Who To Call For A Beehive Removal

Who to call for a beehive removal? The bee person!! Normally if you call your local fire department, they will have the number of a beekeeper who can help you remove bees. If you are an amateur beekeeper and lack confidence, call an experienced bee remover who is the local “Who to call for a beehive removal” person and watch and learn! Let us have a close look at this bee removing business.

Who To Call For A Beehive Removal?

For years I used to get phone calls all the time in spring. It drove me crazy. Everybody starts the call the same way “Hi, you don’t know me, but I have some bees in a place and I think they have honey, and I want them removed….”. Beekeepers know about bees  – some random person who has a swarm of bees does not need to tell the beekeeper what the bees make. Beekeepers know this!! Jokes aside, bee removals are a common problem people face.

When it comes to choosing who to call for a beehive removal the right person to call is a beekeeper who does bee removals. This is normally a beekeeper of medium experience or a beekeeper who has some spare time. I used to do hundreds of removals until I had other things to keep me busy – like hundreds of beehives. Beekeepers who do bee removals gain a lot of useful knowledge about bees in the process. Once you have done a few bee removals you will always be the “Who to call for a beehive removal” person in your area.

You should be able to find the local bee removal expert through Facebook, a Google search, or by phoning the local Fire Brigade/Bee Extension Officer or the Police.

How Do I Report A Beehive?

Deciding who to call for a beehive removal or even to report a hive will really depend on where you are. If you are in an area where Africanized bees may occur, some areas require that these be removed. These rules are largely being relaxed it appears as people learn to live with Africanized Honey Bees.

The general advice I would suggest for reporting a beehive is as follows. Make sure that you actually have a beehive – read here.  Phone your local apiculture (beekeeping) extension officer. These extension officers are there to provide advice and enforce laws relating to honeybees. These can range from disease and pest management to controlling the flow of Africanized Honey Bees.

If you cannot find this person, and I cannot seem to find any centralized list of such people, I would recommend phoning your local Fire Brigade (people always phone them so they will know who to contact), the Police, and even the local University or College Entomology Department. If you can find a local beekeeper, phone them -they will either be able to help or refer you to somebody who wants to help.

How Do I Report A Beehive Without Irritating The Beekeeper?

When deciding who to call for a beehive removal please remember that beekeepers are busy people. Phone them and say, “Hi, I have a problem beehive – can you advise me who to speak to.” That is ALL they need to hear. If you know nothing about bees, do not tell them you think the hive has honey or anything like that – this will just irritate them. Beekeepers are aware of what bees do – they make honey.

Honey from bee removals is of little value so don’t expect them to “take the honey as payment”. Removing bees is a pain in the neck, and unless the beekeeper has a major psychological problem, they should charge for the service. When it comes to deciding who to call for a beehive removal please remember – beekeeping is a hard way to survive – pay the beekeeper. They need it!

Can An Exterminator Get Rid Of Bees?

Yes. If they use licensed pesticides and do so in a safe legal way. All of the fumigated bees and combs should be removed after fumigation. Beehives that have been fumigated will rot with time leaking fermented honey and small hive beetle larvae all over your house – this stinks and stains things. When it comes to who to call for a beehive removal is an exterminator in any way the right choice? Let’s explore this.

Should An Exterminator Get Rid Of Bees?

No. Bees are important and becoming rare. If you can remove a hive and put it to use pollinating crops and providing ecosystem services, this is far better than killing it. When it comes to who to call for a beehive removal, I only ever recommend the extermination of bees in a situation where this is the last resort.

If the bees are in a place where they pose an immediate threat to livestock or are in a place where removing them will damage a special building/tree/rock formation then gassing the bees is best. I was once contacted to remove bees from a cave where they had nested behind an ancient San rock painting. Removing the bees could have damaged the painting. Fumigating these bees was a painful but necessary choice as the painting is part of our shared history as humans and should be protected.

Can I Remove A Beehive Myself?

The chances are that if you are asking this question the answer is most likely no. Do you have beekeeping experience and a bee suit and smoker? If you do, then you could try!! See if there is immediate risk nearby. If the bees go crazy, can they sting dogs, chickens, horses, people, etc who cannot move away? If the answer is yes, and you have never done this before, call an experienced person and learn with them as they remove the bees.

Removing bees is a great way to gain life experience and bee handling experience. You essentially had a chance to pull hives apart, learn how they work and also learn how to interact with people about bees. I don’t need to do bee removals anymore – but I do a few every year just to keep my hand in and to take a few pictures. It is lovely interacting with people about bees.

When I first decided to start working with bees I became the defacto “Who to call for a beehive removal” guy in my town. I actually had very little experience and learned through the University of hard knocks what not to do. I remember once removing bees there was a little piece of wood in the way, so I removed the wood with a hammer. The roof of the building then collapsed. Luckily I did not get sued.

I hope this has helped you decide who to call for a beehive removal. Bees are magical special creatures, and I also hope you have decided not to exterminate them. We need our bees. If you enjoyed this article please share.

Learn more about: Identifying A Bees Nest