How and when?

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How and when?

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Duckhead

Joined: 24 Oct 2009
Posts: 2069
Location: Up the hill, Italy

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 10 3:56 pm Post subject: How and when?

Unfortunately we have to knock our house down. We think that this will happen in July or August depending on the vagaries of Italian bureaucracy. I don't see it being any earlier. The thing is, we have bees living in the wall of the oldest part, stone, about 3 feet thick. I have no experience of bee keeping but would love to start, and intend to learn about top bar beekeeping. So given that I have between now and the summer to learn, the question is, when would be the best time to coax them out and how do you go about it. If worst comes to worst I would just like them to move out before the time comes to demolish the house, regardless of wether we get to keep them or not. Cheers

oliver90owner

Joined: 11 Jul 2009
Posts: 85

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 10 4:08 pm Post subject:
The answer? Unfortunately, probably with great difficulty. If they have been there some time, they may well have a huge mass of stock-piled stores. The best way is likely to remove them at the time of demolition, by finding the actual position and removing the comb into a new home. Regards, RAB

mochasidamo

Joined: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 615
Location: Montgomery

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 10:37 am Post subject:
Surely the way most likely to work would be to set up a bait hive to catch a swarm. The lure here is £6 for two vials on ebay. If it's a strong colony then swarm they probably will? Knocking down your house sounds awful. Trisha

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 11:52 am Post subject:
Bait hives will catch any swarms from them but not the colony itself - that will need human interaction - You really need to take down the wall by hand and take the bees out and rehome them that way - Are there no Italian Beekeepers about willing to help?

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 11:53 am Post subject:
Any chance of delaying the demolition?

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 12:10 pm Post subject:

I agree with both of the above.
But with reservations.
Removing them at demolition is a job for an experienced beekeeper not a beginner. Depending on their temper & how accessible the comb is they could get into a right state & take out their frustration on those around them ie you.
If the house has to be demolished then this will have to be done anyway, but I would recommend you contact someone who has done this type of work before.
Setting up bait hives to catch swarms will work.
Any wooden container about the right size (30-40litres) with some old beeswax & a couple of drops of lemon grass oil inside will do, I wouldn't bother with pheromone attractants.
You can make purpose built bait hives which will make the transfer from trap to new home easier but you are still left with the dilemma of moving the bees left in the wall.
If you want to pay for my flight & put me up I'll do it for you.
But it would be cheaper to find a local beekeeper, but of course he will want to keep the bees at the least.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 12:24 pm Post subject:
Lemon grass oil, Tav?

Duckhead

Joined: 24 Oct 2009
Posts: 2069
Location: Up the hill, Italy

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 1:08 pm Post subject:

vegplot wrote:

Any chance of delaying the demolition?

It's out of our hands, we've been "earthquaked" and need to knock it down before it falls on it's own

Duckhead

Joined: 24 Oct 2009
Posts: 2069
Location: Up the hill, Italy

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 1:25 pm Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

If you want to pay for my flight & put me up I'll do it for you.
But it would be cheaper to find a local beekeeper, but of course he will want to keep the bees at the least.

If I could put you up I would probably consider it, really. Thing is you really wouldn't want to share the camper van with us and the dogs !! Keeping the bees for ourselves was a bit of a dream scenario to be honest, main thing is to get them to move before the house has to come down. I thought that I would ask on here first in case it turned out to be a doddle

I do know a beekeeper, he gives us honey in return for letting him get mistletoe but he is quite an old man. I am a bit worried now as I fear the builders may just kill them if it's dangerous. I'll have to find an expert. A the weather gets warmer will they become more or less docile, they are very lively at the moment. Cheers.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 1:32 pm Post subject:
they will probably just be the same - its the amount of brood in there thats the issue - Getting them out now before they've built up too much will mean that they've got time to build up the colony over the summer

SandraR

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 2346
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 2:33 pm Post subject:
This is the bait box my son has been building to 'dot' around different places https://annie-ayearinthelifeof.blogspot.com/2010/04/bait-box.html The inside is smeared with melted old wax and lemon grass oil as Tavascarow mentioned.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 10 3:25 pm Post subject:

sfolati wrote:

Tavascarow wrote:

If you want to pay for my flight & put me up I'll do it for you.
But it would be cheaper to find a local beekeeper, but of course he will want to keep the bees at the least.

To be honest I'd be more worried for your builders than for the bees IYKWIM.
Happy to bring my tent, just can't afford the ticket.
& cycling to Italy would be great if I didn't have to cycle through France first & didn't only speak one language badly.
I would build two or three bait hives like GSHPs.
Sooner the better as it's already swarming season where you are.
You can use top bars instead of frames then easy to transfer to a TB hive.
Out of curiosity what's the wall made of?

Chez wrote:

Lemon grass oil, Tav?

Known attractant to apis melifera.
Just a couple of drops, you don't want to much or it puts them off.
Or you can mix olive oil with some old beeswax & propolis & lemongrass oil, heated in a double boiler to melt & mix & paint the inside with it. Not tried it but I know those that have, with success.

mochasidamo

Joined: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 615
Location: Montgomery

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 10 10:47 pm Post subject:
Tav, the rationale behind pheromone is that access to old comb is not the easiest thing for a non-beekeeper, and also there is a risk of disease transfer. So we have pheromone...by next year things will be different .

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 10 11:44 pm Post subject:

gekkko wrote:

Tav, the rationale behind pheromone is that access to old comb is not the easiest thing for a non-beekeeper, and also there is a risk of disease transfer. So we have pheromone...by next year things will be different

I agree about getting hold of old wax if your just starting & also about the risk of disease.
I get around that by putting all my old comb wrapped & weighted in hessian in a big pan of water over the range in the winter.
I know boiling it will loose some of it's aroma but it also kills any disease.
A lot quicker than a solar extractor as well.
The remaining crud I use for fire lighting when it's dried out.

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