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Sad day, have to exterminate a Honey Bee Hive
Old 04-11-2015, 09:45 AM   #1
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Sad day, have to exterminate a Honey Bee Hive

I discovered the recent bee activity in my yard. I have a concrete block wall , with four 1/2 inch holes from gate I removed about 20 years ago, and never plugged the holes. So A queen decided the inside of the hollow wall would be a good place to relocate to. Right next to a neighbors walkway , window,and my back door, so I can't leave them. These little guys are a critical part of our food chain.

I just can't think of any way to find the queen to relocate the hive, without destroying the wall. I don't think NASA , Lawrence Livermore, or JPL could figure a way to find the queen inside the wall.

Looking on you tube, sometimes a hive can be tricked into moving to a man made hive thru a tube, but this is iffy, and takes months even if it works.Until the queen moves, the hive will not.

Any "Miracle" Ideas ?
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Old 04-11-2015, 10:02 AM   #2
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We had to get rid of bees that nested near our front door. They would try to sting us going to our car or getting the mail, so they had to go. If it is a honey bee colony, a local bee keepers group might be willing to help try to move the hive, but I could not find anyone interested to help for ground bees. I felt bad as well, but I wasn't going to keep warning do not enter signs strung across the front of our porch forever.

My only miracle idea was to put Dawn in a garden hose and reclaim our front door.
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Old 04-11-2015, 10:31 AM   #3
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Definitely contact local beekeepers.
Most are quite eager to "rescue" hives of honeybees.
If it can be moved, they will find a way.
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Old 04-11-2015, 12:09 PM   #4
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I do hope you can find someone to come and move the hive. It is a sad day if you must exterminate them.
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Old 04-11-2015, 12:53 PM   #5
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Contact your local beekeeping club. Frequently such a hive can be lured out with the aid of a pheromone. Worth a try.
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Old 04-11-2015, 01:32 PM   #6
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I called a beekeeping equipment and supply co. , they are contacting a couple of beekeepers in my area , will see if it can be done. I'd much rather pay a beekeeper to try and save the hive , rather than kill it. The best solutions in life often is not the easy ones. Will post a few pic's when I can.
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Old 04-11-2015, 01:36 PM   #7
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Hope it's honeybees and you get some photos. I've seen two natural swarms from hive splits and it's something I'll never forget.
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Old 04-11-2015, 01:36 PM   #8
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Remember to plug the holes once the bees are gone.
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Old 04-11-2015, 02:19 PM   #9
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Definitely honeybees , might or might not be so called killer bees , I have read they look the same to the layman . So far , not aggressive at all, I can walk by without them caring. Usually about a half dozen around the entrance holes guarding the place during daylight.
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Old 04-11-2015, 02:37 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 View Post
Definitely honeybees , might or might not be so called killer bees , I have read they look the same to the layman . So far , not aggressive at all, I can walk by without them caring. Usually about a half dozen around the entrance holes guarding the place during daylight.
All normal honeybee behavior. If they were Africanized, you would know it for sure.
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Old 04-11-2015, 03:40 PM   #11
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What are your plans for getting the honey out
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Old 04-11-2015, 04:03 PM   #12
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What are your plans for getting the honey out
Spoke on the phone to a hobby beekeeper that is going to set up a box with some of his bees and a new queen , using a "Trap-out" screen tube as he called it to the new bee box. he stated it takes several weeks. IIUC, the existing hive workers exit the wall to the new bee box with new queen and some of the new queens workers and drones. He said the bees usually cant figure out how to get back into the old hive and adopt the new queen in the box. He said the old queen will usually eventually die when the workers stop bringing food , and typical life of workers / drones is about a month.

He said the existing queen in the old hive could slim down and be able to try to fly out , but is unlikely in this situation.

No practical way to get the honey out , but the holes must be sealed when the operation is complete, or 'Scouts" from another hive will find the honey and a swarm with queen may try to move in.

A lot of work, but the amateur beekeeper wants the type of hive I have to build up with one of the new queens he breeds. He says these hives moved and merged are excellent for his customers , very disease resistant , unlike commercial hives.
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Old 04-11-2015, 04:08 PM   #13
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Great to hear you found someone willing to try, sorry it isn't a quick fix.

