@JPthebeeman where was this info a month and a half ago when I did my first trap out. The cone was the hardest part of it! I did my first cut out a couple weeks before and it was like I've done it several times before because I've watched all your videos. Thanks for the info! I can't wait for the next one!
Awww YUSSSS! Log on to Das UA-cam, and a new JPthebeeman video is up! My weekend is off to a superb start. Nice new intro, Jeff! And thanks for showing all the different ways you take care of bees. As always, I enjoy your videos and seeing you at work.
To make it close to impossible for the bees to get bsck inside, but still easy to go out. This make them look for a new place to enter and that beebox looks like a fiiine alternstive.
Very informative video. I've seen a couple of videos where bee keepers made the cone and it looked like yours but they didn't close all the little gaps up and when they went back to see how the trap out was going, they were very surprised to find the bees getting back into the hive through the various holes they didn't block off. I noticed those girls were definitely hard at work bringing in lots of pollen in that last shot. Bees would be in HUGE trouble up here in the north if they set up shop in a chimney and were still there come winter... they'd all become toasted bees! We have a chimney cap on top of our chimney to keep critters out but I don't think it could stop the bees. If I ever see honey running down the walls of the fireplace and chimney, I'll know! 😵
Awesome thanks.. Got one built out of #8. can I cover over the rest of area with aluminum screen door screen or can they chew through that. I'm putting on a tree with a crazy limb and I'll have to cover more area than just the cone
You are the bee master! I've watched so many funnel duds killing bees and god knows probably the queen. I sure hope people see this before they attempt a trap out.
Thanks so much for posing this video. I am going to use a design like yours to move bees from a tree to a hive. Does the trapout force the queen out as well? How will I know when the trapout process is complete?
Aaron, the queen will exit the cone usually later on during the process. Sometimes you get her but most times you don't. When no more bees are exiting the cone for a handful of days you should be able to remove the cone. Just be sure that you've allotted enough time for all brood to hatch out. If you have a queen in your new set up, you can cage her & allow the bees to rob out any honey that's inside of the void space the colony previously occupied. After a few days of them robbing back their honey, you should then be able to seal the tree.
Damn awesome gadgets JP. Thanks for teaching us all how to make & use them. Really appreciate that you even showed exactly how this trap out cone works. I love the idea. I really could have used this sort of thing to catch a hive last season. ☹️ We had a swarm decide to make its home inside of the bottom of an old style grain bin. It's got concrete blocks for a base and the center under the building is where they made their entrance. 😦 Real difficult spot to get to since we cannot get into the location, certainly not going to knock down the building that would be detrimental to the end result I wanted. (Removing the hive) Oh well! I have new knowledge to use if another decides to make a home there, I certainly *will* use this sort of set-up. ~Be Blessed
I will be uploading a how to trap out video in the near future that will obviously be more in depth than this video. This video was really all about how to make the trap out cone.
Well, I for one really appreciate the information and I just want you to know how much it helps people like me who really wants to get involved in bees. 😊 So thank you very much JP and I look forward to the next video.
Tried one with duct tape. created a large surface area for the bees to rest on and some where able to re-enter. Zip ties are the answer i believe. Nice Video JP. :)
ALDO Clever Charger the closer you can place the cone to the opening of the catch box the better but either way the bees will go to a set up that’s enticing to them.
would this work if the end of the cone was pointing downwards? I have some bees accessing a cavity in my house and this would be the easiest way to mount it.
Michael N sounds like an odd set up but I suppose it could work. The main thing is that there are no other openings for bees to enter/exit other than the cone.
One of the ladies I help take care of her yard she has a hive in her shed made of Cinder block. From what she has told me the hive is about 6 to 10 years old and has had at least once warm already. Thinking of doing this but worry the leftover honeycomb will cause a problem?
Aquatic Tanks By MJ if the trap out is done correctly, the last step involves letting the bees rob out whatever Honey is inside of the void space. But even if you didn’t allow them to (which you should) being that the walls are made of cinder block what’s left inside won’t harm the building structurally.
Hey JP, another wonderful video. Trap outs work but, not completely. Because brood and nurse bees will remain along with all their honey stores. Are the remaining bees destroyed?
Trap outs take a while to complete through fruition if done correctly. If honey remains or nurse bees or any other bees, the trap out wasn’t done correctly. The last step in a trap out is to allow the now queen right colony to rob out any honey left in the original parent colony. If that last crucial step is not performed then yes, you’re leaving honey & possibly some bees that haven’t hatched out yet behind. This is why some trap outs on large established colonies can take as many as 9 weeks to complete.
Sal Caserta if it’s a well established colony don’t count on getting the queen from the trap out. Not saying you couldn’t, just don’t count on it. With a traditional trap out the queen usually exits at some point with a certain amount of bees. I prefer to allow the trap out bees to make a new queen if they are well established. If it’s a new colony I generally run them out of the tree with smoke & repellent & get the queen, usually. 😉 I will be putting out a video soon of one such situation where I ran the bees out of the tree & the queen walked right into my set up.
I believe the Colony has been in the tree approx. a year. Is there a store locally where I can find repellent ? I'm in New Orleans Area. (Honey Robber)
Sal Caserta I don’t care much for honey robber Sal but I do recommend Honey b gone. You can purchase it via honey b gone .com. Don’t start off using repellent, in fact try to run them out with smoke first, repellent if smoke doesn’t achieve your goal.
