Bees under floor in gym shed

I got a call from a person in Oxnard who had bees in a Gym he made in a shed in the back of his garden.

I moved some gym equipment, pulled up the carpet, Removed some screws and gained access underneath the floor board

Once i opened the board....

In their new home, at the former entrance

I picked them up this night at 8pm when it was dark. I hope they like their new place.

plastic frames in a hive not accepted

I was called by a great couple in Ojai who had bees in their backyard, which were acting "weird". They wanted me to come out and take a look. When I arrived I suited up only to find out the bees had absconded. Another beekeeper had advised the couple to use plastic foundation. In the photo's you can see for yourself how the bees "accepted" the plastic:

It's clear: they didn't!

Attic bees

Lot's of times people call me with the phrase "I have bees in my attic" Up to now, it always turned out bees were in a double wall or behind the insulation. this time however... [CLICK ON PICTURES FOR LARGE SIZE VIEW]

A nice home in Thousand Oaks. Bees are entering underneath the eave

closeup

entrance to attic

furnace in attic

There i a lot of glass wool up here

the way to move is crawl though these wooden structures

You can only stand on the wooden rafters. If I would put my weight on the drywall, I would poke a hole in the ceiling

That is the corner i need to go to

almost there

The colony and the comb

Meanwhile, outside the bees were piling up. Before I went in, i clogged up the entrance. Unfortunately the angle of the outside roof is 45 degrees, the lower roof id probably at 15 degrees. leaving 30 degrees angle for me to crawl in. No matter how I tried, i couldn't get to the edge where the comb is to get it out. I have to rethink my strategy and do it another way. Preferably on a day with less heat...

bees in straw building ojai foundation

I removed bees from the welcome center of the ojai foundation It's a very nice building with straw on the outside. Together with "Z" (a Tai Chi master and former world champion) we made a hatch in the side of the building. Unfortunately my camera had an empty battery, so i only took these pictures with my phone.

Will take more pictures when i go and fetch the bees

bee rescue from underneath chicken cage

I was asked to remove some bees from a neighbor who had bees underneath an unused chicken coup.
[click on pictures for larger version]

I first removed the wooden coop from the stands, so the the stands became visible. One of these contained the hive

Bees and comb visible through one of the holes

The neighbor was very interested in the bees and took some pictures & did a lot of the actual work (with some coaching from me)

Inside the stand.Nice bunch of bees

Here all the comb is attached in the frames. We shook the bees on the frames so that they would crawl in.

Some of the bees walked onto the side of the chicken coop (which was used as working table)

Bees on the frames. They weren't immediately going in the box. I put the lid 3/4 on and returned a couple of hours later. By that time they had all gone in and i closed the lid.

yard inspection camarillo

I inspected one of my yard in camarillo (santa rosa road area) yesterday. From 7 hives, one was empty. Need to add more boxes though real quick. They have been busy!

bee hive removal from wall

A few days ago i got a call that a swarm had moved into a double wall at a facility where cilantro/cabbage is being distributed in Oxnard. Since i didn't have any boxes available, it took me a few days to get to them.

The wall (next to restroom entrance) where the bees are going in.

shield removed exposing the bees

closeup

Bees in the box, ladies are fanning to let the others know something is in the box.