# I want to keep colony in my soffit until spring...



## JWK (Apr 8, 2006)

I'm getting into beekeeping by circumstance. This is a long story, but the very condensed version is that we've had swarms come to our soffit in one place 3-5 times a year for the past four years. Of course that's because of the first colony that set up house four years ago. 

Anyway, a swarm came this summer and set up house in a new place a few floor joists down from the typical spot. This was complicated by a yellow jacket colony setting up house right next to the honey bees.

A beekeeper friend of mine graciously loaned me a bee suit until I can order my own.

I got the yellow jacket colony out. That was not fun. I did fine for the initial clean-out. I got the soffit removed and luckily their colony was just before the honey bee colony. I pulled out the paper-like comb and vacuumed up most of the yellow jackets as they swarmed around the area. Didn't get stung once. I had long johns on and sweat pants over that with a hooded bee jacket. Worked great. Anyway, that night I went out to vacuum up the stragglers. Hmmm, there weren't as many as I thought. Oh, well. Took care of them and then went into the house. I started yelling and ripping my pants off as fast as I could. Got stung five times on one leg. After all this went back out to figure out what happened. Why I got stung and why there weren't as many stragglers were both answered. I had unknowingly left a few pieces of comb on the ground (I have a fairly thick ivy-like ground cover growing here and didn't see them). These pieces were smaller than a fist but just crawling with yellow jackets. Of course while I was out there looking up at where the nest used to be and wondering where the rest of them were, I was standing right in where the comb pieces were. I'm lucky I only got five stings.


OK, so then I get to the honey bee colony this morning while it was nice and cool (downright chilly for you southerners). I got the soffit off and found the bees right away. I was glad to see they had set up original house right at the end of the overhang. BUT, they have started to build another section of comb into the house area under our main floor. This is still easily accessable, but I will need to cut out this new comb and seal off that area. Now once that is sealed off, the bees will have a space that is about 16" wide and 20 to 22 inches long by about 8 inches deep. I will need to cover this and leave an entrance/exit slot for them.

1. Is this enough space for them to last the winter?
2. How wide should the opening be for the entrance/exit?
3. The colony is now completely exposed underneath. How much time (if any) do I have to get them covered up? Night time temps are now down in the 40s. I can tack some cardboard up there temporarily, but I plan on screwing in a fitted piece of plywood.

I hope the beekeepers here can help me out with info and advice.

If all goes well I will be ready by spring to cut them out and move them to my own hive.

I just joined the Beemaster's International Forum a couple of weeks ago and posted the same thing over there.

Thanks!


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

So ya posted the question some place else a couple weeks ago. Why ya posting here now? Not getting the answer you want there?


Remove them and marry them to one of your bee keeing friends hives. they have a chance of making it thru the winter that way.


 Al


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

Either that or just leave them bee and see what happens. Put a proper bottom on them and an entrance/exit. If they make it, box them up next year. If they don't, you have a lure for your next swarm in the spring. Definitely keep them from coming into the house though! LOL...


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## JWK (Apr 8, 2006)

alleyyooper said:


> So ya posted the question some place else a couple weeks ago. Why ya posting here now? Not getting the answer you want there?
> 
> 
> Remove them and marry them to one of your bee keeing friends hives. they have a chance of making it thru the winter that way.
> ...


Thanks for the warm welcome. 

I said I joined IBK a couple of weeks ago. I posted this question over there and here yesterday. I'm just a newbie in bees looking for info.

I've been on the internet for 17 years and have never been involved in any flame war, battle, insult contest, etc. Never. That's because when I run into someone like you who attacks with accusatory, insulting questions, I walk away. This has nothing to do with me. This is you and you will be here so I will leave and not post. Really simple. Other people in other places will help and in fact HAVE helped. Oh, and you can throw in all the  that you want. Given the content of your post it means nothing and fools no one.



AverageJo said:


> Either that or just leave them bee and see what happens. Put a proper bottom on them and an entrance/exit. If they make it, box them up next year. If they don't, you have a lure for your next swarm in the spring. Definitely keep them from coming into the house though! LOL...


That's what I'm going to do. I've got a temporary cardboard tacked in place with the proper entrance/exit. I probably don't need it, but it's supposed to get down close to the 30s tonight. It only took me 15 minutes to do it and it will definately keep them warmer and might save them from eating some extra honey. Tomorrow I'll cut a fitted piece of plywood and screw it in place. I'll do as much reading as I can over the winter and gather my equipment. Like you said, worst case scenario is that they don't make it, but I guarantee I'll have a swarm by June showing up. We've had 3 or 4 a year for the past four years.