Good question! Two reasons why I cannot utilize smoke on this one: 1) the colony actually cross combed the void going down the chute. Don't believe you could get anything (like a tube) past the comb sections without damaging some of it & possibly sending honey dripping. 2) The floor below was getting bees inside the office on the first floor directly below the chimney. Smoke could cause them to enter the office again which I want to avoid if I can help it.
@@JPthebeeman can you put a queen with few attendants in a protective cage in the catch box or do you need to.... what do you think would happen if you did.... and if you don't does the queen leave eventually to the new box and I would assume they leave the honey
Ken Thompson they wound up making a queen from the frame of brood with eggs that I gave them. The mated queen from the colony apparently left with a certain amount of bees. I wound up with 2-3 frames of bees & a queen they made which I placed in a five frame Nuc.
So, performing a trap out can be a very complicated, long, drawn out process but I’ll try to give you a condensed answer to your question. Once you place the cone over the exit/entrance hole you’re going to have bees exiting that if you paid attention & made sure there weren’t any other entry points they could use to get back in are going to start congregating & quite possibly become agitated/aggressive. You need to give them something to give them hope & keep them content. Usually on day two I’ll set up the catch box with worker eggs (there must be eggs) as if they don’t start making queen cells after a day or two by the 3rd day larvae are still viable but that’s your window or you could wind up with a queen that’s a drone layer (infertile). The queen from the parent colony does leave at some point but who knows when that will be? It could take 2-8 weeks for that to happen & by then if all went well you’ll have a viable laying queen in your new set up. Heck, depending on how many bees are in the parent colony to begin with you could wind up with several different colonies when it’s all said & done.
I have a really big cut out to do and it's been in a old old house for about twenty years and it is huge. I probably won't get paid but I was wondering if you would like to come and show me some tricks because I'm just starting to do cutouts. This would be my second one tho. I may do it when it gets cooler. So plz let me know thank you for this tip and all of the others.
I wouldn't wait to do it when it gets cooler. Remember, bees being insects like warm weather, do better in warm weather. After a certain point it's best to let them overwinter where they are & remove them in the spring.
+JPthebeeman would it be posible that you could come help. I was thinking that since the beehive is so big we could basically do a split and you would get the queen if you want and I would get brand new laid eggs so they can make a new queen.
If I'm in your area I can take a look but I'm pretty backed up with work for a while, so it may not be possible for me to do the removal with you. I have some friends in Houma who may be interested & may have the time to assist you. I'll speak with them if you like.
Great new intro! Your trap out is well thought threw. Pretty darned impressed. So u were mentioning it getting hot down there......got me to thinking about the heat here and my beez being cranky. Do u do anything for the hive ventilation and keeping your hives cooler there? I imagine it can get terribly hot and humid there. We are not used to it getting into the mid 90's and staying there here in Oregon, especially this early in the year. I have had the girls being mean and exercising their stinging powers on some of the males around here ;-)). I tried some vented screen covers last year - the girlz covered them in wax and propolis - total waste of money. So I have taken to drilling 8 holes in each honey super and covering the holes with window screen.
The queen leaves with a group of bees at some point but you usually don’t get her on a traditional trap-out. I initially set this up as a Hogan style trap out which forces the bees to use the domestic set up as their entrance/exit. With the Hogan method you greatly increase your chances of getting the queen but you have to wait for her to leave the original colony & enter your set up. My initial set up was removed by a roofer during the winter thinking the bees had left. The trap out was originally started in October & with cool fronts starting g to manifest I decided to leave the set up & return in the spring as the bees were becoming less & less active. When I returned in the spring the boxes were gone! More of this story than you probably want to know but anyhow, I wound up doing a traditional trap-out, gave them a frame of brood with eggs & they made a new queen. I don’t know what happened to the original queen, likely left with a group of bees but I did wind up with a new queen & enough Bees to place into a five frame set up.
Frances Moore I didn’t get their queen but they did make a new queen with the brood I gave them. The new queen was mated & laying in the set up before I finished up & removed the hive body. Their numbers were down so I placed them in a five frame Nuc.
@@JPthebeeman thanks for the quick reply. Why would you want eggs. To me it would seem that the excluded bees would start to raise another queen. Then there would be two queens.
@@dandorosheff256 that’s the whole point in giving them eggs, so they can make a new queen. Most of the time you don’t get the mated queen in a trap out. You want to keep the workers that exit the hive busy/give them hope, both of which usually yields less aggressive bees during the process. Once they start making queen cells they get on with business in the catch box you gave them “with eggs.” The only time you might consider just trying to get them out without giving them eggs is if you know full well they haven’t been their very long as in like no more than a few weeks.
@@JPthebeeman thanks again JP for your continued coaching. Would using a product like Honey-Bee-Gone help to force the queen through the screen? Assuming you could get the product where it needs to be.
SALLIE TILLMAN place some calls to your local hardware stores & see who has it. It's usually sold by the roll, some may sell it by the foot. If no one has it in stock they may need to order it for you.
By gun point! As more of her colony disappears because they can't get in, eventually the workforce and food runs out and she will come out with the bees that are left in some cases...and you may be lucky enough to get her to go into the trap box. Sometimes you are not so lucky. In other cases she may die off. That is why you can put a frame of eggs in the trap box. The bees will know they have no queen and with a couple day old eggs lying around, they can make some supercedure cells for a new queen.
I have an unusual problem. bees have used an outlet with no cover- to enter thru my outside wall into my bedroom wall. I have cedar siding. it's not level. how would you suggest I rig this up to cover the outlet? once I have evacuated the bees from the wall (I figure it will take a few days) I know I'll have to do a cutout inside the house to clean out risidual comb and honey, but what about the queen? will she also leave at some point? I have a deep box setup at the base of the hill below the outlet. hoping if I bait it using swarm commander they will go into that.
