# wild bees



## shorty'smom (Feb 17, 2005)

There is a wild hive of bees in one of our large old pecan trees. We don't want to injure the tree. Is there a way to convince these bees to move into our hives? I've never kept bees, but want to.


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## Bouncenhumble (Jan 12, 2004)

The chances of you enticing them out depends on a few things, but your chances of getting them out are VERY low. If they have a LOT of room, you will probbly not even get a sworm.(altho there are some really dumb hives*grin*) If the cavity is rather small, and you can keep a constant eye on it, I would watch it till it swarms and get the swarm.


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## Oregonsparkie (Sep 3, 2003)

Getting them out by your self will be a problem. I recommend calling a local beekeeper and see what they can do. It will cost you though. There are several technics that could be sucessful but a long tube on the end of a smoker would be my first thing to try. You just need some way to keep them from going back inside after you get them out.


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## shorty'smom (Feb 17, 2005)

Oregonsparkie said:


> Getting them out by your self will be a problem. I recommend calling a local beekeeper and see what they can do. It will cost you though. There are several technics that could be sucessful but a long tube on the end of a smoker would be my first thing to try. You just need some way to keep them from going back inside after you get them out.


Hmmm. I think I might just have to buy bees. The entrance hole is little. I don't know about any other holes there may be higher up. The hole they go into and out of is just 2 or 3 inches big and about 14 feet off the ground. The tree itself is has a circumferance of maybe 4 feet. They have a high enough hole to stay high and dry, if the nest is up there. The land floods where that tree is, sometimes 6 to 8 feet deep. I guess I'll just let them be. Will they bother my tame bees when I get some? Last year these bees were thick in my sweet corn patch. There is a field of alfalfa nearby too.


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## Oregonsparkie (Sep 3, 2003)

I dont think the feral bees(wild ones) will bother any hives you start. Generally robbing between hives is the biggest problem. Other bees like yellow jackets and especially hornets can cause problems though. 2 - 3 inches is still big enough to snake a small hose into if you could get it to the bottom of the hole in the tree. They make a cone that would go over the entrance and would allow the bees to exit but not re-enter the hole but it would take along time to get all the bees and especially the queen... If you can get her the rest ofthe bees will usually follow.. She emits a pheromone that they are attracted to. You could kill the bees but I dont really recommend doing this unless there is a really good reason.


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## shorty'smom (Feb 17, 2005)

Oregonsparkie said:


> I dont think the feral bees(wild ones) will bother any hives you start. Generally robbing between hives is the biggest problem. Other bees like yellow jackets and especially hornets can cause problems though. 2 - 3 inches is still big enough to snake a small hose into if you could get it to the bottom of the hole in the tree. They make a cone that would go over the entrance and would allow the bees to exit but not re-enter the hole but it would take along time to get all the bees and especially the queen... If you can get her the rest ofthe bees will usually follow.. She emits a pheromone that they are attracted to. You could kill the bees but I dont really recommend doing this unless there is a really good reason.


Naw, the tree is just fine and nobody is going to bother it. Healthy, wild bees are too important to the ecosystem to risk killing them just so I can have a little honey. I'll just add some bees to the vicinity.

How would I know if these bees are stealing my bees' honey?

Oh man, do we have yellowjackets and red wasps too. Not to mention mud daubers. But don't mud daubers eat spiders?


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## Oregonsparkie (Sep 3, 2003)

Robbing can be a big problem for the beekeeper. I can only suggest that you watch your hives to see if there seems to be fighting between the bees at the entrance. Guard bees should defend against invaders. If it looks like they might be fighting then watch the bees that are leaving and see what direction they are going. If it looks like they are going to the tree then put on an entrance reducer for a few days.


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