FAQ: Swarms & Cutouts

What’s so special about honeybees?

Honeybees are crucial to our our supply of fruits, nuts and vegetables. In the past few decades the honeybee population in America has been hit hard from pests and diseases imported from foreign countries. Honeybee numbers are in decline in the USA. If you enjoy almonds, apples, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cranberries, cucumbers, kiwi fruit, leafy vegetables, squash, watermelon as well as honey and beautiful flowers you personally benefit from the contribution of the honeybee. Of all insects in the insect kingdom the honeybee is believed to provide the most benefit directly to humans.

What’s the best thing to do if I have swarming honeybees on my property?

A beekeeper who specializes in swarm removal should be called to remove the swarm. This will prevent the bees from potentially taking up residence inside the walls/ceiling/etc of your residential or commercial structure. It will also get the bees under control and off of your property as quickly as possible.

I’m allergic to honeybee stings. How dangerous is a honeybee swarm?

Avoid direct interaction with the swarm or swarm cluster and the honeybees will not demonstrate defensive (stinging) behavior. Swarming honeybees are of the most gentile temperament. They will generally not sting at all.

What’s the worst thing to do with swarming honeybees?

The worst thing to do for yourself and for the honeybees is to spray them with insecticide. This will kill honeybees as well as excite them and result in defensive (stinging) behavior. The swarming honeybees will not sting if left alone and will generally dissipate on their own after a few days or can be safely removed by a professional beekeeper (usually the same day).

What do you do with the honeybee swarms you remove?

We give them a proper hive to establish their colony in and place the hive in our apiary. The hive we provide them is designed to be an ideal home for a honeybee colony. It promotes pest-free, hygienic conditions, provides adequate shelter from the elements and makes it easier for the beekeeper to inspect the colony for health and management purposes with as little disruption to colony activity as possible.

How much do you charge to remove a swarm?

We voluntarily rescue swarming honeybees for no charge. We take great joy in knowing that a swarm was captured in a safe harmless way and is given a proper hive to establish their colony in.

Why did the honeybees swarm?

A honeybee colony will swarm for one of two reasons 1) overcrowding inside the hive or 2) reproduction. A colony of honeybees has two top priorities. Priority #1 is to store up enough pollen and nectar during the Spring, Summer and Fall to be able to make it through the coming winter. Priority #2 is to reproduce.

What happens to the swarm if a beekeeper does not come out to hive it?

Eventually the scout bees will find a suitable cavity or other location to establish the colony in. Call a keeper to remove the swarm to ensure that the cavity it finds doesn’t happen to be in your house!

Colony Removal (Cutout) FAQ

Why are these honeybees residing inside the wall/ceiling of my home or business?

A swarm of honeybees has moved into the structure because it provides a suitable environment for them to establish their colony. They are innocent trespassers and should be removed with care by a professional beekeeper to limit damage to your home or business.

How much damage will a colony removal (cutout) cause to my property?

It entirely depends on the situation and on where the colony is located. Please give us a call so we can gather the details and explain what we would need to do to remove the honeybees and all associated comb/honey, etc.

Will you perform all the repairs as well?

No. We do whatever must be done to remove the honeybee colony. We will do our best consider all the options to removing the colony and all bees so that the necessary repair work is kept to a minimum.

How much do you charge to remove a honeybee colony from my home/business?

It all depends entirely on the situation but is usually in the $375-$500 range. Our price is very competitive; and folks who call around usually pick us due to our reasonable price and good reputation. Please give us a call so we can better understand the situation and give you a more precise estimate.

Innocent Mistakes

How come I’ve tried every type of spray money can buy and the colony doesn’t seem to be affected?

First of all, most of the honeybees are not in the colony. They are out with the flowers gathering nectar and pollen and pollinating fruits and vegetables for us to enjoy. Also, spraying the entrance results in very little poison making it into the interior of the colony where the honeybees are. Spraying the bees rarely gives the intended results. In reality it just means you will will have to wait several additional days for the poison to wear off before a keeper can safely remove the colony.

If I just plug the hole they are flying in and out of won’t they all eventually die?

The honeybees inside the cavity will simply look for another way out. This may lead thousands of bees indoors where your family or customers are. In addition, the thousands of foragers returning from the flowers will fly around the blocked entrance. They will be flying around in greater and greater numbers outside as they can’t drop off their nectar and return to the fields to gather more. So, no, plugging the hole rarely gives the intended result. It just makes everything worse.

I killed all the honeybees before I saw this information. Now what?

Now you will have problems with cockroaches, mice and fly maggots who are attracted to the honey. In addition the honey will drip out of the comb onto your floor and carpet. The damage will spread until you have someone come out and repair all of the damage and get the pests situation under control.