- Honey Bees -
Honey bees are removed through either a non-invasive procedure for tree dwelling bees, or a more in depth structural removal from a house, building, structure, etc. Their bodies are black/gold and furry often carrying colorful pollen on their back legs. They are dormant or less active during the colder months of the year, as well as during the colder times of day. Honey bees are most active during spring and summer and during warm afternoons. Their colonies number on the small side of 3,000 individuals up 80,000 for larger hives. The colony has three different types of bees, most common is the female worker, then the drone male and then the all important queen bee. They construct an elaborate structure of interlocking hexagon cells out of bees wax to form a comb. In this structure they store honey, pollen rear their babies and it provides a surface for them to live on. They are generally not aggressive but don’t test your luck as some hives do contain aggressive genes from the dangerous africanized honey bee. Honey bees are an important pollinator source, without them we would loose 1/3 of our food we eat. Honey bees pollinate up to 80% of all our flowering plants, so you can see why they are an important resource to protect.
Four Removal Types Available
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Four Removal Types Available -
Swarm Removal
Honey bee swarms are in simple terms the birth of a new individual colony. It takes 3-5,000 bees plus a queen to successfully create a new self-sustaining hive. The bees are considered a swarm when they are an exposed (not in a cavity) group of bees clustered together in a mass on a tree/bush/etc or moving through the air in a large cloud following the queen to their new home determined previously by scout bees. If you notice a few bees that are increasing in number over a short amount of time investigating a hole or crack that may lead into a cavity such as an attic vent, gaps/holes in siding, chimney flue top or a hollow in a tree these are probably the scout bees but the large swarm is soon to follow if the access to the cavity is not sealed immediately. We can help you with that! Or if you find a large cluster of exposed bees they will probably move on but It is highly recommended they be relocated before they work their way into a cavity and an expensive structural removal is required.
Fee: Swarm collection $145 and up depending on difficulty, plus drive time. Most swarm removals fall under the $145 base price. We collect the bees using a custom modified vacuum device and relocate the swarm into a new home with our local partnered apiaries. Approximate removal time required is 45-60min.
Fee: Sealing of areas of interest by scout bees $125 and up depending on difficulty, plus materials, plus drive time.
Click the box below to book your removal or ask a question!
Structural Removal
We start this process by open up the drywall, relocate the bees, clean out any comb and rebuild your wall to better than new in only one visit! This type of removal is typical inside an interior wall or ceiling of your home. Approximate typical removal time required is 3-5hrs for newly formed hives and 8-10hrs for longer established hives. Rebuild time takes 1-3hrs to complete.
Fee: Structural honey bee removal-
$775 and up depending on access, difficulty, bee tent installation needed, for newly formed hives (Booking and removal performed within 10 days of entry)
$1500 and up depending on access, difficulty, bee tent installation needed, for established hives (Longer than 10 days after entry).
Optional rebuild, wall patch and texture offered. Estimate for repair is normally between $200-500 plus materials (normally between $50-75) depending on size and difficulty of the patch.
We carry general liability insurance and the removal is backed by a 3 year guarantee that the bees will not re-enter the same cavity or they will be removed again for free.
Click the box below to book your removal or ask a question!
Tree Removal
Removal From Tree: $525 and up depending on difficulty and ease of access, plus materials ($25-$50 on average) and drive time. Bees are relocated, not killed using a special extended release method to remove the bees alive without damaging the tree. Process takes 3-4 weeks on average to complete from start to finish. We install a metal wire screen patch over the original hive entrance coated with tar to encapsulate the hive once the removal is complete and comes with a one year no bee guarantee. Schedule to have the patch inspected for extended warranty time as trees can grow and create gaps in patches over time. Approximate time required is 45min to 1.5 Hours per visit depending on access, two visits required (setup and pickup).
Click the box below to book your removal or ask a question!
Chimney Removals
Chimney Removals: Depending on the ease of access and difficulty:
A hive smaller than 1 cubic foot (ex: basketball) is estimated $675-1,800 labor, plus materials (estimated $50-$75), equipment rental if required and drive time ($1 per minute).
A hive larger than 1 cubic foot (ex: basketball) is estimated $1,800-$3,000 labor, plus materials (estimated $75-$125), equipment rental if required and drive time ($1 per minute).
This includes: Removal and relocation of the honey bee hive, cavity clean out, special primer/sealer painting to eliminate pheromones left in the cavity by bees (that could attract future honey bee hives) if applicable, and sealing the original entrance if applicable.
It is typical to do the removal from the top of the chimney as that is where most honey bee swarms begin to build their hive working their way down the flue as they grow. Scaffolding or boom lifts are normally required for difficult to access chimneys. Please contact us and we will get back to you with an estimate and equipment required to complete your removal. If the honey bees are entering at or near the sides of the chimney where the chimney meets the structures siding then there is a high probability the removal will be done through the interior wall or siding of the structure as the bees will be inside the wall, not inside the chimney.