Honeybees in family room ceiling. Fun Times!!

Friend called - had honeybees going in his house between the 1st and 2nd floors. I expected that they were in the ceiling joists. Sure enough - we used a scope in the ceiling to find them, cut out the dry wall and removed all of the comb and the honeybees.

[@RogueCylon]

Allergic to bees and he becomes a beekeeper. Makes sense.

[@applesoup1396]

That was awesome.good job.

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

Thanks Ben - it was fun working with you on this.

[@Beckelbay]

oops.. asked too quickly... I see you mentioned a "bee vacuum" and released them. so cool.

[@emiliac64]

Was that honey safe to eat since it was in an attic ?

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

Absolutely. I gave Ben (the boy that lived there) some honeycomb filled with honey and he tried it, and loved it. We took a little bit home and crushed it and separated it from the wax and ate it. It was excellent!

[@Beckelbay]

Amazing. Were the vacuumed bees killed? Or were you able to open the vacuum and release them outside? Would they stay with the new hive you are preparing with their brood and honey? I'm not a beekeeper but I find this fascination. Thank you.

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

If you watch the video to the end, you will see me take the vaccuum container (a wired breathable cage) and shake them into a hive box. When I did that, I actually saw the queen fly away (if you watch the video, you can see her fly off of my hand (I was trying to get her back in the box before I closed it). A later video that I posted, I find proof that she returned to her new home. The transfer was late in the year and so the bees are at high risk (not a large enough group to make enough heat to survive the winter). It will be close, but the homeowner was going to spray them dead, so no loss in the attempt, except the four hours I invested to save them...

[@CoffeeCowsNCurls]

Wow, that's crazy! You needed a few extra hands to get the rubberbands around d the comb.. were you able to block the hole at the house? And how much honey did you end up getting from the little you collected?

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

I know, right? The brood comb was firm enough and light enough that it wasn't too much problem. The honey loaded comb was sooooo heavy and soft that it was hard to not crush it and sometimes the rubber bands would tear through it. It was actually a pretty small colony (I was surprised) maybe 4-5,000 bees at most. I would be surprised if there was even 10 lbs of honey that i collected, and probably about 10 pounds of honey that I left in the hive box. They would have really struggled to survive the winter, even in the warmth of the house.

[@bryansloesshillshomestead4523]

I have a guy that has a house that he is going to remodel. He says there is bees in the walls inside. Hope I get the chance to get them in the spring.

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

I have to say, that extraction was the most fun I have had in beekeeping over the four years I have been doing it. I like catching swarms and growing bees more than I like growing honey. My wife likes the honey part, so we make a good team. Hopefully you will get the chance to do it.

[@dwohio6398]

Optical scope?

[@BrookHillHoneyMrGsHoneybees]

Yes. It ties into an app on your phone and connects to the tool. Allows you to make videos or pictures.