Honeybees moved into this space over a bedroom (in the joist space between floors) about a month and a half ago.
The bees were not a problem for the homeowner, however, they were concerned for the safety of their dogs – so called to have the bees removed.
The bees are entering at the junction of where the siding meets the brick. There was about a 1/4″ gap. The bees had taken up residence just behind the band-board of the joists – but not accessible from the drywall area of the bedroom. The comb width was about 16″ (joist spacing), by about 12″ tall.
This home has had a colony of bees on the side for about a month. The homeowner was informed about the bees – and a call was made to investigate and get them to brighter pastures.
Here’s the view as I peered through the shrubbery:
I could not tell yet (for certain) whether or not this was a new hive – or an extension of a larger hive within the soffit or wall. After removing the external comb – it was determined that the hive did NOT go into the structure of the home.
The comb with eggs and brood was saved, the queen was found and placed into a hive body with the comb – and the residual wax removed from the home. I also ran a fresh bead of caulk to make sure that bees could not enter in the future (from this spot, anyway).
Here are a few pics and a video of the bees orienting to the new box:
Bees have lived in this soffit for a short amount of time. The property was being sold, and the new buyers wanted the bees to be removed as a part of their purchase agreement.
While the bees were in a 1st floor soffit – it was a high soffit… and a precarious drop below my ladder footing. The picture below shows my view from the ladder.. down to a creek bed another 20-30 feet below the ladder footing.
The bees presented a strange phenomenon – there was plenty of brood, and plenty of bees… and we had a good nectar flow going on at the time – HOWEVER – the comb was dry as a bone. No honey stores whatsoever. This, friends is why you feed your bees if there is a dearth of nectar that is acceptable to them.
Once the bees and comb was removed – the space was filled with insulation, and put back together.
This trash can was a removal from a client earlier in the year. Bees had moved into the can last fall – and overwintered… however when they tagged the homeowner a few times – he decided it was time to call me.
I brought the bees home with me – and figured I would move them out of the trash can as soon as I made time. With them bearding outside the can last week (see photo) – it was time!
Once I opened up the side of the can, I saw that it was a MESS inside. The previous owner of said trash can had almost FILLED it up with sticks & cutting debris. The comb was all intertwined in the twigs – so I was only able to salvage about half of the brood-comb… Even with that – I was able to save about 10 frames of comb. There was a LOT – but it was a messy removal (and not with honey).
After the move from trash can to box – which took about 2.5 hours of careful work, there was still about the same amount of bees bearded on the outside of the new box. I added another medium sized box to the deep a day or so later, and with cool weather – they all finally went in – and are now performing as they should.
(Update – 1 week later, I have given them time to settle. After checking the hive and frames of comb that was salvaged – I did find that fresh eggs have been laid – so they DO have a queen, even though I have not caught sight of her as yet)
The tenant in this condo has seen bee activity since he moved in last November. Given the number of holes in the side of the building – I am not surprised at all. He had a sticky spot on the upstairs wall of his home – which alerted him to the possibility of honeybees in that wall. The spot on the wall, though – was NO WHERE near the entrance the bees were using. My laser thermometer could not verify presence of bees in the wall at all… However, it DID show that warmth was transmitting through the floor – in the joist space between the 1st and 2nd floors – above the entryway of the back porch.
These bees in the space I opened had only been here for a about a month. the comb was nice and fresh, pure white, and had a fantastic brood pattern.
I found the queen on the 2nd piece of comb that was removed, and she posed nicely for the camera. 😉
Bees have been entering this unoccupied home for an unknown amount of time. (After viewing and examining the comb – I believe the space had been occupied for at least 2 years). Click on each photo for a larger version of each one – and there are 4 videos linked in this post.
Initial view of the home.
And of the kitchen corner:
Comb seen from the opening in the dining area. First 3 photos are straight up – last photo is to the next joist space to the left.
Initial opening view – Video Able to see that comb is behind the 2×12, and access would have to be made from the outside as well for the hive to be removed.
More comb…
The patio cover has no comb inside of it.
Siding off – And insulation panel exposed
Wood panel opened
Comb was LARGE. Right at 2′ tall.
Bees removed, comb removed, and filling the void with insulation, then replacing the wood panel, insulation panel, and vinyl siding.
Also the drywall inside was replaced into its’ position.
Inside:
And for fun – a view of what I dealt with during the removal. This was a feeding frenzy of neighborhood bees cleaning up the honey while I was working.
Several weeks ago, an attentive homeowner watched as a swarm moved into the joist space between floors of a backyard “garage apartment”. On eviction day – access to the comb was through the flooring above the bees. A laser thermometer showed that there was a hot-spot in the corner – marking the space where the brood and bees would be.
Once opened, the bees were very docile. The queen was quickly found in a cluster of bees
This colony set up shop in the ceiling void space of a gazebo. That portion of the roof line is shaded – so does not get hot enough for there to be a problem with the wax melting.
These bees have a very fertile queen with a great egg-laying pattern!
Honeybees moved into the space below the balcony about a month ago. The queen was found after all the comb was removed, and was captured – and reunited with the workers and comb today. Though the comb was new and soft – a good portion of the brood comb was salvageable.
The homeowner had only noticed these bees over the last few weeks – up near the 2nd floor soffit. At first, we thought they were in the wall – as that portion of the roof DOES get sunshine – but upon checking – the bees were, indeed, in the soffit (as usual!). The comb was actually several years old in the center of the cluster. The queen was found and captured, then reunited with her colony and comb.
Here is a close-up (from the ground). Once the bees and comb had been removed, the space was filled with insulation, and the soffit board was replaced.
The bees are entering at the junction of where the siding meets the brick. There was about a 1/4″ gap. The bees had taken up residence just behind the band-board of the joists – but not accessible from the drywall area of the bedroom. The comb width was about 16″ (joist spacing), by about 12″ tall.
