Bee problem

I am hoping some one here might bee able to help me out.
I have a dead Gum tree in my back yard around 60' high and has been lopped some time ago. When I moved here I noticed bees around one of the top limbs and thought nothing of it. Now they are entering and exiting from a hole at the base of the tree but I'm not sure if the whole tree is hollow.
Generally I wouldn't mind, but it is close to the house and where the kids play. With summer coming on they will only get buzzier.
How can I get rid of them safely?
I know I could call a bee guy out, but I like to do things for myself when I can. Not 'coz Im tight, I just like to have a go.
If someone could please bee a honey and help me with this I would appreciate it.

Actually, honey people will sometimes come take the nest for free. call a local honey farm and see if they want them. Otherwise I would cut the tree down, because if they are crawling up into it it is most likely dead or hollow. I would have that checked either way because a dead tree is more dangerous to your children than the bees.

You could seal the opening too. They wont move unless the queen does.

Thanks for that. I might have to plug the hole at the bottom. Now to do it without a sting...
I dont want to get rid of the tree. I like it. It is pretty solid and there are no branches left on it so it is safe in that regard. Like I said. I am not sure if it is hollow all the way or if there are 2 nests. Top and bottom.

Just do as I say, take a long wooden stick cover one end with a old cloth add some gasoline on the cloth and ignite it and show it next to the bee hive or in your case the hole in the tree and the bees will die off and fly away.

WARNING-MAKE SURE YOU COVER YOUR FACE AND BODY WITH PROTECTIVE, THICK CLOTHING TO PREVENT A BEE STING, WHILE DOING THIS.

And so the bees dissapear and never returned back, I did the same.

Originally posted by VIKINGANT
Thanks for that. I might have to plug the hole at the bottom. Now to do it without a sting...
I dont want to get rid of the tree. I like it. It is pretty solid and there are no branches left on it so it is safe in that regard. Like I said. I am not sure if it is hollow all the way or if there are 2 nests. Top and bottom.

Bees are very territorial, I don't think there would be two nests in one tree. Especially different types of bees. One Queen one nest. but there may be two ways into the nest. I would call the local honey farm first... they have ways. The last resort would be to kill the nest, bees are good. Honey is good. Pollination is good.

Near the hole, light some kind of fire with wood.. something safe to create smoke, or fill the hole when the bees are not active like at night or evening.

I agree with another poster. Call on a local bee farm and have them remove the hive, ten you can cut down the tree. Killing them is one way to do it but with the steady decline in honey bees around the world it might be a good idea to relocate the hive so they can continue pollinating crops around the area.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man," - Albert Einstein.

whether or not he was correct in his thoughts on this, its better to be safe than sorry. The least we can do is try not to speed up their decline.

They may not be able to move the hive safely and may have to destroy them in the end but its worth the try. If they are Africanized bee's then no matter what , they need to go as they are VERY aggressive.

bee removal