@@ssergeant9682 how long the bees have been in the wall has a direct correlation to how long it will take to perform a full blown trap out. Routinely, the entire procedure can take anywhere from 6-9 weeks.
I know this is an old video but I just came across it. Honest question, why do you not put the entrance to the trap box really close to the old entrance ? You said in the video that they come out the cone and turn straight into the box entrance. But why would they do that ? They are leaving to forage or do orientation flights.
Could this method be applied to a very large 150 year old Greek Revival outside porch column that cannot be cut into for historical reasons? Calling you tomorrow.
Jordan Jaeger wait a couple of days for them to start getting used to going in your set up. If you add the frame with eggs too early you lose your window for them to make viable queen cells if they don’t go to it right away.
Hi JP, great video as always. I'm attempting my very first trap out here in the UK, nobody in my association had heard of, let alone attemted one before, so if you don't mind I've a quick question for you. Roughly how long would you say it takes to do a trap out? (Are we looking at maybe say 6 to 8 weeks depending on colony size?) Thank you in advance for any advice. :-)
A traditional trap out can take a while, depending on how large the colony is. The fact that bees can live 6 weeks or more & all brood must hatch out & the workers need to be of age to become foragers (20 days) & what available honey reserves are in the hive yes, it can take anywhere between 6 to 9 weeks or longer. Supposedly, the Hogan method doesn't take quite as long.
OMG, JP, I saw power lines back there and railroad crossings! You should have had all of that flagged, chained off and yellow tape within a quarter-mile area! Furthermore, I saw a car driving below! You should have had been up there with a megaphone screaming at them to get out of the way! Everything you did was wrong, wrong, wrong! 😂😂😂😂
@@JPthebeeman To fasten your cone together, I would suggest hot glue. Plug in a hot glue gun and in a couple of minutes it's heated and ready. Put dabs of the glue at the edge of the rolled screen along the cone and hold for a few seconds. the glue sets up right away and It's not going to let go and slide down like zip ties: fast and easy. You can get a small gun and glue sticks for maybe less than $8 at a hobby place like Michael's.
Reece Newton I just finished doing two major bee projects for a movie production company using hot glue & mesh to contain bees while they filmed. Mesh removed of course after filming. Hot glue some good stuff.
@@JPthebeeman I just stumbled headlong onto your channel about a week ago and it's one of my favorites now. Besides your obvious apiarial skill and experience, your demeanor and humor on camera is a delight, the banter with your sidekicks brings a smile, and your editing and sound design is sometimes LOL-ish for being "right on."
Reece Newton I really appreciate your feedback. Not everyone is okay with the banter but we’re really just cutting up a bit. When it’s all said & done it’s really worse than it appears, lol, just kidding. 😉 I work hard at editing, most eleven year olds can probably do better but thanks for the accolades anyway. 🤘😉👍🐝
D CHIVAS yes, she comes out at some point but that doesn’t mean you get her. Stay focused on what’s going on in your catch box & pay attention to the bees or lack of coming out of the cone. When there’s no more bees exiting, hopefully before then the bees in your catch box made a new queen (with the frame of eggs you gave them) you can then either seal the entrance or cage your queen, remove the cone & allow the colony to rob out any honey inside the void space they previously occupied. Trap outs are very time consuming in most cases.
(@Phrog Flyer) The queen doesn't always go to the catch box with a trap out. As you probably know by now I perform lots of cut outs (removals), trap outs are a last resort when you for whatever reason cannot perform a cut out. With a trap out, the bees that enter the catch box are given a frame with eggs to make a new queen.
I was confused too, but I guess they wander out of the cone and have trouble finding their way back in through the cone (hence them being gathered at the base of the cone at 13:15) and through some bee magic they decide fuck it we'll just live in a box instead
I was called out late October of this past year to look at the situation. Originally they had a colony in two of the 4 chimneys. I set up two Hogan style trap outs but something screwy happened, the building owner didn't wait for me to pick things up again this spring & decided to have a roofing company seal the chimneys. Both colonies were in bad shape it seemed when I began the first trap outs, there were honey robbing issues & small hive beetle issues. We thought the bees had died but I informed the building owner we should keep the set ups in place & I would resume in the spring, considering winter was upon us, a terrible time to do a trap out. I would resume in the spring if there was any more activity or I would remove the set ups & they would then seal the chimneys. They called the roofers who did a piss poor job sealing the stacks & they removed my boxes. The roofing company claims they threw my boxes away but I believe they stole them. Currently, I am performing the trap out & once I'm done I will seal the chimneys.
I am going back year but my teacher said that when you are sure all is out you must get the chimney cleaned. I never ask how that was done. Anyone know.
The last step in the process is to allow the bees to go back into the chimney chute to rob the honey out. The chimneys are not functional anymore, I'm going to seal them when I'm done.
Tks for the video JP. Pls. Pls. Please go see a Cardiologist. You are showing signs of congestive heart failure. I've been thru it three times and finally on the right medical regime. We don't want to lose you! Take Shawee with you. He needs a check up too!
My heart is fine Tim, my blood pressure has always been normal, cholesterol good. I just need to lay off the sweets. I never used to like sweets but as I've gotten older some kind of way I developed a sweet tooth. The new mic also amplifies every breath you take, figured someone would mention something, but you're right, I need to drop some pounds, I'm much bigger than I should be!
Definitely need to shed some pounds but are you aware that I'm using a new mic? It amplifies every breath. So far the feedback has been positive with the new mic. I sure am digging it. Thanks for caring btw, appreciate it.
