Hive-cutout tips

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Gary Baisa

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May 31, 2024, 12:38:34 PMMay 31
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Hi Team,

I will be performing my first cut-out this weekend. This hive is on the property where i keep my bees. For the record these are not my bees! There is a commercial beekeeper down the road and im assuming they are his. . They are located in an outer wall of a barn. The wall is finished on the inside, meaning there is some sort of paneling on the inside. Any tips on how to go about this cutout? Dos and don’ts? The owner of the barn will be doing all the cutting. See attach video is interested. Thanks. Gary

Video.MOV

Joseph Bessetti

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May 31, 2024, 1:41:03 PMMay 31
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Hi Gary,

My first assessment would be whether it will be easier to remove and then replace the outer wall or the inner wall, and whether the property owner has a preference.  Generally, I can do a removal like this without cutting anything.  Unless it's glued to studs, paneling comes off pretty easily and can usually be put right back up.  Old barn wood like that can be brittle and the nails difficult to remove without damaging the wood, but it's not impossible.  That said, if he's ok just cutting the outside boards to expose the combs this should be a really easy removal, since you can see the combs just behind the boards.  If you're cutting, make sure you don't cut any wires.  🙂

Look for the queen and cage her and put her in your box as soon as you find her.   A challenge with a colony like this that isn't well contained is that sometimes she and a bunch of bees will find a place to crawl off and hide while you're doing the removal.   Don't smoke them any more than you need to.  Work quickly at dismantling the combs and finding the queen to start out.  If you can set up box to place the combs (intact) as you remove them, rather than trying to cut and rubber band them one by one, then you can usually get into the brood combs fast and find the queen quickly before she has a chance to run off and hide somewhere. 

Plan to leave the box at least an overnight for all the bees to collect in it.  Get there early in the morning to close it up and transport it.  Plan to move it at least 2 miles away, at least temporarily, to prevent foragers from returning to the site of the cutout.  

I usually have a bucket for combs of honey and nectar and just wire or rubber band comb with brood into frames.  Feed them back what is in the bucket later or give the hive some frames of honey from another colony.   A small table or a couple saw-horses and piece of plywood is nice to have as a surface to work on. 

Have fun,

Joe


From: mad...@googlegroups.com <mad...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Gary Baisa <gary...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 31, 2024 11:37 AM
To: mad...@googlegroups.com <mad...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [madbees] Hive-cutout tips
 
Hi Team,

I will be performing my first cut-out this weekend. This hive is on the property where i keep my bees.  For the record these are not my bees!  There is a commercial beekeeper down the road and im assuming they are his. .  They are located in an outer wall of a barn.  The wall is finished on the inside, meaning there is some sort of paneling on the inside.  Any tips on how to go about this cutout?  Dos and don’ts?  The owner of the barn will be doing all the cutting.  See attach video is interested.  Thanks. Gary

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H S

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May 31, 2024, 2:46:14 PMMay 31
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Excellent advice Joe! Do what Joe said.

No reason to cut or destroy anything. Just Remove the outside boards, the battens need to be fixed to prevent reinfestation. The vertical boards (the wide ones) will not be nailed on, just the battens (the thin ones). And Joe is correct, the battens will be very brittle and need to be replaced with new ones.

Have a hose handy if possible because your hands or gloves will get covered in honey (constantly). Or at least have a 5 gal bucket of soapy water and another of fresh water, and an old bath towel - to wash and rinse off in.

I’d leave the new hive for a few days. 

And then move it twice if you need to. You said these are located where you keep your bees, Joe is right in that you need to move the new hive 2 miles or more. Otherwise hundred of the workers will continue to go back to this barn.
So move it miles away and then leave it there for a week or two (1st move). Then you can move it back with your other bees (that are close to this barn) (2nd move).

Adam

Gary Baisa

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Jun 1, 2024, 7:49:33 PMJun 1
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Thanks Joe and Adam for the information.  

