moving bees... & hello
Hi!
Came here via lj spotlight & just in time really. I should have realised lj would have a beekeeping community... Silly me.
I have bees in my wall. I am planning on moving them into a new home this weekend, but if I have to wait a bit longer, it's not really going to worry me. They have been there 8 or 9 months, I think. I don't know a huge amount about bees, yet, but I want to keep them.
A bit of background - I am a nurse, but originally trained as a palaeoecologist, specifically palaeozoology, but with a healthy dose of botany & genetics. I am a scientist at heart & always will be. Hopefully I'm approaching the bee-relocation with the usual logic & practicality, looking at what is best for my bees & putting them into a better position within my permaculture landscape.
I've not been able to get anyone willing to help, or make sensible suggestions. So far, the general waffle is "insecticide", which is exactly the opposite of my plan...
I've done some research, but there's not a lot out there, that I can locate, about Safely Removing Bees From A Wall Cavity.
So, here are my thoughts so far... Yes, I am planning on removing the gyprock [inner wall], but since I can't get a look at the hive structure beforehand, I don't know if they've attached to the gyprock, or the studs [structure] or the [outer] brickwork. Which means, I don't know how much damage will be done to the comb when the gyprock is removed, or how much, if any, can be salvaged. The wall space is about 5 inches deep & from a little, careful listening, I think the hive is about 4 feet high x similarly wide. However, I do know, from having done the cabling myself [yah, qualified to do that too], that they've managed to pick the only wall in the entire house that has no cables running through it. Fortunately, they & I are electrically safe.
I'm thinking on tackling this in the evening / at night to get as many of them out as safely as possible. Catching them "at home" as it were.
I'll need to smoke & sedate them before this exercise.
I need to get a bee box / hive / home [friday = payday = bee house hunting] to put them in & I have many metres of soft netting to block off the rest of my house, so I don't lose too many. I can block the outside fairly well too, so as to not lose them that way.
I have a friend willing to "bee-sit" the hive at their place, 20km away, for a week or 2, so they don't try to come back into the wall immediately. When they come back, they'll be 35m away, at the other end of the yard. Hopefully that's far enough in distance & time.
I am prepared [mesh + sealant etc] to exclude them from accessing the wall spaces again.
And, yes, I have adequate protective clothing for myself.
What am I missing? What am I forgetting?
Suggestions for making this a safe move for my girls welcomed, please.
I'm hoping to salvage as much comb & save as many bees as possible. I can fix the wall later...
Came here via lj spotlight & just in time really. I should have realised lj would have a beekeeping community... Silly me.
I have bees in my wall. I am planning on moving them into a new home this weekend, but if I have to wait a bit longer, it's not really going to worry me. They have been there 8 or 9 months, I think. I don't know a huge amount about bees, yet, but I want to keep them.
A bit of background - I am a nurse, but originally trained as a palaeoecologist, specifically palaeozoology, but with a healthy dose of botany & genetics. I am a scientist at heart & always will be. Hopefully I'm approaching the bee-relocation with the usual logic & practicality, looking at what is best for my bees & putting them into a better position within my permaculture landscape.
I've not been able to get anyone willing to help, or make sensible suggestions. So far, the general waffle is "insecticide", which is exactly the opposite of my plan...
I've done some research, but there's not a lot out there, that I can locate, about Safely Removing Bees From A Wall Cavity.
So, here are my thoughts so far... Yes, I am planning on removing the gyprock [inner wall], but since I can't get a look at the hive structure beforehand, I don't know if they've attached to the gyprock, or the studs [structure] or the [outer] brickwork. Which means, I don't know how much damage will be done to the comb when the gyprock is removed, or how much, if any, can be salvaged. The wall space is about 5 inches deep & from a little, careful listening, I think the hive is about 4 feet high x similarly wide. However, I do know, from having done the cabling myself [yah, qualified to do that too], that they've managed to pick the only wall in the entire house that has no cables running through it. Fortunately, they & I are electrically safe.
I'm thinking on tackling this in the evening / at night to get as many of them out as safely as possible. Catching them "at home" as it were.
I'll need to smoke & sedate them before this exercise.
I need to get a bee box / hive / home [friday = payday = bee house hunting] to put them in & I have many metres of soft netting to block off the rest of my house, so I don't lose too many. I can block the outside fairly well too, so as to not lose them that way.
I have a friend willing to "bee-sit" the hive at their place, 20km away, for a week or 2, so they don't try to come back into the wall immediately. When they come back, they'll be 35m away, at the other end of the yard. Hopefully that's far enough in distance & time.
I am prepared [mesh + sealant etc] to exclude them from accessing the wall spaces again.
And, yes, I have adequate protective clothing for myself.
What am I missing? What am I forgetting?
Suggestions for making this a safe move for my girls welcomed, please.
I'm hoping to salvage as much comb & save as many bees as possible. I can fix the wall later...