Active bee colony contained by big plastic trashcan 2 yrs--now indigestible near honey.How can I salvage honey & fix bees? Old idle trash container beside house attracted swarm 2 yrs ago. I...
Old idle trash container beside house attracted swarm 2 yrs ago. I slid it to rear of backyard & provided a sturdy double loose cover on top for rainfall shelter. Now the container is distended with honey. I'd like to garner honey & move the bees into a formal standard wood hive. Can't find beekeepers around here interested. I've had distant past experience keeping bees, but I'm rusty on the procedures. At the time I have a more commercial beekeper friend who always did the extracting.
Suit up and start digging.
Call around to a small beeskeeper and maybe they could help. Big guys don't want oto minister to anyone. Instead of Zippo fluid --- get a smoker for bees. Gently smoke the little fellows. You will probably call for to get an assistant to help and you will probably find stung, but reach in an lug out as much as possible... In other words take the hive and gently put it within the wooden bee hive. Make sure all you can get out is put into the standard beehive and the trash can is vacant, sealed off and removed from the property. You might even be capable of rob a little honey while you are there, but your first objective should be to get them going into the wooden beehive---you can always rob the little fellow a little later contained by the year or even next year if need be. I grew up near many stands of bees and I can tell you from experience that the best item to do is focus on getting the little fellows moved and then robbing them at a subsequently date and time... Think of it like this -- if you were robbed you would want the robbers to drop the majority of your loot within your own back yard -- not bring it with them... Bees will more readily go to a standard beehive if the beehive possesses the majority of their belongings... Hope you get hold of the little guys to move into their new home easily.
I basically get a load of Zippo lighter fuel (5-10 can of it) and douse the bee's hive.
Then light a piece of paper and throw it on. They pop, one by one, its so funny!
As for positive the honey? Sorry, I dunno.
Answers: Put your hive box with wax frames on top. With time they will move up surrounded by it. Once they are in it with the queen you can move the ancient away smoke them out and they will fly back to the box. You could use "be go" too. This will take time.