The owner wants to remove the bee from the inside.  He doesn’t want to mess with the boards or battens.  The boards insanely long, like 30-40 ft long?  He will be doing all the cutting.  I will remind him of the electrical.  

Thanks again.  

Gary

Gary Baisa

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Jun 2, 2024, 5:44:52 PMJun 2
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The cut-out went as well as can be expected.  The colony is pretty big.  I did not find the queen.  Destroyed a lot of comb.  There were a ton of bees still inside the framing.  Does anyone have one of those bee vacuums?  If so and you are willing to lend it out, please let me know.  I can pick it up tonight or tomorrow any time.  

Gary
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On May 31, 2024, at 12:41 PM, Joseph Bessetti <jbes...@hotmail.com> wrote:



Joshua Schmidt

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Jun 2, 2024, 10:14:08 PMJun 2
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Gary,

I have a homemade one that you can borrow. Biggest thing is controlling temperature and ensuring they don’t overheat. 

The one I made is not perfect but does the job. 

You can also make one: 


Mine is modeled after this: 

You can see what mine looks like in the attachment. 

Let me know if you want me to leave it on the porch for you to pick up in Sun Prairie. 



Joshua M. Schmidt


IMG_7240.jpeg

Gary Baisa

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Jun 2, 2024, 10:25:09 PMJun 2
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This is what i was dealing with today. 

Video.mov

Jimmer

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Jun 2, 2024, 10:30:32 PMJun 2
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Looks like they just moved in…


On Jun 2, 2024, at 9:24 PM, Gary Baisa <gary...@gmail.com> wrote:

This is what i was dealing with today. 

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<Video.mov>

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On Jun 2, 2024, at 9:14 PM, Joshua Schmidt <jmoc.s...@gmail.com> wrote:



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Joseph Bessetti

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Jun 3, 2024, 11:56:23 AMJun 3
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There have been bees in there many times before, and there will likely be bees in there again.  You should probably install a door or window on that wall when you close it back up so that you can easily get in there and remove the next one!  LOL

Joe
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Subject: Re: [madbees] Hive-cutout tips
 
This is what i was dealing with today. 

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On Jun 2, 2024, at 9:14 PM, Joshua Schmidt <jmoc.s...@gmail.com> wrote:



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Jeff Steinhauer

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Jun 14, 2024, 11:05:24 AMJun 14
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I know that I'm jumping in here late, but I want to get clarification from the group.  

When a swarm or cutout is called in for our assistance, it doesn't matter where those bees came from, or who "owned" them previously.  They are no longer under the "care" of that individual, and thus are the property owner's were they are currently residing until the bees are removed.  At that point they become the property of the person who removed them.

stepping of soap box now.

Cheers,
Jeff Steinhauer

Greg V

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Jun 14, 2024, 12:29:32 PMJun 14
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That goes without saying - I lost a swarm and these bees are no longer mine.

If I call and ask someone to come catch my escaped bees - by default one to catch them is the new owner (unless we make other arrangements).
This has been clear all along.

Anyone have other opinions?
:)

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H. Adam Steinberg

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Jun 14, 2024, 1:55:40 PMJun 14
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All the work it takes to do a cut out… you deserve the bees. 
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Paul Zelenski

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Jun 14, 2024, 4:35:30 PMJun 14
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Yes, there have been arguments about this that have escalated to legal proceedings. It has been determined that a swarm is no longer the property of the hive they came from 

I think a cutout is usually discussed with the homeowner and it might involve ownership of the bees or other payment. 

The other reason people might mention whether or not a swarm came from their hives is so they don’t get blamed for it. If they take up residence in someone’s house and require a cutout the homeowner might be upset with the person who caused this hassle/expense. I’m not sure if there is any legal liability in that case. 

On Jun 14, 2024, at 12:55 PM, H. Adam Steinberg <h.adam.s...@gmail.com> wrote:

All the work it takes to do a cut out… you deserve the bees. 
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