And yes, I will definately have the areas they get into sealed up this fall. I was pretty ignorant about bees and didn't realize why they keep coming back. So now I know. I've got all the soffit ripped off and will close off the floor joist areas. All they can do now is show up. Hopefully I will be able to provide the preferred housing.


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

I'm really sorry about how you and Al got off on the wrong foot. Truly, he's normally not that abrupt with his answers, nor does he tend to "flame, battle, insult, contest, etc." I've gotten some really good, sage advice from Al. Go back and read some of his other posts and you can verify what I say. Perhaps he's just had a bad day or didn't have time to be more verbose in his answer? Out of all the forums here on HT, the bee forum is and has been very helpful and pleasant to one another. Granted, we don't always agree on everything, but we respect each other's opinions. Give us another try, or at least lurk here. Oh, and the smiley face is in his signature. It's on all his posts. It's not meant to be sarcastic.

Now back to your thread... I'm wondering if you could place a bait hive near these sofits that keep getting bees. Cut the comb out of the sofit and put it in frames with either wire or rubber bands. Put them in a hive that is nearby, like right under the same sofits. Hopefully the scout bees would find the hive and choose there instead of the sofits. But if you're looking at catching swarms in your sofits, I guess that works, too. If the sofit area is small, and that's where your swarms seem to like being, I'd make the hive about the same size, perhaps a single honey super. As they settle in and the queen starts laying, then put a hive body on top of it. If she's comfortable and laying, chances are that she will not swarm to another smaller place. Just an idea to toss around.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Al is a very good keep ,, you have to remember some of us have had real bad times on other sites ,, so there may be some bad feelings about other sites ,, I know myself ,, a few of the sites ,, if you ask something they tell you to do a scearch , because that has been asked befor ,, so any thing you want to ask they say to search first then ask only if you do not find it in search .. here they do not mind you asking something ,, but if it was asked 3 days befor then maybe they will ask that you look ,, ,,, this is my site that I learn at ,,, the site I realy liked closed a few years ago ,, that was were I run into Al ,, and I know if I ask some thing ,, Al will give me his out look of getting me on the right track ,, He is not the only one that will speak up ,, or knows whats what with the girls ( bees to you new comers to bee keeping ,, remember ,,, here girls are not the 2 legged girls ,,, we will be talking about the 6 legged ones ))) so when we are around others and my wife is standing next to me and they ask what I have been up to ,, and I say I have been watching the girls ,, they wounder why my wife does not hit me with any thing she can get her hands on .... they sure do give us some funny looks ..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Thanks for sticking up for me, but I don't think I had the responce I got coming.
Here is part of why.

*"A beekeeper friend of mine graciously loaned me a bee suit until I can order my own."*

_All my bee keeping friends would have told me that the bees would need twice that space to make thru a winter in the northern states._ I could have still lived with just the answer I gave to marry them to one his friends colony at that point.

Then he posted this.
*"I just joined the Beemaster's International Forum a couple of weeks ago and posted the same thing over there."*

It does say he joined bee masters a couiple weeks ago and posted the same question over there. I read it he posted the question on that site a coupe weeks ago and why do we need that information any way. It has nothing to do with the problem at all. Way I read it is there is a bee forum called bee master international so come join.

So that is why I asked the questions didn't he get the answer he wanted.

 Al


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

OK, I guess I get your drift here, too. 
1) I didn't look to see where he was from. Yes, if he's up here in the north, that sofit space wouldn't be enough room to keep the bees warm enough through winter. And if it's a local beekeeper, he should have also given him the advice to marry up the swarm with another hive to beef up their numbers instead of just letting him borrow the bee suit. So... question is, what did his local beekeeper advise him to do??
2) I read his comment as if he didn't get ANY information from the Beemasters International group and was asking here to get info. Guess I'm also curious as to what advice he got from that group. I'm not likely to join it as I get great info here and it's a friendly enough bunch o' folks ready to help.
Thanks for clarifying your answers. Hopefully we'll all get back on an even, helpful keel again.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Don't know why location would mean that there wouldn't be room for the bees in a soffit. I can find a half dozen houses in this block with 3' soffits. Depending upon the roof pitch, one section can be a rather large area. There also would be heat from the house as added warmth. 

Martin


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

He listed size as 16x20/22x8 about the size of a single deep. His house would need to leak a lot of heat in mid winter to keep them warm but I have found that when to warm the bees are more active and eat more.

 Al


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Actually, re-reading the OP's original thread, I find more in the bees' favor. From building days, I automatically think of soffit as associated with roofs. This case is open floor joists. It would be easy to build a larger temporary hive around them unless neat appearance is a must. Then there would be the option of feeding during the winter or letting nature decide if they make it through the winter. 

Martin


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