Skye Reinier the bees cannot get back into the cone once they exit. After a day or two I give them a frame with eggs so they can stay busy making a new queen. This colony made a new queen very effectively.
sallie Tillman order it where you can find it. I found some here locally, it's a specialty item so expect to pay a hundred bucks or more for a roll of it, not cheap but it's a great product.
Do yourself a really big favor... I know it's not a manly as zip ties and staples, but invest in a hot glue gun. It will make your project go much quicker and do a better job securing screen to screen and screen to box. You can even close up gaps with it. You don't have to get a pink one or anything. They are available in Black or Blue, probably Camouflage if you really want it... It will make an excellent addition to your toolbox.
Franklin, I use #8 hardware cloth to make my funnels. Hot glue may work with regular window screen but I don't believe it would keep hardware cloth from unraveling. I use hot glue to secure mesh netting to seal Nucs when transporting them sometimes, works great!
JPthebeeman I'd be afraid the hot glue could melt again, especially on a roof top. Is that an issue? I have a hot glue gun but I've never investigated how hot the tip of the gun is when it starts melting the glue. My fingers can tell you it's VERY hot though! LOL
In a real chimney that was closed off many years ago but bees still occasionally find their way into the building so they want them gone. The owners don't want to open up the chimney to remove the colony hence the trap out.
Bill Smith this isn't complicated in the least really, the bees exited the cone, went into the box & made a new queen with the brood frame with eggs I gave them. This was actually the second set up. The first set up was started a little late in the season. It utilized the Hogan method. I had a set up on each chimney stack. Long story short the pathetic roofer across the street stole both set ups & I wasn't notified of this until the following spring when I opted to go with this set up.
Brad Reinier I'm not sure if I'm completely understanding you correctly in your assessment. The bees leave the cone, then go into the hive box. I usually give them a frame with eggs after a few days of having established the trap out. This particular colony successfully made a new queen.
As usual, very interesting video JP. How do you get the queen out of the chimney? Does she just eventually decide to follow the hive?
Great instructional video, JP! This is very helpful to me. Thanks!!!
You’re crazy amazing trust me JP it’s better than watching TV specially the New Year’s I like you keep it up
For those about to rock? You have great music taste!
Yeah you right! :-)
175th! GOOD MORNING JP! Never seen this done before. WOW! Roger in Pierre South Dakota
really cool bit of knowledge, thanks J P.
Thanks for the video JP,now I know how to make a trap out cone,I always wanted to know how to make one!!
@JPthebeeman where was this info a month and a half ago when I did my first trap out. The cone was the hardest part of it! I did my first cut out a couple weeks before and it was like I've done it several times before because I've watched all your videos. Thanks for the info! I can't wait for the next one!
Glad to be of service!
Awww YUSSSS! Log on to Das UA-cam, and a new JPthebeeman video is up! My weekend is off to a superb start. Nice new intro, Jeff! And thanks for showing all the different ways you take care of bees. As always, I enjoy your videos and seeing you at work.
Wow, you sir are very enthusiastic & I like that! Have your self a great weekend!
Nicely done, sir (as usual). I look forward to an update on how the chimney colony fared in their new home.
Totally worth it. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Maybe I missed it but what is the purpose of this apparatus.
To make it close to impossible for the bees to get bsck inside, but still easy to go out. This make them look for a new place to enter and that beebox looks like a fiiine alternstive.
Very informative video. I've seen a couple of videos where bee keepers made the cone and it looked like yours but they didn't close all the little gaps up and when they went back to see how the trap out was going, they were very surprised to find the bees getting back into the hive through the various holes they didn't block off. I noticed those girls were definitely hard at work bringing in lots of pollen in that last shot. Bees would be in HUGE trouble up here in the north if they set up shop in a chimney and were still there come winter... they'd all become toasted bees! We have a chimney cap on top of our chimney to keep critters out but I don't think it could stop the bees. If I ever see honey running down the walls of the fireplace and chimney, I'll know! 😵
Pamela Schramke those lil holes will kill a trap out's progress in a heartbeat!
I like your stile. Looks really cool.
I’m going to have to figure out one between rock fireplace an gravel wall. 90*.
That pollen going in is a good sign!
Awesome thanks..
Got one built out of #8. can I cover over the rest of area with aluminum screen door screen or can they chew through that. I'm putting on a tree with a crazy limb and I'll have to cover more area than just the cone
Screen should work to patch any holes. Just be careful as it punctures easily.
trap outs are a labor of love forsure.
You are the bee master! I've watched so many funnel duds killing bees and god knows probably the queen. I sure hope people see this before they attempt a trap out.
Thanks so much for posing this video. I am going to use a design like yours to move bees from a tree to a hive. Does the trapout force the queen out as well? How will I know when the trapout process is complete?
Aaron, the queen will exit the cone usually later on during the process. Sometimes you get her but most times you don't. When no more bees are exiting the cone for a handful of days you should be able to remove the cone. Just be sure that you've allotted enough time for all brood to hatch out. If you have a queen in your new set up, you can cage her & allow the bees to rob out any honey that's inside of the void space the colony previously occupied. After a few days of them robbing back their honey, you should then be able to seal the tree.
Damn awesome gadgets JP. Thanks for teaching us all how to make & use them. Really appreciate that you even showed exactly how this trap out cone works. I love the idea. I really could have used this sort of thing to catch a hive last season. ☹️ We had a swarm decide to make its home inside of the bottom of an old style grain bin. It's got concrete blocks for a base and the center under the building is where they made their entrance. 😦 Real difficult spot to get to since we cannot get into the location, certainly not going to knock down the building that would be detrimental to the end result I wanted. (Removing the hive)
Oh well! I have new knowledge to use if another decides to make a home there, I certainly *will* use this sort of set-up.
