HONEY BEES REMOVAL QUESTION

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

I need advice .... feedback ..... suggestions .......

We just discovered a huge infestation of what we thought were hornets all swarming in an air vent on our terrace, right above our sitting area! Yikes!

Well, a neighbor is in the garden center business, and he came over and looked at them, and said they are honey bees, not hornets.

YES, I am very aware of how "sacred" honey bees are for our ecosystem, and how their population has been dwindling. I definitely don't want them killed.

However ...... Our HOA is having a pest control guy come over on Monday to examine their swarming and make recommendations for how to get rid of them.

It appears this is the vent from our stove, and they might be building a nest in the pipes, or even gotten into a wall .... we really have no idea yet.

It's MY thought that, rather than killing these bees, it would be better to just make this location as inhospitable as possible. Yesterday I turned on the vent fan on Low and hope I'm creating enough of a breeze in the pipe that they decide to leave and go somewhere else .... at least they are alive. Today, I'm leaving the vent fan on High for several hours, and hopefully they won't like this and go elsewhere looking for a new place to nest.

Can I get some feedback or ideas for how to deal with them, to get them to leave? I've never had a bee infestation to deal with before, and don't want the Pest Control company to use chemicals on them.

Ideas?

mare54 · ‎08-14-2011

PLEASE DO NOT SPRAY AND KILL!! There should be someone who knows how to get them to a beekeeper in your area. Hopefully the pest control guy will know someone who can get them. Do you live near a university that has an agricultural department? Maybe they could help you as well.

SaRina · ‎04-17-2015

Do you know if you're allergic to bee stings? I am and it can be life-threatening so I would never fool around with them. I also wouldn't try my own method of putting the air vent on. This could anger them into action.

I would only employ a professional service and let them do whatever they have to to rid you of the bees.

You can contact a school such as Cornell University that has an Entomology Department and ask for their advice. Also, your local Police or Fire Department. Ours had a professional beekeeper who went on calls throughout the city.

kelsey17 · ‎04-10-2012

Years back we had a honey bee issue too......we ended up calling a beekeeper who was happy to take them away...

good luck..

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

If it's honey bees, you have to remove the hive w/the queen. Male bee drones follow the queen.

You will need a "bee keeper" to remove the hive(s) properly. Check w/your township pest control department if they a "bee keeper" on staff.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

You just have a bee keeper come and he will remove the whole hive. When we lived in Pa our neighbors across the street had a hive in their attic dripping honey into their bedrooms. It took the bee keeper a week to get all the bees out, then they had to clean up the mess left behind and put up new ceilings.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

I would look for a local beekeeper that can come over to deal with them. My sisters neighbor has a huge garden in his back yard & has bees to pollinate his garden. Most of the bees left his yard & ended up in a tree in my sisters back yard. The neighbor had his brother come over & do something so he could get the bees back over to the neighbors yard.

You can see the dark spot of bees in the tree.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@Tinkrbl44

Bees are so important to us for many reasons. SF is trying to save the bees and had a report on it the other night.

Please get a professional to remove the hive and take it somewhere else where it will be safe and allowed to continue pollinating, etc.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

ps @Tinkrbl44

I just checked and in my area there are bee removal professionals that will do it all and the relocating for you without killing them.

All are listed on yelp dot com. Have you used yelp before? I don't know where you live, but people here use yelp all the time. It's good to look over their recommendations or just to see who is near where you live.

qgirl70 · ‎05-05-2017

we had problem @ our guest house. the honey bees were between the drywall and the outside wall. we called a bee keeper. he vacumned them up and brought them to his hives. hope this helps!