# Help fixing a neglected hive.



## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

I'm not sure i can offer much help in your matter. What you have there is a true mess. First off looking at the pics, it would seem that this may be all plain honey comb in there on top of the other frames. If it is, don't even think about saving it, just start scooping it out and shake the bees from it. Place it in a flat pan someplace close where the bees will find it, and rob it out. Then do your inspection of the lower frames. Just an FYI.. If you want those empty frames to be drawn out, place them between two frames that are completely drawn out in the brood area. The bees will have them drawn in just a few days.. I hope this helps you some..


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

Smoke them up well. Then just remove the upper hive body. pry it loose with your hive tool. Scrape the comb from the top of the frames. and put it in a bucket. if the lower frames are drawn, scrape the comb from the hive body and put the upper body back on and place the frames in it. Place the comb out someplace at least 50 yards from your apiary so the bees can clean it up. or just toss it. it is sugar honey not worth saving.


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## philip.devos (Aug 10, 2013)

Before you start to clean this up you need to have 4 or 5 constructed frames prepared, each equipped with 5 or 6 rubber bands. Have a clean solid surface ready, next to the hive (you can use an upside-down top cover for this). You will use this surface for rubber-banding comb into the prepared frames.

1. smoke the bees significantly before proceeding. You need to have full garb on before proceeding.
2. remove the upper box.
3. You may need to smoke the bees AGAIN that are on the protruding comb that the bees built on top of the frames, so that most will leave before you start cutting.
4. using either a knife or hive tool, start slicing by running the blade along the top of the comb.
5. remove as large a slice of the comb as you can handle. Place the comb in one of the frames prepared with rubber bands, keeping the comb in the same orientation as it was prior to when you sliced it loose. Move 2 or 3 rubber bands to hold the comb in the prepared frame.
6. repeat steps 4 and 5; you may be able to place more than one piece of comb into the prepared frame, each time moving the rubber bands to hold the comb in place.
7. when you have finished removing the messy combs and rubber-banded them into the prepared frames, place the frames into the upper box (or a box that is the appropriate size for the frames.
8. If the number of frames with the relocated comb is not enough to fill the box, add frames either with foundationless, or with "popsickle sticks" for foundationless, and place the box back on top of the bottom box. Replace the 
9. Do not allow this to happen again. I did a similar dumb thing, and also had a mess to clean up (on 2 colonies) last week. Fortunately only one of the colonies resembled the mess of your pictures. The other was not so bad. Hopefully your bees will be as tolerant as mine - only one bee started bumping my veil, when I was 90% completed with the cleanup.

Phil


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