New-bee here. I need some advice

We have a hive that has been living in our cinder block wall for at least the last nine months (it was here when we moved in, probably had been for a while before that.)  I decided that I wanted to add beekeeping to the list of homesteading projects I have.  I don't want to try to move them until spring, that way they can use up whatever they have built into the wall.  When I do try to extract them into my own hive, what do I do?  Is a trap out the best method?  Any ideas on books or websites on the subject would be greatly appreciated.  I am hoping to enlist the help of a local beekeeper but until then I wanted to study up on the subject.  I would like to destroy as little of the wall as possible.  Thanks!

A one way exit can remove some of them but many will stay inside the wall with the queen & the brood. You might be able to remove most with a vacuum cleaner. Some will survive but that's harsh. Real harsh. If you really want to save them you will have to open the wall to carefully remove them. Or otherwise requeen the ones who do exit. Your local library probably has some bee books. YouTube has many good bee videos. Look around for a local bee club. Someone there will surely help. Good luck.

Almost forgot the most important thing ... since you want them to survive definitely wait until spring. Very little chance of survival moving right before winter.

Mike Barkley wrote:A one way exit can remove some of them but many will stay inside the wall with the queen & the brood. You might be able to remove most with a vacuum cleaner. Some will survive but that's harsh. Real harsh

Think shop vac, with a lining inside of thick cushy foam. Yes, harsh.

There is a forum at Beesource dedicated to this type of thing. Take a wander through there, I saw some suggestions for how to 'bait' them out. https://www.beesource.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?292-Swarms-Trap-outs-and-Cut-outs

Do wait for spring, but not too long after you see them bringing in pollen. They do that when the queen is laying, building back their population. That is, if it's above 40 F or so.

removing a bee hive from a block wall

removing bees from concrete wall

Those two should give you some ideas on how to get them out safe and sound.

You could just wait until they swarm naturally and attract the swarm to your hive.

Typically when a colony swarms only about half the bees leave with the old queen. Half remain at the original location (inside the wall) with new queen cells.