# Soffit Trap-Out



## Danielle Quant (May 3, 2015)

Hello everyone. this is my first post, and i believe I made sure no one answered my questions I am about to ask. I have a situation where my only option is to do a trap out. The landlord doesn't want me cutting up his rental, since putting it back together would cost even more. Honestly there's really no way to cut anything out if I wanted to, it's wood "soffit" where the bees are coming in and out of.... but it's not really built like soffit. I had my dad who's a carpenter look at it and he said that it's actually wood slats that are extending out from inside the house. It's hard to explain, but it's a block house too so I can't access from below. I've done one trap out before in a tree with success, so I'm wanting to try again and fashion the hardware cloth cone somehow to their entrance and put a nuc box on the roof. I say put the nuc box on the roof because I've been told (and observed) that honey bees find entrances to trap out boxes better if they are above their old home since they fly up and out of their entrances. I don't think this is a stretch for them to find this nuc. If anyone has better/different thoughts on how I should do this please let me know. I was wondering several things:

1. Could I skip having the bees find the nuc box on the roof and somehow fashion it directly to where their entrance is? Like make it somehow that there's a bee escape device on their entrance to the house and then make it dump out directly into a nuc they can fly in and out of? and hopefully realize that this is their new home? I'm thinking they won't get that, and I realize it's generally not a good idea to "make" bees do anything as it usually has to be their idea, and if this worked everyone would be doing it. Just wondering if anyone has heard of it or can tell me why it won't work? 

2. If I have to do a funnel, then I'm guessing I have to get out past the overhang with it if I want to direct them to the box on the roof? I don't know though if that would make the funnel too long for them to figure out how to get out, since they'd kinda have to fly down and then up to get out of it. Guessing gradual turns are best?

3. also Instead of making a super long funnel could I seal a cardboard box over their entrance and then put a funnel on the end of the box? Aiding in getting the funnel past the overhang.

Lastly, I believe these bees have been in this house for about two weeks from what info I can gather. What happens to the honey comb in the wall once I seal everything up when I'm done weeks from now? It's a concrete block house like I said, and I'll wait for all the brood to hatch before I remove the contraption but was just wondering if the comb will stink and be a mess in her attic/block wall? or is that an oh well situation? also I have no way of accessing the hive from the attic, the crawl space is so tiny.

I should be going back there tomorrow or Monday to set up. I have pictures I can PM too. 

thanks everyone!


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Pics would be nice to see, they can really help us to see what you are working with.

There are several options you can do and you pretty much hit on all of them. 

A tube to the bait hive, look for a "Hogan" style of a trap out.
Building an extension to put the screen cone onto works, have done that many times. Use wood not cardboard, they will chew threw the cardboard. Seal any holes with silicon caulk.

When the trap out is finished, remove all of your stuff leaving the entrance hole exposed, the bees will go back in and rob out the remaining honey, only thing left is empty comb. You need to watch the bees returning to the "empty" old hive, if you see them taking pollen back in then you did not wait long enough to get all of the bees out.

The screen cone or funnel does not direct them to the bait hive, it locks them out of the old hive. Once they are inside of the screen cone all they can see is screen wire all around with the exception of one small exit hole. Once out they can not find the exit hole to gain entrance back into the old hive. If you watch them they return to the old entrance, not the exit hole in the end of the cone. If is best to get the bait hive entrance as close as possible to the old entrance of the hive in the house. The cone does not have to be beyond the overhang of the house, again this is only to trap the bees outside of the hive.

Getting the bait hive entrance as close as possible is key. Who says the bait hive entrance has to be on the bottom of the box, could be on the top just as easy.

If using a five frame nuc as your bait box, keep a close eye on it. It could fill with bees in one day depending on how large of a swarm moved into the wall.


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## Danielle Quant (May 3, 2015)

Thanks for the fast reply! That really helps a lot with how I'll set this up. I don't have a way to post pics, at least not that I can figure out. I think I can take it from here. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out, hopefully with pictures!


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

Danielle Quant said:


> I had my dad who's a carpenter look at it and he said that it's actually wood slats that are extending out from inside the house. It's hard to explain, but it's a block house too so I can't access from below.
> 
> You don't access that roof from below. you do it from the end. The facia can be removed revealing the rafter space. I know this for a fact because it was the very first cut out I ever did. It is how my house is built. And I have done many remodels of this house over the past 30 years or so. You can get in their to do a cut out and not damage the house doing so. There is not much room to work though. a knife on a pole comes to mind. letting the comb fall on a piece of cardboard that can then be pulled out of the space. I would probably opt for a trap out as well if I thought it would work.


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## Danielle Quant (May 3, 2015)

I was just advised by a professional bee removal guy that a trap out is not safe to do in this situation with people living in the house and that a cut out is my only option. He says the bees will go further into the house to find a new exit and could end up all flying around inside.... Is he right? It's a block house, we're pretty sure. He says cut it out or walk away.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Cut them out. It's the only solution to a removal from a home with this scenario.


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## Terry C (Sep 6, 2013)

Danielle Quant said:


> I was just advised by a professional bee removal guy that a trap out is not safe to do in this situation with people living in the house and that a cut out is my only option. He says the bees will go further into the house to find a new exit and could end up all flying around inside.... Is he right? It's a block house, we're pretty sure. He says cut it out or walk away.


 I suspect he wants you to give up so he can make some money ... The whole idea of the hardware clothe cone is to make it easy for them to get out , difficult to get back in .


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## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Cut outs are always the better way to remove bees. That way you know you have them for sure and can seal up the entrance holes. You were asking questions about a trap out and I gave you some answers. Not sure of that type of construction, doesn't sound like how things are built around here, that is why I asked for pics. 
Trap outs can be difficult and very time consuming.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

G3farms said:


> Cut outs are always the better way to remove bees. .


That is a rather generous overstatement. There are lots of times, where a trapout is better than a cutout. Each have their place in modern beekeeping.

There are 2 things that beekeepers should always remember, and never forget. That is, to never use, always or never, when talking about bees This would be one of those situations.

cchoganjr


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## Danielle Quant (May 3, 2015)

So it was time consuming, but the trap out worked just fine. Bees gone, home intact, and home owner is happy. Glad I went with my gut, the amount of construction to cut them out would have be very involved and expensive for them. Also Thanks Mr. Hogan, I am going to attempt your style trap on a neighbor's tree this week.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

So what happens with the hive, brood, larve, honey, pollen that is still inside the home?


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

It'll be ok, Mr. Beeman. It doesn't get hot in Florida and that wax won't collapse and cause an oozing, gooey mess that will attract all sorts of unsavory creatures into the home owner's house.

Danielle, you owe it to the home owner to at least suggest (strongly) that they have someone remove the hive from their home (you've really got to be willing to finish the job right if you're going to do this kind of thing...), because it will not be pretty once the bees aren't inhabiting it anymore.


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## Danielle Quant (May 3, 2015)

Ok so I forgot to mention that after 6 weeks when all the bees were out of the home I took the trapout cone off and let the bees rob their old home... So yes wax is still in their wall, it's a concrete block home so truly what is the big deal? I clearly explained 3 times the "mess" that could happen in their walls if a cut out was not performed and they strongly refused aware of the "risk".


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