~Be Blessed
I will be uploading a how to trap out video in the near future that will obviously be more in depth than this video.
This video was really all about how to make the trap out cone.
Well, I for one really appreciate the information and I just want you to know how much it helps people like me who really wants to get involved in bees. 😊
So thank you very much JP and I look forward to the next video.
+Sansa Stark happy to help, thanks for your feedback!
👍
real cool to see how that works cool vid JP.
One of my first swarm catches was with a trap out cone from a water meter box.
Looks like a great one!!!
Tried one with duct tape. created a large surface area for the bees to rest on and some where able to re-enter. Zip ties are the answer i believe. Nice Video JP. :)
JP, I love your videos and sense of humours! I started following Yappie but I can’t leave comments because he has comment turned of. You know why.
Dan Carrier I’m not certain why Yappy has his channel set up the way he does. I can pass along a comment to him for you if you like.
Why do they go in the box with no queen ?
Great work. Great videos.
Hello JP, very cool system! Why you don't put the cone directly into the hive? tks a lot!
ALDO Clever Charger the closer you can place the cone to the opening of the catch box the better but either way the bees will go to a set up that’s enticing to them.
would this work if the end of the cone was pointing downwards? I have some bees accessing a cavity in my house and this would be the easiest way to mount it.
Michael N sounds like an odd set up but I suppose it could work. The main thing is that there are no other openings for bees to enter/exit other than the cone.
cool and informative JP. Onya mate.
Thanks for the great info. I like your new intro.
Glad you like it Pam, thanks for your feedback!
One of the ladies I help take care of her yard she has a hive in her shed made of Cinder block. From what she has told me the hive is about 6 to 10 years old and has had at least once warm already. Thinking of doing this but worry the leftover honeycomb will cause a problem?
Aquatic Tanks By MJ if the trap out is done correctly, the last step involves letting the bees rob out whatever Honey is inside of the void space.
But even if you didn’t allow them to (which you should) being that the walls are made of cinder block what’s left inside won’t harm the building structurally.
JP what are you using as the starter for the cone? Looks like a wooden dowel or something? Thank You.
Hey JP, another wonderful video. Trap outs work but, not completely. Because brood and nurse bees will remain along with all their honey stores. Are the remaining bees destroyed?
Trap outs take a while to complete through fruition if done correctly.
If honey remains or nurse bees or any other bees, the trap out wasn’t done correctly.
The last step in a trap out is to allow the now queen right colony to rob out any honey left in the original parent colony.
If that last crucial step is not performed then yes, you’re leaving honey & possibly some bees that haven’t hatched out yet behind.
This is why some trap outs on large established colonies can take as many as 9 weeks to complete.
Really good. I know you said you don't do measurements, but, is the hole size big enough to fit a finger or two?
Not quite two fingers.
Okay, I'm a beginner, & start training in February.
Awesome! I wish you the best!
Will the Queen eventually follow suit, being trapped out and going into the box with the others.
I plan to trap out a hive in a hollow tree.
Sal Caserta if it’s a well established colony don’t count on getting the queen from the trap out. Not saying you couldn’t, just don’t count on it. With a traditional trap out the queen usually exits at some point with a certain amount of bees. I prefer to allow the trap out bees to make a new queen if they are well established. If it’s a new colony I generally run them out of the tree with smoke & repellent & get the queen, usually. 😉
I will be putting out a video soon of one such situation where I ran the bees out of the tree & the queen walked right into my set up.
I believe the Colony has been in the tree approx. a year.
Is there a store locally where I can find repellent ? I'm in New Orleans Area.
(Honey Robber)
Sal Caserta I don’t care much for honey robber Sal but I do recommend Honey b gone. You can purchase it via honey b gone .com. Don’t start off using repellent, in fact try to run them out with smoke first, repellent if smoke doesn’t achieve your goal.
would it work to introduce some smoke into the bottom of the chimney to speed up the process -- or is that too likely to cause a pileup?
Good question! Two reasons why I cannot utilize smoke on this one: 1) the colony actually cross combed the void going down the chute. Don't believe you could get anything (like a tube) past the comb sections without damaging some of it & possibly sending honey dripping. 2) The floor below was getting bees inside the office on the first floor directly below the chimney. Smoke could cause them to enter the office again which I want to avoid if I can help it.
@@JPthebeeman can you put a queen with few attendants in a protective cage in the catch box or do you need to.... what do you think would happen if you did.... and if you don't does the queen leave eventually to the new box and I would assume they leave the honey
Did you get the queen in your trapout as most of the videos on trapout don't get he queen?? From Ireland.
Ken Thompson they wound up making a queen from the frame of brood with eggs that I gave them.
The mated queen from the colony apparently left with a certain amount of bees.
I wound up with 2-3 frames of bees & a queen they made which I placed in a five frame Nuc.
So you have them make a new queen? Does the original queen not exit the trap out?
So, performing a trap out can be a very complicated, long, drawn out process but I’ll try to give you a condensed answer to your question.
Once you place the cone over the exit/entrance hole you’re going to have bees exiting that if you paid attention & made sure there weren’t any other entry points they could use to get back in are going to start congregating & quite possibly become agitated/aggressive.
You need to give them something to give them hope & keep them content.
Usually on day two I’ll set up the catch box with worker eggs (there must be eggs) as if they don’t start making queen cells after a day or two by the 3rd day larvae are still viable but that’s your window or you could wind up with a queen that’s a drone layer (infertile).
