New to Beekeeping

[Goat Shaman]

I have a squirrel nest box that bees have taken over last year, and they're still there. They're totally welcome, but I'd like them to move to this bee box I bought. I'm pretty sure I don't know what I'm doing, so please watch the video I made about it, and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong:

(still uploading as of this typing).

 

[sylviethecochin]

Welp, I won't pretend to be an expert beekeeper. I've finally just had two hives make it through the winter without being robbed to death by wasps, or just plain failing to thrive in PA weather (teach me to order bees from Cali). But here is what I would do if you're planning on actually keeping bees:

First, get:
a 9 5/8 deep "brooder box" OR an empty super (w or w/o frames for now. You'll want the frames eventually, but right now, you just want the box. Personally, I'd get the supers, same size as you already have; a deep full of honey can weigh 110 lb, and this way, you don't have to worry about getting different sizes of frames.)

a lid (you don't want an open top, but a small, defendable entrance. A swarm of wasps could easily pop their way in and eat all the honey and brood.)

an inner cover (this goes under the lid. It has a couple purposes. The bees will "glue" (propolis) all of the cracks in their hive, and t's a lot easier to pry a glued-down board off a hive than it is to pry off the lid. It makes a dead air space for insulation, the better kind has a small gap for ventilation, and it makes enough space to keep the lid from smushing any bees that happen to be on top of the frames when you put it down.)

a bottom board (that's your bee-controlled entrance, the screened bottom boards are better for varroa mite control, but they're also more expensive)

You can make all of these things at home, if you have some basic woodworking knowledge. Except, possibly, the frames. Dadant offers free shipping over $100 purchase; Mountain Sweet Honey offers free shipping over $125 (unless you order bulk amounts, or stuff already assembled) Mountain Sweet Honey is the cheapest site I've found.

You should also get a smoker,

a veil (these have a bunch of different options; I got the bag-like one without an attached jacket, and I had to get my own hat for it. If I was ordering another, I'd get one with a frame, like the one the guy below has.)

a feeder (lots of options here. People have written articles longer than this answer about the different types of feeder. The cheapest is a Mason jar with a metal lid that has holes punched in, turned upside-down. There are also entrance feeders, some people use quail waterers, etc. The key thing to remember is that the feeder should only be accessible from inside the hive, so it doesn't attract robbers. You also don't want a feeder that'll drown your bees.

and a hive tool. Much more useful than they look.

And a ladder. Those bees almost certainly won't move on their own, and not to the setup as you have it. Bees prefer to be up in the air, and with a small entrance. (though I did once see a tiny colony that had chosen a window, of all places. Completely exposed from two sides.)


Take your bottom board and put the super with frames on it. Put the deep or the super on top of that. Take your smoker, and ladder, and go fetch that squirrel box. Do it in the late morning when the older, angrier bees are out foraging. DO NOT BOTHER THE BEES LATE EVENING. Bees are not at their best at the end of a long day, and they can smell CO2. That's how they find your face. This is not a gentle swarm that's willing to be handled; these are bees with a home and a family at risk.

Approach from behind, wearing all the protective gear you can grab. Face veil, gloves, heavy jacket, heavy overalls--you don't like being stung, and these guys aren't used to being handled. Smoke the entrance twice (I wouldn't go much more than that; it is a tiny hive) and then hand off the smoker. Or stick it in that convenient branch right beside the hive.

Now detach the squirrel box. The bees will not like this part. I hope for your sake that it's held on by a single nail.

Take your box of angry bees and haul it down to ground level. Open the squirrel box lid and put it in the deep or super. Put on the inner cover and lid and leave it alone.

Over the following weeks:
Feed constantly (fed bees build up faster and are more amenable to being handled).
Check for the bees building comb in your frames. If they try building it elsewhere, remove the comb, and attach it to a frame, where it's supposed to be. You can wire it in place.
Check for eggs and grubs in the new comb. If there are eggs and grubs, then the queen has moved out of the squirrel box. Hallelujah!
Wait three weeks after the queen has moved (so that all of the eggs and grubs in the squirrel box have emerged as bees) and then remove the squirrel box completely. Smoke gently, then invert the squirrel box over a container and shake (and probably tap) the bees out. The older forager bees will fly back to the hive, but you'll have to return any younger nurse bees manually.

Retrieve the comb and honey from the squirrel box. With such a small hive, I would try and wire that comb into frames and put it in the hive, so that the bees don't have to replace the comb. But if that's not possible, just crush the comb and put it inside the empty super. The bees'll clean it up, and then you should remove the crushed wax.

Done. Put your squirrel box back where it belongs.

 

[Field Bee]

Contact a local bee club and tell them your situation, you need a beekeeper to help you out. The combs need to be cut from the squirrel box and rubber banded into frames.

 

[Goat Shaman]

Thanks for all the advice! Sounds like a lot of work but will give it a try.

 

[Legamin]

I have a squirrel nest box that bees have taken over last year, and they're still there. They're totally welcome, but I'd like them to move to this bee box I bought. I'm pretty sure I don't know what I'm doing, so please watch the video I made about it, and tell me if I'm doing anything wrong:

(still uploading as of this typing).

Being a rank newbie who just brought home my first two complete hives…I notice that the hive box you have set out is not complete. The top and the bottom base with limited access (‘Bees only’ club sign) will bee essential. As for moving the queen it is my understanding that you (someone) will have to go up and bring the box down and move the queen physically into the box. You will need a special queen trap that the workers can bring nutrition in to her but she is limited to the trap for a couple days or week until she accepts it as her new home. If for some reason this is not possible you can buy a queen and learn how to introduce her to draw the other bees to the new box…but you will have to get the squirrel box and bring it to the new bee hive. Most likely the bees that are on and around it now are simply robber bees coming and absconding with the nectar that you put on the frames and flying it right back up to the squirrel box….but as mentioned…I’m a RANK BEGINNER with freshly minted BEGINNER CREDENTIALS tattooed on my forehead….(at least that is what it seems like every time I talk to someone who is ACTUALLY and experienced beekeeper)…. So just a few thoughts…hope you have a bee suit and a tall ladder!