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Bees & Beekeeping

Force bees to swarm/leave hive

13 years ago

I have a neighbor with a colony of bees in his roof, about 40 feet up with a VERY steep roof. He says they have been up there about 2 years. Is there anything that can be used to make the bees leave the colony and not kill them? I have a hive ready to put them in if I can force them to leave. I can remove part of the roof and get to the comb after they leave so I can try to save some of the brood. I have limited experience with collecting a swarm but I would be able to get them. Any advice would be helpful. tannerc@wwdb.org

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Comment (1)

Konrad___far_north
13 years ago
I would live them alone.
There is a great chance that you can get offspring's from this colony when you put up your box as a bait when they swarm....most likely they will and looking for a new home. You can take out some comb, on on the ends only, this will ensure you have no brood and or damage the queen, [queen is always around the brood] place it in yours for bait and put it up somewhere high but not close to this hive. Scout bees will search for new home first.
It's very difficult to hive a cut out, most likely you'll loose or kill the queen and then it's game over. A cut out needs to be 100% cleaned out and sealed, the smell of wax will lure bees there for many years and will establish a new colony if not sealed 100%. Think it over, a roof is a risky business, ...think safety first. You can always come back after bees moved into your box, experiment if you feel up to.
Not sure your area and when swarm season is....it's always good to
keep some boxes up all summer, ...I had many go in, I love swarm bees, they work twice as hard to establish a new colony, it's simply unreal how fast they can pack a full super of honey...so much fun!
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