The queen from the parent colony does leave at some point but who knows when that will be?
It could take 2-8 weeks for that to happen & by then if all went well you’ll have a viable laying queen in your new set up. Heck, depending on how many bees are in the parent colony to begin with you could wind up with several different colonies when it’s all said & done.
I have a really big cut out to do and it's been in a old old house for about twenty years and it is huge. I probably won't get paid but I was wondering if you would like to come and show me some tricks because I'm just starting to do cutouts. This would be my second one tho. I may do it when it gets cooler. So plz let me know thank you for this tip and all of the others.
I wouldn't wait to do it when it gets cooler. Remember, bees being insects like warm weather, do better in warm weather.
After a certain point it's best to let them overwinter where they are & remove them in the spring.
+JPthebeeman would it be posible that you could come help. I was thinking that since the beehive is so big we could basically do a split and you would get the queen if you want and I would get brand new laid eggs so they can make a new queen.
If I'm in your area I can take a look but I'm pretty backed up with work for a while, so it may not be possible for me to do the removal with you.
I have some friends in Houma who may be interested & may have the time to assist you.
I'll speak with them if you like.
Great new intro! Your trap out is well thought threw. Pretty darned impressed. So u were mentioning it getting hot down there......got me to thinking about the heat here and my beez being cranky. Do u do anything for the hive ventilation and keeping your hives cooler there? I imagine it can get terribly hot and humid there. We are not used to it getting into the mid 90's and staying there here in Oregon, especially this early in the year. I have had the girls being mean and exercising their stinging powers on some of the males around here ;-)). I tried some vented screen covers last year - the girlz covered them in wax and propolis - total waste of money. So I have taken to drilling 8 holes in each honey super and covering the holes with window screen.
They seem to deal with heat just fine, cold wet air is a recipe for disaster inside a hive.
Thanks for the video but how do you get the queen out? JP.
The queen leaves with a group of bees at some point but you usually don’t get her on a traditional trap-out.
I initially set this up as a Hogan style trap out which forces the bees to use the domestic set up as their entrance/exit.
With the Hogan method you greatly increase your chances of getting the queen but you have to wait for her to leave the original colony & enter your set up.
My initial set up was removed by a roofer during the winter thinking the bees had left.
The trap out was originally started in October & with cool fronts starting g to manifest I decided to leave the set up & return in the spring as the bees were becoming less & less active.
When I returned in the spring the boxes were gone!
More of this story than you probably want to know but anyhow, I wound up doing a traditional trap-out, gave them a frame of brood with eggs & they made a new queen.
I don’t know what happened to the original queen, likely left with a group of bees but I did wind up with a new queen & enough Bees to place into a five frame set up.
Thanks for the reply . I am sorry to hear that your boxes were gone , when your returned. but glad to know that you saved some of the bees. take care.
Rusty Nail it all worked out in the end so no worries. 👍🐝🐝🐝
hi JP . love all your videos thanks for the awesome intro :) was this a successful trap out ?
It's ongoing, but so far so good.
did u get the queen doing it this way or just al the forgers thanks
Frances Moore I didn’t get their queen but they did make a new queen with the brood I gave them.
The new queen was mated & laying in the set up before I finished up & removed the hive body.
Their numbers were down so I placed them in a five frame Nuc.
These look good. I may be able to use them in the future. Have you finished this trap out on the chimney yet? How did it go?
The trap out is in progress. Just started it this past week. The entire process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks or even longer!
Is it done yet? How did it go?
I can hear that New Orleans accent , lm a Cajun also
Would a trap out work for mason bees too?
love love love the new intro
Thanks Eric!
How long did it take to trap them out?
What did you do with the left over comb in the chimney? Bees wax is flammable? To prevent a fire the next time they use the chimney?
Evan Kenison these weren't chimneys, they were old range vents that were rendered unusable.
Thank you. I love your videos. I learn a lot from them
JP should I wait till spring to do a trap out?
Stephanie Luis definitely not during or even close to winter. Trap outs can vary greatly from job to job, beginning to end.
Hi JP. You mentioned adding a frame of brood to the box as a lure. Is that with the nurse bees or without?
With nurse bees for surely & definitely you want that brood frame to have eggs.
@@JPthebeeman thanks for the quick reply. Why would you want eggs. To me it would seem that the excluded bees would start to raise another queen. Then there would be two queens.
@@dandorosheff256 that’s the whole point in giving them eggs, so they can make a new queen.
Most of the time you don’t get the mated queen in a trap out.
You want to keep the workers that exit the hive busy/give them hope, both of which usually yields less aggressive bees during the process.
Once they start making queen cells they get on with business in the catch box you gave them “with eggs.”
The only time you might consider just trying to get them out without giving them eggs is if you know full well they haven’t been their very long as in like no more than a few weeks.
@@JPthebeeman thanks again JP for your continued coaching. Would using a product like Honey-Bee-Gone help to force the queen through the screen? Assuming you could get the product where it needs to be.
Instead of using wire cut bottom of pop bottle off & drill hole into board & staple Pop bottle to board works good
right on and i love your videos btw.....guess there is more than one way to skin a cat
JP can you tell me where to find the 8 inch hardware cloth at? Home Depot do not & soft screen do not work.
SALLIE TILLMAN place some calls to your local hardware stores & see who has it.
It's usually sold by the roll, some may sell it by the foot.
If no one has it in stock they may need to order it for you.
Thanks but how do u get the queen out?
