Honey Bees

Serving Greater Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas
724-935-5444 - North and East
412-571-3090 - South and West
Serving Greater Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas
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Honey Bees

Careful Honey Bee Removal From Your Home

Honey bee removal and control is something I take very seriously; they are removed alive whenever possible. If you have a honey bee swarm in your yard, most likely hanging from a tree branch, be happy that you are able to witness it as it is quite rare.  

Although quite obvious how they get their name, why you are seeing a swarm of them in your yard or living in your walls may not be so easily understood. Honey bees live as colonies in hives and in an effort to maintain a healthy hive environment, an established colony (20,000 - 80,000 individuals) will produce swarms. 

Identifying Honey Bees

  • Swarms can land and collect on a structure or tree branch quite quickly – in 1 hour or less
  • Swarms are temporary and usually move on within 24 - 48 hours depending on favorable weather (chilly or rainy weather may delay this)
  • Though swarms are usually docile, they will sting if provoked or mishandled
  • Healthy established colonies have constant, continuous activity (during daylight) at the entrance as workers fly to and from the hive
  • Workers may appear to have orange or pale yellow "dots" on either side of their body when returning to the hive (pollen)
  • Entrances of established honey bee colonies are typically between floors or between the top floor and the attic
It is important to note that although you may mean no harm, honey bees, as well as other stinging insects, may only need an insignificant gesture like a misinterpreted movement or accidental bump to their hive to feel threatened enough to provoke an attack. Caution should be taken around all stinging insects, particularly if you are allergic. 
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Swarm and Hive Removal

The removal and control of honey bees usually falls into two categories - swarm removal and established colony removal or extraction. Although a honey bee swarm in your yard is temporary, the need to remove it may be justified - be it an allergic family member you're protecting, preventing it from moving into your walls or nearby structure, or even to simply make sure it goes to an area where it will be cared for and protected from predators, like a honey bee farm. 

When a swarm moves into a home's walls, however, it should most certainly be removed as its occupants almost immediately begin to fill the walls with honey and wax.

Please note that if a honey bee swarm has already entered into your home walls, plugging the nest's entrance is extremely dangerous and ill-advised. DO NOT PLUG THE ENTRANCE! This will only force the thousands of honey bees further into the home. This also includes chemical barriers like spraying the outside or bees' entrance into the house with store bought "bee sprays." They will eventually find another way out, less direct than the original way, making it harder for a honey bee specialist to control the situation - it usually makes it more expensive as well.
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The Bee Man is licensed and certified by the PA Department of Agriculture, and is fully insured. 
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