what to do about honeybees in attic

[hornblower]

Last week I cleaned up a small sticky spot on my floor. In a strange place & I couldn't quite figure out what it was or how it got there - BUT, this is a house with some pretty messy individuals as well as dogs, cats, etc etc so I don't usually investigate stains too closely beyond ascertaining whether arterial blood is involved.

 

BUT, today I saw it again. In the same spot. And the wheels churned, I asked dh to look at it, and he sniffed & then tasted it (did you know geologists do stuff like that to rocks too? they lick the darned things when they're examining them. All those years his mom spent telling her little boys to not put things in their mouths & wham, he does it as a professional.....)

 

Anyway, it's honey. And we finally found the spot in the cedar panelled ceiling which looks like the source. Which means we have honey bees in the vaulted part of our ceiling. No access there except by ripping apart the cedar ceiling and/or the facia and/or the roof.

 

How big a hive do you think I have if I honey dripping out of it? And how the heck shall I get these guys out of there?

 

I love honeybees & I don't want to kill them - esp as their populations are threatened anyway. I even keep mason bee nests in the garden. I'm not really ready to jump into keeping a hive of honey bees though..... and definitely not in the attic.

 

Any suggestions?

[Sputterduck]

Science project!

[hornblower]

Science project!

:lol:

 

Yes, with this maybe.

 

It was completely out of the question when we had the dead decomposing rat in the attic, complete with maggots falling down from the, again inaccessible, vaulted cedar panel ceiling. :ack2:

 

 

You know, honestly, my house is nice. I clean. Vacuuming is my hobby. But that durned vaulted cedar panelled ceiling has been the source of one zoology lesson after another.......

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've heard of bee-keepers who come out and relocate honeybees for you. But someone would have to get access to the bees and that means ripping up the ceiling while keeping the bees from stinging at the same time.

[Slartibartfast]

Yeah, I would call a bee-keeper and ask them. I think they only have to get out the queen and the rest of the bees will follow her.

 

If they are honey bees it would probably save you money.

[MelanieM]

How woo-woo are you? ;) I have a friend who talks to any creature that moves into her space and causes problems, simply asking them respectfully to leave. Given your options, that would certainly be my first plan of action. :)

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

You can find a beekeeper by googling for your state's beekeeping association. Beekeepers are a friendly lot, and chances are if you call one listed on your state association's list, if he/she can't come out and relocate the hive for you he/she will point you to someone who can. Some may charge for this but the ones I know (my dh included) would willingly do it for free.

[hornblower]

Well, if you heard me talk to my dogs you'd know that respectfully is not always my default mode of communication. More like 'move your little furry butt' except I edited out the 3 naturally appearing swear words in that phrase.

 

Hwvr, I'll try to talk to the bees. I saw that on To The Manor Born where Audrey spoke to the bees; she also said it's bad luck to exchange money for bees - I think she used some of her jewelry when she bought her hives.....& that they only sting people who have been immoral.

 

Anyway. If sweet talking and/or idle threats don't work (maybe they'd respond to 'if you don't knock that off I'm going to Cesar Milan you?!' which I read somewhere & it's one of my favourite idle threats now with the dogs), I'll get in touch with some bee folks and see how big a hole in the house we need to make. We do need a new roof at some point so maybe we'll just lift the whole lid off their hive :lol:

[In The Great White North]

What's the temperature there? They don't fly (or sting) too well under 40. Don't try it if the weather is overcast, "heavy" or stormy - they'll sting more.

 

For a beekeeper to go in and physically move the hive would require access to it - tearing out some boards. They are not going to want to do that but they may deal with the bees if you do the house damage yourself.

 

I had three hives and honey never dripped out of them. The bees encase each little cell of honey and plug it up with wax. If it's dripping, something else has probably gotten in there and damaged the comb (mice? earthquake?)

 

I once went to a seminar on beekeeping and the instructor claimed to be able to "drum" a swarm of bees down into a new hive by beating a slow tempo on a bucket! If sweet-talking them doesn't work, you could try drumming. :D

 

And honey bees are as easy to have in the garden as mason bees. (If you want the honey, you have to mess with them but if you don't care, you can just leave them alone.)