We had a swarm settle in one of our trees and send out scouts.
Most amazing thing I have ever seen.
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Old 04-11-2015, 05:05 PM   #14
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I love that a solution has been found! Please let us know how the transfer goes - it sounds fascinating. I love honeybees and bumblebees. We used to see tons of them in our yard - they'd bang into you in flight, without ever stinging. Unfortunately, the good guys are dying out, and we mostly have mean hornets, yellow-jackets, and wasps around here these days.

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Old 04-11-2015, 05:08 PM   #15
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We had this in our dining room wall just above the ceiling. They were coming in from under the siding on an outside wall.

Hives.jpg
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Old 04-11-2015, 06:53 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 View Post
Spoke on the phone to a hobby beekeeper that is going to set up a box with some of his bees and a new queen , using a "Trap-out" screen tube as he called it to the new bee box. he stated it takes several weeks. IIUC, the existing hive workers exit the wall to the new bee box with new queen and some of the new queens workers and drones. He said the bees usually cant figure out how to get back into the old hive and adopt the new queen in the box. He said the old queen will usually eventually die when the workers stop bringing food , and typical life of workers / drones is about a month.

He said the existing queen in the old hive could slim down and be able to try to fly out , but is unlikely in this situation.

No practical way to get the honey out , but the holes must be sealed when the operation is complete, or 'Scouts" from another hive will find the honey and a swarm with queen may try to move in.

A lot of work, but the amateur beekeeper wants the type of hive I have to build up with one of the new queens he breeds. He says these hives moved and merged are excellent for his customers , very disease resistant , unlike commercial hives.
Seems strange to me that it would make a difference... if all the bees from your hive will die within a month or so, will the hive they are going to still be just as capable of getting disease as before IOW, I would think it was the queen that was making the bees that would have the necessary DNA and if she does not come.... well....
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Old 04-11-2015, 08:31 PM   #17
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Seems strange to me that it would make a difference... if all the bees from your hive will die within a month or so, will the hive they are going to still be just as capable of getting disease as before IOW, I would think it was the queen that was making the bees that would have the necessary DNA and if she does not come.... well....
I am wondering a little too , after all of the effort , is the net effect just some drones to mate with the new " foreign" queen , and bring some dna from the old hive ?

The beekeeper explained four ways to relocate a hive, 3 of 4 involve removal of the old queen and part or all of the hive. This situation is none of those, because the queen cant be accessed.

I inquired if the old hive will still keep growing while this trapping is going on, he said a healthy queen can lay 1k or more eggs a day, and bees are continually hatched, mature, and die off, with old or dead bees being physically pushed out of the hive. Said if I look, I should see dead bees in the vicinity of any hive .

I wonder how long the queen and hive can live off of stored honey , if workers leave daily , then can't return with pollen for food ?

I see some beekeepers say they remove many bees from the hive , with a weak vacuum , to be caught in a screened bucket, then exterminate whats left of the hive. I'm starting to think this would give most of the net effect, and be done in a couple of hours, not weeks. Any beekeepers here with an opinion ?
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Old 05-19-2015, 03:57 PM   #18
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Update: I canceled out the beekeeper , and just letting them stay for the time being. We hardly notice the bees, and visa versa. The only thing that agitates them a bit is the clothes dryer outlet nearby , maybe it's the detergent scent ?

Too bad they are inside a concrete block wall, I'd like some of the honey , and not going to get it
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Old 05-19-2015, 05:01 PM   #19
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When you need to get rid of any critters, look to BugSpray.com. It's a retail store in Atlanta owned by a ex-pest control guy. He's written long essays on 150 critters and their demise.

We had problems with yellow jacket holes in the ground. You can spread a powder around the hole the wasps will haul to other yellow jacket nests in the area, and it'll kill'em all. That's just an example of the information provided.
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Old 05-19-2015, 05:15 PM   #20
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Bamaman: Thanks for the link to that site!
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