We got a visit from the Queen this week!!
Earlier this week, the Queen visited my home. To be more precise, she visited a branch under my Birch tree in the front yard...............Queen Bee, that is.
I was watering my lawn yesterday and noticed a HUGE hive under a lower branch within reaching distance on my Birch tree.
I googled a Bee removal service, and they came down this morning to remove the hive.
They do not kill the bees, they put their space suit on and remove the hive and put it in a container that lets the bees fly into so that they can re-congregate before they take them away.
The rep told me they either take them into the wild, or that they add them to their honey farm.
He also stated that bee removal should be taken seriously and carefully these days due to the fact that our bee population has declined rapidly. We actually need bees to keep the ecosystem in balance.
Here is a great excerpt from their site:
"As you may have already heard, the honey bees are rapidly becoming extinct. Their populations have declined to 3% of original numbers. These events are directly correlated with the Colony Collapse Disorder which have been influencing the survival of bees for many years. ABC Bee Control strongly believes in Live bee removal to preserve the life of these amazing little creatures. Because without bees, we will not be able to enjoy sweet peaches, juicy strawberries, and many other fruits and vegetables that are on our tables daily. The method of live bee removal preserves as many bees as possible with the use of organic materials. Once we remove the bees, we relocate the them to our bee farm located in Malibu, CA. There they get back to nature, pollinating flowers and producing honey. Do your part to save them."
The removal service ended up costing me $150.00 for this particular hive to be removed from my home. They also gave me a 30-day guarantee in case the hive re-establishes itself in the next 30 days.
Anyway, they did a great job and here is their website: www.abcbeecontrol.com
Well done Ralph, you made the Queen and her colony very happy with your kindness! We have noticed the decline of honey bees in our area as well. My husband had to take a q-tip, pollinating by hand, many of our vegetables when we planted the garden this year to ensure success.
Important post, as the bees are still in stress.
Ralph, we actually hang mason bee houses around our home to attract bees and to provide for the little ones. These bees have never stung anyone around here and they love to pollinate.
Hi Ralph... Sounds to me like you found a great company to handle this for you and that they handled this situation in a VERY responsible manner!
Ralph, I like that. I don't like bees, but I like the idea of moving them! We should all take a more responsible approach to bees, even if we dont' like them. You get a gold star.... where did I put it....
I love bees - especially big, fat bumblebees - so this made my day. We have friends with beehives and I imagine of these days, we will give it a try. Thanks for spreading the word about how important they are!
Ralph, thanks for the post and information. If I ever need a bee removal service, I will look them up. Better to move the bees somewhere else so they can live.
Preserving bees is very important for our whole ecosystem. I had friend yesterday tell me she had a hive move into her attic... and only knew it when the honey started oozing out of her medicine cabinet! She had them safely moved-- OUT !
My husband came across a hive of bees at work just last week. He walked right up to where they were swarming (in a hose reel) and someone yelled for him to watch out. He walked away slowly but still ended up with 50+ all over him. His fellow employees helped him get them all off of him. Amazingly he was not stung once. They did have to call in the professionals to remove them. It took them almost a full day to get them removed. There are still some lingering around and it has been about 6 days now!
I grew up on a 300-acre farm here in Oregon. Bees were a nuisance. I was stung many times as we worked in haying, wood-cutting and fence building. We exterminated hives by pouring terrible fluids with a pan attached to a very long pole. My father carried tobacco for the sole purpose of chewing and placing it on bee stings.
Then as a young man I dated a girl in another state whose family were beekeepers. They made delicious creamed honey.
The girl's father assigned her burly brothers to orient me on their business. That involved checking on hives stationed all around the surrounding counties. That also meant donning "the suit" and working with bees.
Their matter-of-fact, careful-but-nearly-fearless approach to bees never fully rubbed off on me. But it changed my outlook about this grand species and all they do for us.
I lost track of the beekeepers and the daughter long ago. I've long had a new honey who is allergic to bee stings. We stay away from bees.
But we did have honey on our peaches for dessert tonight.
Bees are so important to our environment. Thanks for the post Ralph! People should protect the bees.
How come you had not noticed that HUFE hive before? Probably too busy selling real estate.
$150 sounds like a bargain when you consider travel time, getting into the space suit, capturing the bees, boxing them up and then relocating them.
Hello Ralph and a very impressive post, and very interesting and featured at one of my favorite groups ...
EXPRESS WITH WORDS AT ACTIVERAIN
VB ;-)
Hi Ralph, great headline and what a good story, a careful and caring approach...
Melissa,
This hive developed in a matter of a day or two if you can believe it.
Hi Ralph,
The title of your post caught my attention as I was scrolling through your site looking for updates on Zillow.
Interesting post & comments from our AR friends. Last year we had wasps building a colony under the siding of our home. As with bees it is best to have the professionals handle their removal. Fortunately we have not had a problem this year.
Thanks for the post.