Hive Extraction

Hive Removal Team, properly suited.

Hive extraction is sometimes called honey bee removal. Hive extraction as bad as it sounds is not like going to the Dentist and having a tooth pulled but to the bees it's worse! 

To the owner of the structure where the bees have relocated too and live, it can be an annoyance. The forever sound of buzzing bees twenty-four seven, stained sheet rock from the dripping honey and the possibility of being stung are many reasons for removal.

To the beekeeper it means lots and lots of honey and FREE BEES......right? Well, that is not always how it is but it can be. Saving the bees from sudden annihilation is my goal. We know that without the honey bees, pollination is decreased and with out pollination, no food to eat. We depend on the honey bee immensely for pollination whether we realize it or not.

Electric tools needed.

To the honey bee it means leaving a home suddenly, loosing your honey bounty, loosing your friends you've known all your life and possible death. But, the good news for the bees is that they are relocated to a new home where some of them and their future relatives can live on in an environment so they can reach their full God-given potential. What more could a honey bee ask for, right?

For successful hive extraction, there are several factors to consider. The time of year, the age and success rate of the hive and an existing queen and on and on it goes. It could mean where the hive has located itself and how difficult it can be to extract the hive. If it's 60 feet high as oppose to 10 feet high or walk up to height. Honey bees can relocate themselves via "the swarm" in any number of locations. They will settle though on the inside of a structure of some type to keep them warm and dry during summer and winter with room for expansion, usually near a water source and with ample places for nectar.

Recently, we suited up and ventured to remove one that was at the home of Kenny and Jeannie Johnson's recreational property at Logan Martin. At first inspection the hive looked to be approximately 2-years old and the bees were calm as far as bees go. There were no eggs or larvae present but ten queen cells had recently emerged as detected by opened cells. We used a reduced air-flow shop vacuum and removed 20,000 bees while looking for the all important queen. 

First inspection.

After some bee removal.

We used 5-5 gallons pals to place comb in the pals. Some contained honey comb, empty brood comb and comb with pollen. The hive was essentially deplete of brood except for a few scattered. We worked methodically while placing the honey comb in one pal, brood comb and and pollen in another. We were careful not to mix them up. Newer honey comb in one and older comb in another. Older comb is very tough and harder to crush when processing for honey extraction.

5-5 gallon pals used.

Approx., 20,000 honey bees retrieved.

Older comb is darker and the newer comb is lighter in color. The darker comb had honey closer to the top while the lighter had all honey. The queen cells were mostly on the bottom and the very sides of the hive. The hive started on one side of the structure and they methodically moved toward the other side. Their goal is to fill the space over time. It is estimated that they would have filled this space in 3 to 4 years.

Site setup includes an 8-frame medium hive with 2-frames of old drawn out comb, one rebuilt from the actual hive which included a pieces of honey, pollen and empty brood comb because it's scent is one they recognize and some new foundation for them to draw out new comb.

Rebuild using their comb.

Relocation site

Queen captured.

The best find of the day was the queen. Without the queen the hive dies. Honey bees on average live about 40 days. The queen lives up to 5 years but with increased usage of pesticides, fungicides and  other factors less than a year is expected now. We smoked the hive at the beginning in hopes of driving the queen further up into the hive and then once we felt like we had enough of the bees, we began looking seriously for the queen. I had ascended the ladder and for some reason looked on my sleeve and there she was so I immediately descended the ladder to get the queen cage and she flew up and over the house. I thought she was gone forever. Then, I moved the ladder to a new location and ascended again to take another look and happened to look on the very top of the ladder where the honey was and there she was, sitting eating honey ! This time I carefully picked her up and in she walked through the cage opening. My day was complete.

We packed up all our gear after 3 hours of removal and left for home. 

The next morning, I set up the new home and attached the queen in her cage so the bees can get accustom to their queen(for many reasons I won't go in to the why here), and then let her out the second day morning. They accepted her fine and the rest is history. 

This should be a great hive next year.

Honey extraction method used is the crush and strain which takes 5 days to complete.

It takes 5 days for the honey to be removed

Stay tuned, I'll post the results of the honey extraction later. More...