Bee Removal DIY

Non-structural honeybees that are new on a tree, bush, or outside of a structure typically leave on their own within a few days. These bees are a migrating swarm, perhaps football or basketball size. A migrating swarm of bees will have no honeycomb and are not protective of the location. The best DIY bee removal is usually to let them to leave on there own; messing with a swarm of honeybees can cause them to stay longer.

Established beehives do not leave on there own unless they are hive splitting. When a hive splits, half of the bees leave / migrate off. If you dont plan on keeping the bees, removing them yourself is possible though can be difficult; do it yourself bee removal is typically not recommended. When money is to be saved, consider options of discount or free bee removal vs. do it yourself.

If you want to keep the bees and move them to a different location, consider:


When expense matter, calling a bee remover is normally less expensive, unless you can acquire these above items. If you plan on keeping the bees, then at a later time you would want to obtain additional box frames and a hand crank honey extractor.

Structural bee removal consists of bees that are inside the structure; you typically cannot see the hive. If you think the bee activity is new, visit how to prevent a bee problem.

With a beehive already living in the structure, do it yourself bee removal commonly requires:
Do it yourself bee removal from a structure is usually difficult, most people wouldnt recommend it. Calling a bee remover is typically less expensive.
If you plan to keep the bees, take a second and read the section above on keeping bees.

Structurally DIY bee removal is a challenge. A beehive may have 3,000 to 30,000 bees, and up to 100lbs of honey. In dry areas, less honey may exist in the hive. During autumn & early winter seasons the hive will have accumulated the greatest amount of honey. Removal may require being on a ladder, roof-top, or other difficult location. With locating the actual hive, the nest is typically very near were the bees are entering. If the hive was exterminated it can still be a difficult task, exterminating honeybees is not easy, and not encouraged.

If you are trying to exterminate bees, read the paragraph above first. Otherwise, if you have had a bee nest killed, you may still see bee activity. Normally hundreds of new bees hatch daily in an established hive. After a week, all activity from the orginal hive could stop; however bees from other colonies smell melting honey and may come to free-load, these are commonly called robber bees. Robber bees are non-aggressive as it is not their home. It can be difficult without experience to tell whether the bees are robber bees, or from the original hive. Bees that are returning to the hive with yellow pollen^ on the back of their legs are almost never ever robber bees, meaning the hive is active.
Apart from your own safety, prior to removing a beehive, consider notifying any nearby neighbor that a hive is going to be removed, reasons for this may include: encase someone is allergic, aggressive bees, or animals need to be moved. If trying to exterminate a beehive, you can expect very angry bees. When bees are near neighbors property, near pets, or a public walkway, additional precautions should be considered.
Along with the listed beekeeping tools. Construction equipment needed when removing bees yourself may include, ladder, power tools, hammer, other basic tools, in addition to repair supplies and paint to suppress hive scent after removing the honey & bees. Suppressing hive scent helps so that bees dont return, as well as other critters. The cost and time to do it yourself usually always out way contacting a bee remover. For help with removal or prices request a callback anytime.

DIY live removal
With do it yourself bee removal, a smoker is great to calm aggressive bees. Burning any dead weads, twigs & leaves work great. Paper or cardboard may be used if no foliage is available. You will want to have a bee box to put the honeycomb & bees in. Find a smart location were the bees can live to help the bees recuperate from the move. To some degree, bees tend to crowd a round or follow the queen, although you may find that initially difficult to determine. Getting the queen in the bee-box is most effective by removing each honeycomb while keeping bees on the comb.

After removal of hive your self, seal gaps, cracks, and openings. In cases of medium to large voids, after applying expanding foaming, it is helpful to cover on top with a galvanized mesh that rodents can't penetrate; otherwise rodents may dig though making a new hole that a new colony of bees re inhabit. If your new to using expanding foam take care not to over fill the area and stick around after, otherwise you may return to find foam having tumbled down the wall with stains. In extreme cases of exclusion repair work, focus most on the side of the structure were the sun rises.
Do it yourself bee removal structurally is usually not a good idea, first consider finding discounted, or free bee removal, if no other options exist, and you know a handyman or carpenter that can help, have the bee man remove the honeycomb and leave you instructions on bee proofing with you or the person doing repairs.To find help with bee removal near you call the hotline or request a callback.

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Ask the Beeman ^ Q&A

Kay Boeger The aftermath Fort Worth, Texas

Have a friend with an active hive in his wall and he's neglected the problem for too long. I'm an insect lover, so I hate to kill them, but they are becoming more aggressive lately and we need them gone. I thought honey bees were becoming rare due to CCD - is there some kind of list of beekeepers that will remove the hive (for a minimum amount of money!)

Beekeeper:  Kay, Good question. Here is our contact for bee removal in Fort Worth, and he should be able to work with you on a price. Here is my opinion on finding a beekeeper who wants bees

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