Last summer, a dead, standing spruce trunk that I had mounted a nest box on nearly 2 decades earlier had finally fallen. Its occupants, suddenly homeless required new accommodations, so I constructed, and put this one up the same day.

Now, nearly a year later here’s an image of the same box, only now its been usurped by roving honeybees. They’re hard to spot in this image, but believe me they’re there!

Most fortunately for me a good friend and good neighbor is a beekeeper! So this past Sunday morning Mike came over along with the necessary tools and a spare bee jacket for your’s truly.

I’d set a ladder the night before, after a brief run thru of our plan, Mike ascended the ladder, smoker in hand. He gave the bees a few puffs of smoke to calm the bees and then plugged the box opening with a rag, the hard part done, came down.

Then it was my turn up the ladder. I tied a rope around the box, unfastened it from the tree, then lowered the box to Mike waiting below.

Once on the ground I make a quick check that the rag was securely in place.

With me holding the box upright (in order to keep the honey from spilling out of the comb).

We carefully walk down to mike’s house and waiting Apiary.

First thing to be done is to attach some clamps to hold the back of the box in place and then remove the securing screws.

A couple more puffs from the smoker and its go time!

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And then setting the bees former home (the squirrel box) in front of the hive entrance (their new home), Mike says to reorient the bees to their new surroundings. Mike brought the squirrel box back to my house the following day.

All in all it went smoothly. Now Wednesday, everything looks good at the hive, though there is a small ball of bees that refuse to leave the site of their former home. Mike says they were probably out foraging when we removed the squirrel box and took it to his Apiary, and they don’t know where their home’s gone to.

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