Moving honey bees

[WillySieg]

I have 2 large big leaf maples to remove both having be hives in the trunks I'd like to save. I was wondering if you guys have any experience with this and any do's and don'ts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Find an a bee keeper if you can.

Wear a Tyvek suit...hood...taped gloves/wrists/ankles...and have an epi pen handy [know how to use it too].

If you have to go in...read up on smoking the bees. Do it early in the morning while they're calm and cool. Wrap the trunks in plastic sheeting and tape the entrance shut.

Don't jiggle them too much.

Take lots of pictures!

 

[No_Bivy]

keep log in the same position they were....crane is best.

do not remove from log until spring. They may need to be fed during winter if their honey stores are slim. If you shake log to hard, comb will break loose......could lose the hive.

my bee log has turned into ten hives

 

[surfarmer1]

I am a bee keeper.

How big is the hive?

Try to leave the hive alone (do not cut into the hive remove it as one piece with solid wood on both sides)

Lay the hive on the ground and leave it alone.

Do the work in the middle of the day when most of the bees are out foraging ( if it is warm in your location ).

If the bees are in winter cluster because of the weather, then be careful not to expose them to the cold.

If you feel that you have damaged the hive just leave it alone.. Bees do not need people the same as trees do not need people.

You can feed them a sugar syrup.

Place the log in a sunny exposure...

Call your local cooperative exension agent for the local bee keepers..

Remember that smoke is your best defense and you should learn how to use it to your advantage..


Most of all "bee happy"

 

[BeesandTrees]

Be careful about wrapping in plastic, you'll overheat the hive, no airflow. Screen door material works well, use staples to attach it. You can drill small holes above and below the hive to find where they are at and then make your cut a a bit above that. I don't think smoking the bees helps very much in this situation. You're usually working too long with the tree. I don't smoke them when I remove. You can screen the hives night before if you want, or first thing in am. As already mentioned, maintaining natural orientation as much as possible and no hard jarring are key to survival, especially this late in the year. If you can get a veil and jacket that is ideal, veil is a necessity. You can wear button down shirt and undershirt, thick pants and tape up sleaves and ankles. Make sure your shirts are tucked in.

 

[WillySieg]

Thanks for all the help! I went out and checked out the first tree today and found their entrance hole and could see their comb and saw one live bee but never did catch any coming or going. I have no idea how big the hives are. They are city trees but maybe someone will stop by and have some input. We will start the removal tomorrow and get some photo's. I'll even try to learn to post them ha ha!

 

[treevet]

We slammed the entire tree, drug the trunk out of the woods with the cherry picker and still were able to salvage the nest and capture the queen. Fun day because we had someone that knew what she was doing with us.

Think it is way too late to save a hive and the nec. queen, but I am a one day expert.

http://youtu.be/luYO0z1yiBM

 

[oceans]

My hat is off to you, sir, for taking the time to save what you could of those bees. Nice work!

 

[mdvaden]

My Certified Arborist friend with Roots and Shoots collects hives.

Just happened to call him today, and talked about it. He's done several lately. Trees and Bees.

 

[boreality]

Could this be why they called this place Tree Buzzzz? Seemed like a mellow hive, nobody was yelping.

 

[WillySieg]

We managed to get the tree down without anyone getting stung! They were really quite docile they only came buzzing around when one piece we roped down shook the trunk a bit. We managed to fly a large piece of the union flare onto a flatbed trailer and hauled it home without slamming them around a bit thanks to our knuckle boom on our chip truck! Now just need to off load it and face their entry hole due north.

I'll attempt to attach a photo but not very computer literate!

 

[cerviarborist]

Very nicely done!

 

[surfarmer1]

THANKS for caring to do the right thing.