Luckily, these bees have only been in this home for about 2 months. The homeowner was trying to do yard work – and was getting tagged occasionally by bees – so his wife made sure that he called a beekeeper to do a live removal (as opposed to having them exterminated).
They were entering at the soffit trim level (trim-to-brick transition). Usually this places the hive into the soffit – HOWEVER – this time, I know that was unlikely – as the soffit was not shaded by a tree or by a higher portion of the home. The attic & soffit space in this case – gets WAY too hot for comb to stay solid – and is too hot for the bees to survive.
They had to be lower – in the area shaded by the soffit. As soon as the trim was removed, I could see comb going downwards – behind the brick. After a brief discussion with the homeowner to confirm with him about the hive location – I proceeded to remove 4 bricks to access and pull out the comb.
The queen was found and caged, and the remainder of the bees were collected into a hive body.
Then repairs to the brick commenced. (note – repairs are ALWAYS the responsibility of the homeowner – however, it is advisable to close the area pretty quickly – so I can do the non-cosmetic repairs – and can typically quote a price before starting the removal.)
