Hive In Tree On Capitol Hill

I got a call from a nice woman last week about a hive in her tree, so took advantage of the vacation this week to go check it out and see if we can save the bees and remove her problem.

It is a beautiful old tree and we don't want to injure it in the process.  The hive entrance is on the left side of this picture, right where the tree narrows.

Here is a picture of the entrance, it is about 6 feet up the tree:

The entrance is small and the hive is deep, deep in the tree...There is no way of getting it out without substantial cutting of the trunk.

But it is a nice sized colony and I am very appreciative of the owner for wanting to do something to save them.

Barring a true cut-out, I have an alternative that I will try.  I will procure some Honey Robber, which is a smelly substance used to force bees out of honey supers.  My belief is that I can force the bees to swarm out of the hive and try to capture then in a hive trap. 

Any thoughts on this strategy?

I'll keep you posted.