[hornblower]

Definitely won't be calling an exterminator. (Wasps now.....ahem, I have different feelings about those.....)

 

I just heard on the news yesterday that beekeepers on Vancouver Island had a terrible winter and in some hives they've lost >90% of their bees! I gather this is a global problem which they think is related to a mite and some viruses which the mites spread.....

 

In the Great White North - thanks for all the info.

Mice are possible. Earthquakes - yes. Also recent huge renos which involved breaking up a cast iron tub in situ with a sledge hammer. The entire house shook & I have a few small cracks in some walls so it's possible that that was the damage.

 

Ds would love to keep bees - he's been asking about actually having a hive b/e we heard about a pilot program in a neighbouring municipality which has changed its bylaws to allow backyard hives. It's good to know that they could just "be there". Our mason bees are doing well & in fact for next year, I'll need to supply way more nest boxes as they're filling up everything I put out & using the siding of the house too.

 

We're going to be figuring out how we can get into the space to see what's going on in there. Thx everyone.

[Slartibartfast]

I do have a tendency to hit my brakes and pull over immediately for "honey for sale" signs. :lol:

[fairfarmhand]

Call your county extension office. If they can't tell you what you need to do (in addition to ripping apart your ceiling) they can tell you who to call. They will likely direct you to the local bee keepers assn.

[sassenach]

I'm curious about what you ended up doing about the bees. Were you able to get them out?

[Jean in Newcastle]

:bigear:

[hornblower]

Nothing yet.

 

Well, not quite true - I did speak to them several times.

 

Honey still drips - about a dime sized splotch a day. One of my dogs has discovered it & will often lick the floor in that area.

 

It's still cold here. My mason bees just came out last weekend. I think these guys might still be dopey, if they're even there. It could be an old abandoned hive that has cracked due to some house shaking renos (we broke a cast iron tub in situ a few mos ago).

 

I think at this point we won't do anything drastic. If they are there, we'll have to learn to co-exist this summer.

 

Roof is due to be done this year or next so we'll have easy access then & if there is an active colony, we'll get someone to move them.

[DarlaS]

Nothing yet.

 

Well, not quite true - I did speak to them several times.

 

Honey still drips - about a dime sized splotch a day. One of my dogs has discovered it & will often lick the floor in that area.

 

It's still cold here. My mason bees just came out last weekend. I think these guys might still be dopey, if they're even there. It could be an old abandoned hive that has cracked due to some house shaking renos (we broke a cast iron tub in situ a few mos ago).

 

I think at this point we won't do anything drastic. If they are there, we'll have to learn to co-exist this summer.

 

Roof is due to be done this year or next so we'll have easy access then & if there is an active colony, we'll get someone to move them.

 

If it is an active colony, they will be coming and going from somewhere. Watch and see if you see bees heading up and down from that area of your roof. Can you hear them at all?

 

The trouble with coexisting is they may eventually think your house is theirs. Certain strains of honeybees can be quite aggressive. I'm guessing if these were that type, you'd have figured that out by now though.

 

Not long ago, a local business (a florist) had honey bees swarm their store. Right downtown. A beekeeper came and took the queen and they went happily (Well, they went anyway...) away with him. I wish I could find the picture that was in the paper. It was quite amazing to see. They needed a new hive, and I guess the florist looked pretty attractive to them.

[mcconnellboys]

Call bee handlers and talk to them! They might be able to save the hive. You can't leave them; it will just get worse....

[Melissa in Australia]

if you call a bee keep er they should be able to shift the hive without breaking down the wall or whatever. they could drum them out ( which is very time consuming) or there is a chemical they can put under the hive that bees can't stand. the bees will pack up and go.

bee hives are quite noisy. you should be able to hear their humm. and you should be able to see bees coming and going in a steady stream from their opening to outside on a warm day.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

You really need to call a bee keeper to take care of it. My friend in Los Angeles had bees in her roof. Just week, they decided to swarm. Half of them went out into a tree, and ultimately left her property (into someone else's roof?) The other half swarmed down through a light fixture into her dining room! It was a mess, and a bit scary, and a lot creepy! She had no choice at that point but to use a fumigation bomb to kill them. Then, clean up the mess in the house and the attic. Ugh!