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LivingBEES, Live Bee Removal Estimate

02
Feb 12
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This is a question that comes up from time to time and here is a typical reply that I have given...

The bees cannot* be removed without gaining physical access to them, and 'making them swarm' (even if you could) would not get rid of them only reduce their numbers transiently. They will swarm anyway most years, between May-July. Swarms are not so much dangerous as dramatic.

You have three choices:

 

  1. Remove the floor/ceiling and get a good beekeeper to assist. The amount of hassle does not justify the gain of bees so expect to be charged.
  2. Live with them they will make good neighbours, so long as the entrance is +2m above ground and the floor and ceiling are good i.e. they cannot bleed into the house. They are not likely to be aggressive if undisturbed by significant vibration and they will keep all their honey well sealed so you will not get natural leakage. 
  3. Kill them; that would be a shame. 

Do not expect them to survive for many years as the Varroa parasite will build up and eventually they will die out.

*Not entirely true: There is a complex way of removing them over time by installing an external hive over the entrances with another queen within it. Gradually (months) the internal hive population will favour the external hive and the internal one will dwindle to nothing. This is not an easy task for all sorts of reason not the least the position of the entrances and lack of beekeeping experience. It is by no means a normal task for the average beekeeper and most will not even know about it.

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Brian Romberg livingbees
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