FAQ

This is quite a complicated question. Although Honey Bee Rescue specializes in bee proofing homes it can be quite difficult to ensure bees do not enter older homes. Squirrels and other tree rats are constantly gnawing at woodwork making ample opportunity for honey bees to set up and start a beehive. Removal of bees caught early is not only the most affordable but is the best for the honeybees. We offer lifetime warranties to all of our bee removal and bee rescue areas. We remove the bees, patch the area, and the cavity so no bee swarms can return.

The best answer is to call a pest control operator that is experienced in hive removal and live bee removal that will save the bees. Most beekeepers are not licensed to perform bee removal from your house.

No. Smoking bee swarms or honey bees in general just calms the aggressive bees. It is very dangerous to apply smoke without experience and often a misconception of novice beekeepers or homeowners. It can result in agitated honey bee hives or worse fire. Smoke entices the bees to consume honey and can assist in beehive removals but will not drive them out. Also many chemicals such as newspaper ink and treated lawn clippings used can actually harm the bees making them more aggressive and difficult to remove. Africanized bees are quite common in Ft. Worth in mid summer and are very aggressive even with smoke.

Swarm removals are the least expensive of our services. We must charge something because we must pay for advertising from would-be beekeepers or exterminators as we want the bees. Also, there is a lot of work taking a swarm of honeybees from feral to becoming productive honey bee colonies. Swarm bees are usually covered in mites and other parasites which must be treated. And the queen bee in a swarm is usually older and must be replaced with good genetics. It is about 20 hours of work to get a honey bee swarm fully functional and productive.

The short answer is yes. But it is often difficult to find experienced professional bee removal technicians to do the work. Most backyard beekeepers do not understand what entails in re-homing a swarm of bees. They usually do not carry insurance or have the correct tools a licensed pest control operator must correctly perform live removals.

Although there are many chemicals that kill bees, there are not many that kill bees instantly. Most of the big box store chemicals we see used on honeybees are wasp sprays or some internet literature like soapy water which does not work. For your sake and ours please do not use these chemicals.

The average bee removal cost depends on many factors such as the material, the size of the beehive, the repair work we are performing, and of course the time of year. We can confirm due to our apiary and removal of live bees we are almost 100% of the time less expensive than our competition. We are beekeepers not exterminators and can use the lovely honey to offset our honeybee removal costs.

Most likely not. In Ft. Worth we see truly aggressive honey bees only a few times a year. Most of the time aggressive bees are a result of chemicals or attempts to remove the honeybees during a non-professional bee removal in an attempt to perform a bee extermination. Our bee removal technicians are experienced in live bee removal of all types of bees including aggressive bees. Please keep a safe distance when we are working on hives. We will use cones and markers to indicate the safe distance when performing live removals.

Although we strongly recommend against killing bees as even the smallest beehive has value to us. We can save hives from just about anywhere. Most insecticides purchased at big box stores will not kill bees but make them sick and more aggressive. We also do not recommend using smoke or soapy water as this does not cause bees to vacate their house.

No. Smoke causes bees to consume honey and calms them by covering scents that cause bees to become alarmed. Smoking bees will not get them out of a structure.

Bee removal prices vary by hive location, materials of the structure, the size of the hive, and the overall time it takes to perform bee removal. Swarms and first story bee hives we are priced very reasonably to remove bees as we compete with exterminators. Although we save the bees, it takes a lot of work to ensure bees are healthy and that the bee swarm or hive we relocate will perform. We also must pay our beekeepers!

It is always better to safely remove bees as soon as possible. Bee colonies can grow exponentially and very rapidly depending on the time of year. Catching a beehive sooner rather than later is always advised. Our technicians also remove bees in the mornings and right before dark ensuring we capture as many bees as possible before removing the honeycomb, leaving less bees behind.