone to get those bees for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) Hi, We have honey bees living in the very large cavity under our bay window. We called every local bee keeper in our area, but none would help remove the bees, so we were hoping to move them out during the cold winter months. Can this be done? Also, is their a way to move them and use them for honey? Any ideas or information is wonderful. Thanks! Have you tried Bjorn Apiaries? Their website says they are located in south-central, PA. They have a swarm and colony removal service. Their website says the cost is often as little as $100.00. Here's their website: http://www.bjornapiaries.com There's also a phone number posted for you to call. We used to keep bees... and without the proper equipment or protection you really shouldn't try to remove them yourselves. Let me know if this helps any. Geo Edited July 31, 2009 by Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 Have you tried Bjorn Apiaries? Their website says they are located in south-central, PA. They have a swarm and colony removal service. Their website says the cost is often as little as $100.00. Here's their website: http://www.bjornapiaries.com There's also a phone number posted for you to call.We used to keep bees... and without the proper equipment or protection you really shouldn't try to remove them yourselves. Let me know if this helps any. Geo Thanks for the information. You had my hopes up that we could find the bees a new home for only $100. But that price quote was for "swarm removal". Our problem is called a "colony extraction". A colony extraction starts at $300 and price increases from there depending on travel, time, and difficulty of the job. I think if I was going to pay someone $300+ to remove them I'd rather pay a little extra and buy all the equipment and do it myself. That way I could start my own hive for the honey. Thanks again for the information, it will help us decide what will work best for us (and the bees). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 We are new beekeepers (just harvested our first honey last week!), and we're involved with a hobby beekeepers association. Most of the members would remove that hive, if only to try to save the bees. Keep trying to find someone, but it'll cost a couple of hundred dollars. About smoking the bees: when there is smoke, the bees think there is a fire approaching. They go into the hive to get the honey to prepare to leave. They aren't put to sleep or relaxed by the smoke like we used to think...they are actually very active, just pre-occupied.:001_smile: I sure hope you find someone to get those bees for you! Thanks for the information. This whole thing has been one HUGE learning experience!! If we decide to do this ourselves, do you have any good helpful pointers on removing the bees and saving them for ourselves? I really don't know a thing about bees! Also, are honey bees the only bees that swarm? Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jenny Flint Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 My in-laws had this done under some windows on their 2nd story back porch. A large hive of honeybees were removed to another location. I have no idea what it cost, but I do know it can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Beekeeping, once you get into it, isn't difficult at all. Nor is it time consuming if you have just a few hives. It's actually our 13yodd who has the hives and works them. :) However, like other living projects, it can be a disaster if you don't know what you're doing. There are small things that could make or kill your hives. You might invest the few hundred dollars, do the extraction yourself, and have mites destroy the hive if you don't know what to look for. Then you would have to spend another 100+ dollars next spring to buy more bees, not to mention a dead colony. Honestly, I would have someone else do the extraction. If you want to keep the bees, find a mentor, read some good books, and/or take a class on beekeeping. Our mentor won't extract bees and leave them there unless the owners know what they're doing. She's kind of militant about that, but an excellent beekeeper! Our dd has 2 hives now and we hope to expand to 6-8 next spring. The honey is absolutely delicious, but 2 hives don't make enough for our family! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitful vine Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Beekeeping, once you get into it, isn't difficult at all. Nor is it time consuming if you have just a few hives. It's actually our 13yodd who has the hives and works them. :) However, like other living projects, it can be a disaster if you don't know what you're doing. There are small things that could make or kill your hives. You might invest the few hundred dollars, do the extraction yourself, and have mites destroy the hive if you don't know what to look for. Then you would have to spend another 100+ dollars next spring to buy more bees, not to mention a dead colony. Honestly, I would have someone else do the extraction. If you want to keep the bees, find a mentor, read some good books, and/or take a class on beekeeping. Our mentor won't extract bees and leave them there unless the owners know what they're doing. She's kind of militant about that, but an excellent beekeeper! Our dd has 2 hives now and we hope to expand to 6-8 next spring. The honey is absolutely delicious, but 2 hives don't make enough for our family! :) Thanks for all your help. We are still looking for someone to help us remove the bees, and we are not having any luck. This whole experience has me thinking about starting up beekeeping. So for future reference: Do you know a good/cheap place to buy beekeeping supplies? Do you know any good books or DVDs we can buy? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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