By gun point! As more of her colony disappears because they can't get in, eventually the workforce and food runs out and she will come out with the bees that are left in some cases...and you may be lucky enough to get her to go into the trap box. Sometimes you are not so lucky. In other cases she may die off. That is why you can put a frame of eggs in the trap box. The bees will know they have no queen and with a couple day old eggs lying around, they can make some supercedure cells for a new queen.
kckrye HAHAHAHA! I loved your initial answer to the question! 😂😂😂
I have an unusual problem. bees have used an outlet with no cover- to enter thru my outside wall into my bedroom wall. I have cedar siding. it's not level. how would you suggest I rig this up to cover the outlet? once I have evacuated the bees from the wall (I figure it will take a few days) I know I'll have to do a cutout inside the house to clean out risidual comb and honey, but what about the queen? will she also leave at some point? I have a deep box setup at the base of the hill below the outlet. hoping if I bait it using swarm commander they will go into that.
@@ssergeant9682 how long the bees have been in the wall has a direct correlation to how long it will take to perform a full blown trap out.
Routinely, the entire procedure can take anywhere from 6-9 weeks.
I believe they have been in there for 4 to 6 weeks
I know this is an old video but I just came across it. Honest question, why do you not put the entrance to the trap box really close to the old entrance ? You said in the video that they come out the cone and turn straight into the box entrance. But why would they do that ? They are leaving to forage or do orientation flights.
Ideally, you place the cone very close to the entrance to the catch box but trap outs take time & they get the message either way really.
You could use 2 two liter soda bottles bottoms cut out of both and stack them or even 3 of em....
Cool!
Could this method be applied to a very large 150 year old Greek Revival outside porch column that cannot be cut into for historical reasons? Calling you tomorrow.
RedNoizeNola yes it can but it will take quite a while to complete the process if the colony is mature
JP do I put the frame of eggs in the trap out box as soon as I place the wire cone over the entrance to the nest? Or do I give the bees a couple days?
Jordan Jaeger wait a couple of days for them to start getting used to going in your set up.
If you add the frame with eggs too early you lose your window for them to make viable queen cells if they don’t go to it right away.
JPthebeeman thanks a lot for your quick response. Ok sounds good. Keep the videos coming!!
Jordan Jaeger 👍🐝🐝🐝
Hi JP, great video as always. I'm attempting my very first trap out here in the UK, nobody in my association had heard of, let alone attemted one before, so if you don't mind I've a quick question for you.
Roughly how long would you say it takes to do a trap out? (Are we looking at maybe say 6 to 8 weeks depending on colony size?)
Thank you in advance for any advice. :-)
A traditional trap out can take a while, depending on how large the colony is. The fact that bees can live 6 weeks or more & all brood must hatch out & the workers need to be of age to become foragers (20 days) & what available honey reserves are in the hive yes, it can take anywhere between 6 to 9 weeks or longer.
Supposedly, the Hogan method doesn't take quite as long.
Well that’s in-genius
How long before you put the hive box next to the cone?
Dan Hollenkamp I did so at the end of the video.
OMG, JP, I saw power lines back there and railroad crossings! You should have had all of that flagged, chained off and yellow tape within a quarter-mile area! Furthermore, I saw a car driving below! You should have had been up there with a megaphone screaming at them to get out of the way! Everything you did was wrong, wrong, wrong!
😂😂😂😂
Patrick Thomas what can I say, I like to live dangerously 🤪
@@JPthebeeman To fasten your cone together, I would suggest hot glue. Plug in a hot glue gun and in a couple of minutes it's heated and ready. Put dabs of the glue at the edge of the rolled screen along the cone and hold for a few seconds. the glue sets up right away and It's not going to let go and slide down like zip ties: fast and easy. You can get a small gun and glue sticks for maybe less than $8 at a hobby place like Michael's.
Reece Newton I just finished doing two major bee projects for a movie production company using hot glue & mesh to contain bees while they filmed. Mesh removed of course after filming.
Hot glue some good stuff.
@@JPthebeeman I just stumbled headlong onto your channel about a week ago and it's one of my favorites now. Besides your obvious apiarial skill and experience, your demeanor and humor on camera is a delight, the banter with your sidekicks brings a smile, and your editing and sound design is sometimes LOL-ish for being "right on."
Reece Newton I really appreciate your feedback.
Not everyone is okay with the banter but we’re really just cutting up a bit. When it’s all said & done it’s really worse than it appears, lol, just kidding. 😉
I work hard at editing, most eleven year olds can probably do better but thanks for the accolades anyway. 🤘😉👍🐝
Does the queen come out eventually or she stays in?
D CHIVAS yes, she comes out at some point but that doesn’t mean you get her. Stay focused on what’s going on in your catch box & pay attention to the bees or lack of coming out of the cone.
When there’s no more bees exiting, hopefully before then the bees in your catch box made a new queen (with the frame of eggs you gave them) you can then either seal the entrance or cage your queen, remove the cone & allow the colony to rob out any honey inside the void space they previously occupied.
Trap outs are very time consuming in most cases.
How do you get the queen to enter?
Pieces of thin wire threaded through the cone, across the dia, would probably keep the zip ties from riding up, especially in windy weather
I have some thin wire around here somewhere but knew exactly where the zip ties were :-)
What makes the queen go to the catch box?
The power
(@Phrog Flyer) The queen doesn't always go to the catch box with a trap out. As you probably know by now I perform lots of cut outs (removals), trap outs are a last resort when you for whatever reason cannot perform a cut out.
With a trap out, the bees that enter the catch box are given a frame with eggs to make a new queen.
