Bee Removal

Santa Cruz Honey Bee Removal

We give honey bees a safe home.

Services offered: Live swarm capture.

Services suspended at this time: I am no longer taking jobs removing established bee hives. If the bees have been there for more than a week I do not have the bandwidth to do the removal.

Services never offered: I do not work with wasps, yellow jackets, or any species other than honey bees.

This is what honeybees look like:

Live Swarm Capture

Swarm removal within 8 feet of the ground is free. Tips/gas money is appreciated.

Before you call, please understand that there are two very different scenarios you may be dealing with.

1) a SWARM: a colony replicates itself by sending half the worker bees with the old queen to search for a new home...they temporarily land on a structure or tree branch nearby and send out scout bees to find a permanent home. A SWARM IS USUALLY DOCILE AND UNLIKELY TO STING (unless the weather is cold/rainy or the bees have been there for several days). Understand that a swarm of bees is much friendlier than a hive of bees that has taken up residence and started to build comb. If the bees are going into a hole where a cavity exists, it's likely they are not swarming and instead are building up their comb and ready to defend their home. See #2.

This is what a swarm of honey bees looks like:

2) an established HIVE: once the scout bees find a suitable home (usually a cavity in a tree or wall...they only require an access hole ~1/2 inch), the swarm will move into the cavity and start building comb, raise brood, and build up their population (usually up to 50-60,000 by summer!). AN ESTABLISHED HIVE IS DEFENSIVE AND MORE LIKELY to STING, especially if their comb has been intruded upon. Removing an establishing hive involves a lot more work depending on how accessible they are and how long they've had to build up their hive...if they are in a wall, for example, one has to cut a hole in the wall wide enough to access the bee colony, then cut out all the comb and capture as many bees as possible to ensure the queen is caught, in which case the rest of the bees will follow her....all this while dealing with stinging bees trying to defend their home from the intruder (the beekeeper). This is completely different than catching a swarm and a lot more work!

Removal from walls, attics, and other structures

Please plan to schedule wall removals several months in advance.

Beekeeping Lessons

Want to keep bees? I can help.

Recommended Bee Keeping Friends:

• • Davis Bee Collective (Kylie Mendonca)

  • Davis Bee Charmers (Derek Downey)