# Help with first cutout.



## Mradamhopkins (Jun 20, 2014)

need some advise. I have never done a cutout before and just started beekeeping about 6 months ago. Not sure if this would even be called a cut out since it's already exposed, like an external hive. My plan of attack was to vacuum up the bees(would need to build a bee vac) and then just cut down the comb and put it in the frames. I know the concept and it seems simple enough but this hive seems pretty large to me. What equipment should I take and do I leave the hive in the box there a few days or just cut and go.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

It is pretty straight forward. Remove like you planned and leave the hive there for a few days and pick up just before dark.


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## smokymoutainbeekeeper (Jun 21, 2014)

I have learned a lot about cutouts, swarms and colony removals watching the videos of JPtheBeeMan on youtube. He seldom wears a bee suit but I would highly recommend at least a veil until you become very comfortable with the bees and their behavior


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## Mradamhopkins (Jun 20, 2014)

Thanks guys. Just watched some videos from him today actually. I will be suited up head to toe haha. Got stung today just looking at the hive (about a foot away) I'm guessing they will be somewhat hot. Also I will have another person there to be an extra set of hands on the ground which I'm guessing will help a lot. More than the bees I'm more interested in all the comb. It's hard to get going with limited resources!!


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## Bal (Aug 11, 2014)

Hi Mradamhopkins, 
I'm not experienced at all. I started beekeeping two days ago when I did my first cutout. I thought I'd better share my mistakes with you so you don't make the same. Also want to share what worked best for me.

I watched all of JP's videos. Watched, studied and took notes from few of them, especially the ones relevant to my hive. In your case, open hives. I would strongly recommend the ones he tagged/named "pissy bees"(Sorry about the language). 

I wore tyvec disposable suit for my cutout. I don't own a beesuit mainly because they are so expensive but I knew I would need one for this job. I thought wearing a disposable suit which is resistant to chemicals, breathes well and is anti static (bees hate static because it zaps them) would be good. I've seen some bees sting even over the bee suit in videos, so having something synthetic on me would make me less of a thread to them. You can put it on top of your bee suit for extra protection. My bees just walked on my legs and arms calmly. There were no stings. Also I found that a cut out is extremely messy! Uncapped honey and nectar drips everywhere! Within an hour, we were covered in honey, leaves and stuff stuck on us. I realized at the end of the job, you can just take the suit off and put it in the bin. It costed $12.50. When I think a full bee suit costs almost $200 and I would have to wash it afterwards, this disposable suit became even more valuable to be honest.

I sprayed my veil with dishwashing liquid solution as jredburn suggested, worked a treat.

Now the mistakes,

I used my bee brush to remove bees off the comb at first, soon it became sticky and was useless. Was actually sticking to the bees and hurting them. 

Then I shook bees off the comb instead of brushing but uncapped honey dripped everywhere. I didn't consider that beforehand. Next time I will need to find a more effective way of dealing with that. I thought about putting all honey and nectar in buckets but maybe let the bees rob any uncapped honey and put only capped honey in buckets is better. 

Believe I used too much smoke. It was my first time and I need to regulate the smoke better next time. All the comb and honey stinks of smoke now. This honey is going to be fed back to the bees but if we wanted to eat it ourselves or wanted to sell it, it would be unsuitable. You said you want the comb mainly. I think bees wouldn't like to use a comb which smells of smoke. I might be wrong about this but I didn't like the smell left on my clothes afterwards, what is my whole house smelled like that?

My friend wasn't experienced either. She watched a few videos before hand because I forced her. She said she would wing it and learn as we go. This is not good. When I gave her the cut brood comb to put in the frames, she did it right as we saw in the videos. Right side up and rubber banded very well. But when we tried to put that frame in our hive body, we realised she was holding the frame upside down! So we had to take the combs out and re do them as they were upside down  now this is my mistake too. I should have thought about it before hand but when both of us are inexperienced, stuff-ups are inevitable.

We forgot about taking breaks, we were dehydrated after 7 hours. 

Also after the first hour we didn't take any video or photos because our hands were too sticky and we just wanted to get the job done. Our hive was a bad bad mess, comb had collapsed before and the bees re-built around it. It would be great to have photos of it to show and study later. Also a smart phone is useless taking videos when you don't know what you are doing. My videos are sideways, upside down. We shook the bees in and they look like they are falling upwards. Hehehe. Don't make this mistake 

Make sure you have antihistamines with you. My friend had one sting. Me and my husband haven't had any stings. I haven't been stung before so I don't even know if I'm allergic (naughty me). Your friend might be allergic or after few stings, you might react badly.

Good luck with it all, if I could do it, you certainly can too. You are more experienced than I am. Enjoy it. It really is an amazing experience. 

And please share photos and videos with us. I am obsessed with bee videos


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## smokymoutainbeekeeper (Jun 21, 2014)

Bal mentions some really valid points. On my first cutout, I had not seen any of JP's videos nor any videos for that matter. I too did everything wrong, but as they say, you always learn from mistakes (of course it is better if you learn from someone else's mistakes).

As far as what I could tell from the pictures you posted, I am not sure you really need a bee-vac. With moderate smoke, you should slowly remove the comb with the emphasis of saving comb with brood. The other comb, just set aside in another bucket for the moment. Also it is a good idea to have a bucket of water so that you can frequently rinse your hands. You will get sticky! Set a hivebody as close as you can to where the existing comb is and place the collected brood comb, after putting in a frame, into the box. Attempt to transfer bees as best you can to the hive. Work slow with a goal of collecting the brood and the bees will follow. Perhaps even the queen will follow or you may even find the queen!

You should do fine.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

How high up is that? Will you be working on ladders or? Adds another element of difficulty, especially if one person is on the ground, and the other is trying to come down the ladder with cut comb.., I too would ditch the vacuum until the very end, to get the stragglers, regardless of what you decide, make sure your suction is correct, since your making it


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Mradamhopkins, what's the word bird?


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## jredburn (Feb 25, 2012)

Points to remember.
JD and Hardwood live in areas that do not have African Hybrids. You do. They do not show their mistakes.

Smoke lightly, do not rely on smoke to control the bees. It is only effective at the beginning.

The colony will have surplus honey in the outermost combs. You can cut this down and put it in a bucket for processing later. Brush the bees of lightly and keep a cover on the bucket. You will get bees in the bucket, but they can be dealt with later.
The interior comb will have layers of honey around layers of pollen around layers of brood. Cut the layers off one at a time and place in the frames the same way it comes out. Work quickly. Keep the brood as warm as possible. If the comb is to long to fit in the frames (and it will be) cut the bottom / ends off so you keep as much brood as possible in one piece. The little cuts can be discarded.
Once the comb is in the box, let the bee cluster for 15 to 20m minutes, brush or vacuum them into a box and dump that box onto the frames and cover. If you get the queen in the box (you probably wont) the bees will cluster around her. Look for a ball of bees in a nearby tree. If you don't get her, don't fret, the workers will start a new queen cell within a few hours.

If you can, leave the hive close to original location overnight. Come back in the AM and you will see a ball of stranglers someplace close. Brush or vacuum them into the box with the rest of the nest. 
If you put more comb in the box than there are bees to cover the brood, the brood will die and the bees will abscond.
When you put the first vacuum load in with frames, put a #8 wire cloth cover over the entrance so nobody gets in or out. Leave them locked in the box for 3 to 4 days and then let them fly. They will have enough food for a week or better. If you get the queen in the box, put a queen excluder over the entrance so she can't get out.
Don't get upset if they abscond, most of them do. They have African genes in them or they would not have an open air nest.


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