What was the purpose of having the cone? Couldn't the hole just lead straight into the box instead?
I was confused too, but I guess they wander out of the cone and have trouble finding their way back in through the cone (hence them being gathered at the base of the cone at 13:15) and through some bee magic they decide fuck it we'll just live in a box instead
I was called out late October of this past year to look at the situation. Originally they had a colony in two of the 4 chimneys. I set up two Hogan style trap outs but something screwy happened, the building owner didn't wait for me to pick things up again this spring & decided to have a roofing company seal the chimneys.
Both colonies were in bad shape it seemed when I began the first trap outs, there were honey robbing issues & small hive beetle issues. We thought the bees had died but I informed the building owner we should keep the set ups in place & I would resume in the spring, considering winter was upon us, a terrible time to do a trap out.
I would resume in the spring if there was any more activity or I would remove the set ups & they would then seal the chimneys.
They called the roofers who did a piss poor job sealing the stacks & they removed my boxes. The roofing company claims they threw my boxes away but I believe they stole them.
Currently, I am performing the trap out & once I'm done I will seal the chimneys.
sweeeet (no pun intended)
I am going back year but my teacher said that when you are sure all is out you must get the chimney cleaned. I never ask how that was done. Anyone know.
The last step in the process is to allow the bees to go back into the chimney chute to rob the honey out. The chimneys are not functional anymore, I'm going to seal them when I'm done.
Thanks JP.
Duct tape and zip ties, the universal mounting brackets.
Tks for the video JP. Pls. Pls. Please go see a Cardiologist. You are showing signs of congestive heart failure. I've been thru it three times and finally on the right medical regime. We don't want to lose you! Take Shawee with you. He needs a check up too!
My heart is fine Tim, my blood pressure has always been normal, cholesterol good. I just need to lay off the sweets. I never used to like sweets but as I've gotten older some kind of way I developed a sweet tooth. The new mic also amplifies every breath you take, figured someone would mention something, but you're right, I need to drop some pounds, I'm much bigger than I should be!
I'm a big fan and worry about you when you start breathing hard. My sweet tooth is a peanut butter milkshake with chocolate ice cream!
Definitely need to shed some pounds but are you aware that I'm using a new mic?
It amplifies every breath.
So far the feedback has been positive with the new mic. I sure am digging it.
Thanks for caring btw, appreciate it.
Love ya JP. Can't wait till the next video! I honestly didn't know about the new mic. but it works FANTASTIC!
I showcased the new mic in the video before this one: "Lauren's Bees."
what was that song at the end
It's called "Whistling Down The Road."
i see other people put the hive entrance closer to the old entrace where the bees are gathering trying to return to the old hive
Skye Reinier the bees cannot get back into the cone once they exit.
After a day or two I give them a frame with eggs so they can stay busy making a new queen.
This colony made a new queen very effectively.
JP I am calling around but no one have any I guess have to order 1/8 from amazon., bye the way I order Bee Vac.
sallie Tillman order it where you can find it. I found some here locally, it's a specialty item so expect to pay a hundred bucks or more for a roll of it, not cheap but it's a great product.
Do yourself a really big favor... I know it's not a manly as zip ties and staples, but invest in a hot glue gun. It will make your project go much quicker and do a better job securing screen to screen and screen to box. You can even close up gaps with it. You don't have to get a pink one or anything. They are available in Black or Blue, probably Camouflage if you really want it... It will make an excellent addition to your toolbox.
Franklin, I use #8 hardware cloth to make my funnels. Hot glue may work with regular window screen but I don't believe it would keep hardware cloth from unraveling.
I use hot glue to secure mesh netting to seal Nucs when transporting them sometimes, works great!
JPthebeeman I'd be afraid the hot glue could melt again, especially on a roof top. Is that an issue? I have a hot glue gun but I've never investigated how hot the tip of the gun is when it starts melting the glue. My fingers can tell you it's VERY hot though! LOL
Why not just start a fire in the fireplace?
Besides you’re catching bees not ducks. 😂😂😂
I'm sorry JP, but I don't get it! Why not just trap the bees in the big box, why run them from one box to the other?
I'm not running them from one box to another. I'm trapping them out of the chimney. The ones exiting the cone are going into the catch box.
Why are they in the Chimney, instead of going directly to the catch box?
Their colony is in the chimney. They flew in as a swarm & established themselves inside of the chimney of their own doing.
So they are in a real chimney? Now I'm starting to get it! I so hate coming into the story late, because then it gets so confusing!
In a real chimney that was closed off many years ago but bees still occasionally find their way into the building so they want them gone.
The owners don't want to open up the chimney to remove the colony hence the trap out.
"all right"
hot glue gun may be best,
Why not put a hole in the bottom of the super and have the girls walk through it, why make it so complicated, saying it politely
Bill Smith this isn't complicated in the least really, the bees exited the cone, went into the box & made a new queen with the brood frame with eggs I gave them.
This was actually the second set up.
The first set up was started a little late in the season. It utilized the Hogan method.
I had a set up on each chimney stack.
Long story short the pathetic roofer across the street stole both set ups & I wasn't notified of this until the following spring when I opted to go with this set up.
i thought the box entrance was suppose to be as close to the old hive entrance as possible....not close to the end of your trapout funnel
Brad Reinier I'm not sure if I'm completely understanding you correctly in your assessment.
The bees leave the cone, then go into the hive box.
I usually give them a frame with eggs after a few days of having established the trap out.
This particular colony successfully made a new queen.
Trap Bees for what purpose; why a chimney- a human chimney with a bee hive in it?
Totally mystified.