We've started to trap swarms (even if in accessible areas like this), by placing a beehive with wax in it VERY CLOSE to the ball of bees. They almost 100% will move into the box, because it's a hospitable place for them to live.
The other option is to try to find the queen and place her in a hive, or many beekeepers will knock the whole ball into a box, or vacuum them out of the tree.
Knocking them out of the tree = MAD BEES, and you hope the queen is in the box. Only 50/50 for us, and mad bees.
Finding the queen = PITA.
Vacuum = dead bees and mad bees.
This is the least intrusive option we have found, but takes time... (and a ladder). #beekeeping#swarm#capture
All the other options today (high wind, very cold ) = likely dead bees. So, we have left them a home, maybe they will crawl in today (or I think they'll move in tomorrow around noon). #beekeeping
@ai6yr More please. Love hearing about your apiary adventures and cool attempt to get them into cozy new digs. That hive looks ready to move in and has a 4.9 Yelp rating lol
@cvvhrn LOL it's in the front yard of a local ER nurse, my son swung by (on duty right now, but it's in their current coverage area) and called me for the box, LOL. Neighbors trying to figure out what was going on with the ambulance, ha ha ha.
@jonny Probably move these out to a ranch out here in the agricultural areas... It's not the biggest I have seen, but it is definitely on the larger side -- I'd guess 6 or more frames. There's a lot of avocado and other farmers around here desperate for bees, they can't get them nowadays usually (not a lot of beekeepers, and they overlap with almond farming, which needs almost every commercial beehive available in the country all at once and pays $$$).
@ai6yr i have heard of this bee shortage, glad u can hand some off to the other farmers. what makes them be all out in the open like that, did they lose their hive!?
@jonny It's swarming season in Southern California; the flowers are just starting to bloom, and it's getting warm, which signals to beehives to send out swarms to expand (the other possibility is their hive was attacked by ants, which is not unusual, either). It is definitely swarming season.
@jonny LOL yes, probably why those swarms end up in my backyard frequently. (we catch and then move them!) -- much better than trying to set up a hive in somebody's attic and then having those people call a pest control company and everyone dying of toxic pesticides... this is a LOT better for them and us.
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