Thanks for the update. Always nice to see how a sticky situation turned out!
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Thanks for the update. Always nice to see how a sticky situation turned out!
Trap them out. Cover opening with a funnel made from screen wire, so bees can come out, but not return. Set a hive body with a couple frames of brood,including eggs and a queen very near opening. As bees leave, they can't go back in, but because they have a load of nectar, they are welcomed into hive body. Takes a couple months to trap them out, as new workers are still being raised. For the first couple days, it won't be a pleasant situation. Then open up hive in tree, and let colony rob it out. This means building some kind of scaffold to support hive body, and then lowering down a full hive. Been there, done it, and don't want to do it again.
Thanks for the update, Todd, and it looks like bees, raccoons and humans were all well served all around!