Recently I had a swarm of Honey Bees infiltrate my property. The Bees were everywhere, in the air, in the trees, and on my garage! I had no idea as to what can be done to remove the Bees from my property, so I called an exterminator. I was surprised and in a subtle way pleased because I was told that many exterminators do not deal with Bees. I was given the telephone number of a Beekeeper, by the second exterminator that I called.
My wife and I were surprised to have a "pest experience," turn into a "learning experience." We called the Beekeeper and he asked me to take a photo of the Bees, and Email it to him; which I did. By the time that I took the photo, the Bees were already gathered into a cluster that resembled a Football. From my photo the Beekeeper identified the Bees as "Honey Bees."
I was expecting the Beekeeper to come to my house with a white suit and face shield, but instead came with a special device that sucked the Bees into a box that resembled a "Bee box," that Beekeepers use to harvest Honey from Bees.
I was totally amazed at the Beekeepers account of why the Bees were on my property. When Bees are disturbed or have reason to move to another location they swarm and usually wind up at a location that is not necessarily the location of their new home. Scouts are sent out in search of a suitable location for a permanent home. The scouts return to the main group with reports of possible locations for their permanent home. With "tongue in cheek," a second wave of Scout Bees is sent out to evaluate the locations found by the Scouts; let's call the second wave of Scouts, "Building Inspectors." LOL. The group of Bees will move to a new location usually within 24 hours, unless they decide to make the current location their new home.
I was amazed to see the Beekeeper suction the Bees into a box with a specially designed Bee gathering device; it was basically a vacuum cleaner. The Beekeepers head was only 18 inches from the cluster of over 10,000 Bees; he was not wearing any protective clothing. My wife was 35 feet away from the Bee cluster, and she got stung by a Bee!
We have all heard that the Bee population is on the decline! What is not generally known is that the Bees are alive and well in Suburbia; but are not doing very well in Farm Country. As explained, the insecticide that farmers use is indeed killing the insects, but also killing the Bees.
I found the Beekeeper, Waldemar Galka, to be very knowledgeable on the subject of Bees. It was a pleasure talking to a Beekeeper, who readily shared his expertise about such a fascinating subject. Removal of the Bees was not free but Mr. Galka gave us a free jar of Honey that he had collected at his own Bee Farm. It does not get any better than that. A "pest experience," turns out to be a "Learning experience;" and we walk away with a smile on our face and a bottle of Honey!
As I have learned, Bees are not exterminated, but rescued. Please do not attempt Bee removal yourself; only an expert can determine when Bees are or will be aggressive. If you have any problems with Bees, you might want to email Waldemar Galka at waldig@netzero.com or Call: 631 724 3546
