# Swarm removal from apartment wall - they just moved in (video)



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

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A very familiar location for me to remove bees - on the premises of a certain apartment
complex which is right next to orange groves in Lake Wales, FL:






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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Two words.... bee vac.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

But which bee vac is best?!! k:


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## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

Mr.Beeman said:


> Two words.... bee vac.


I had a bee vac on hand.

I thought it would have been overkill for such a small swarm.

The Honey B Gone worked perfectly.

I've found myself using the bee vac a lot less lately for some reason, but obviously still needed in many circumstances, no doubt.

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## rsderrick (May 7, 2006)

PatBeek said:


> The Honey B Gone worked perfectly..


Glad to hear it my friend. Great video by the way!!!


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Three words: Bushkill Bee vac. You would have been out of there in five minutes.


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## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

odfrank said:


> Three words: Bushkill Bee vac. You would have been out of there in five minutes.


I know. And again, I had a vac. But I wasn't in a huge hurry. I know this sounds hippie-ish, but I just didn't feel like traumatizing them that much just to save a bit of time. 

Even if the vac doesn't kill them, it tends to make them mad. I opted for the more peaceful route on this particular occasion.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

PatBeek;1175085 but I just didn't feel like traumatizing them
Even if the vac doesn't kill them said:


> I don't think you have experience with the right kind of bee vac. They don't get mad being vac'ed, because before they know whats happening they are sucked up into the vac and are jailed up. If they are mad they can't get out to sting you. I doubt any "traumatizing" being vac'ed is worse than what gas does to them. Plus they can become untraumatized faster because they are immediately on combs, making them feel at home rather than in a huge vacant box. When you gas them, you lose control of them as they fly all around and have to re-group. With a Bushkill there is no "dumping" them out as you have to do with a bucket vac, I have never opened up a Bushkilled swarm and have it behave at all traumatized.
> 
> I would never do as many cutouts as you using top bar hives. You have to take those huge cumbersome boxes to the job, with all those loose topbars, and then have so much work if you want to combine them, and they are not setup for easy vacuuming. If you went to a Bushkill vac and Langstroth boxes, you could get small swarms into small boxes and easily merge them later. Many topbar beekeepers proselytize topbar hives without knowing the benefits of a modern frame hive.


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## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

odfrank said:


> I would never do as many cutouts as you using top bar hives. You have to take those huge cumbersome boxes to the job......


I don't have any problems.

Everything works perfectly.

It's just my deal.

It's the same reason Wayne Krantz is playing this beat-up old 70s Stratocaster in the following photo instead of a brand new shiny guitar - it's all about vibe and soul:


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