Beekeeper to the rescue, saving the bees!
On Monday I posted about the swarm of honeybees that had moved into our screech owl box over the weekend. Yesterday evening beekeeper (and high school teacher) Jim Hogg of Daddy’s Bees came over and carefully removed them for us. He took them home, transferred them to a hive, and eventually will find another beekeeper who wants them. He doesn’t keep honeybees himself anymore but believes in saving them. He came out right away when I called him on Monday and gave me a free bid for removal; his modest fee was, I thought, very reasonable for his time, gas cost, and effort—not to mention climbing high up a ladder in a hot, cumbersome bee suit in 100-degree weather and dealing with testy bees.
Here’s how he did it. After putting on his bee suit, Jim climbed the ladder and gently taped up the openings in the owl box, even the cracks along the roof.
Taping up the hole
A few bees got agitated at this point, and Jim peeled the tape back a bit to give the stragglers an opportunity to get inside before taping it up again.
After he finished taping it up, he securely tied a rope around the box and draped the end over a sturdy branch…
…and then he removed it from the tree and lowered it slowly to the ground. Then he just carried the whole box off to his truck. He planned to transfer them into a hive when he got home, and he’ll bring the owl box back to us next week. I think we’ll leave it in the garage until bee-swarm season is over.
Bee swarms are occurring all over central Texas right now, indicating a healthy population. Our resurgent bee population even made news at the Wall Street Journal this week. Colony-collapse disorder is killing off bee populations all over the country, so it’s good to know our bees are pretty healthy. After all, without sufficient numbers of honeybees, we not only won’t have honey but our crops won’t get pollinated and even our personal gardens will suffer. So if you’re in the Austin area and see a swarm at your house, don’t panic and don’t call the exterminator. Just call Jim at Daddy’s Bees or visit the “Report a Swarm” page at Urban Beekeeping in Austin, Texas to find someone who can safely move your bees.
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Fascinating process and good to know the bees will be relocated. We are seeing more bees around here too.
I’m glad Jim was able to come help you. He’s a great guy and really dedicated to saving bees.
I’m so glad you found someone so knowledgeable (and brave!) to come and save the bees. I hope they end up giving someone some great honey, and thrive in someone else’s yard.
I love that you saved the bees! Thanks for all the great bee references, too!
These are some lucky bees. They knew a good place when they saw it.
Did he know you were going to photograph him in action when he agreed to the job? 🙂
Yep, I told him I’d be shooting from a safe vantage point inside and then blogging about it. —Pam
That’s exactly what happened last year to my owl house. The person I hired does keep bees, but still it’s good to know that the bees are relocated, rather than exterminated. Now all I have interested in the owl house is a squirrel…
Wow-that’s pretty cool to see in action. Thanks for sharing. I’m glad he was able to get the removed so quick.
So glad you posted this, Pam, educating on moving swarms around. Um, also glad to know bees might be attracted to an owl box! I just had a little group of paperwasps move into a large bell tied next to my front door! I could not for the life of me figure out why they were suddenly at the front door every day, until a good friend suggested I look inside the bell! She was right! I simply clipped the twine holding it in place and tied the bell onto a branch in a nearby camellia tree. They are still there, weeks later. 🙂 Glad your bees also had an easy transition. May they find their forever home soon! xoxo
Great post – wonderful to know that some of the bee colonies are surviving. I’ve seen way more honey bees in my garden this year too.
I wish our swarm captures were this easy 😉 Self-boxing bees! Makes me think we should check our owl boxes…
Yes, much easier than having to cut them out of a house’s walls, for example. —Pam
that’s the bees knees.
I’m so glad you had them re-located rather than exterminated…and how awesome that your bee population is thriving…it’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say that in forever!
That’s a great ending to your story Pam…
Way cool! Thanks also for sharing the good news about Texas’s bee population. Let’s hope that a resurgence in bee populations will occur in other regions as well!
Are the color guard yuccas cold hardy?
Plant Delights says it’s hardy to zone 4, Rebecca. —Pam