Home Honey Bee Extraction

 

This summer, we had a gap in the siding of our house that became home to a hive of honeybees They weren't any trouble & I would watch them come to the bird bath to drink. However, we could tell there were a lot of bees in the siding, & didn't want them to compromise the structure of the house. So, we had local beekeepers from Swazey Farms come out to extract them. 

 

On their first visit, they used infrared imaging & fiber optic cameras to determine the extent of the hive. It was like Ghostbusters for bees.

 

Next they scheduled a visit for the extraction, & came back to relocate the hive. 

 

 

 They took apart a small section of the house, & removing as much of the honeycomb as possible. They sucked up the bees using a low-pressure vacuum & transported them in ventilated buckets. 

 

 

 

It was pretty awesome to watch, & we were glad they were able to move them without harming them, since they're so important for the environment.

 

We also got to taste some of the honey... You can't get any more local than your own house!!! My son Paulie kept licking the honey off his finger & going "Mmmmmm!"

 

*As a special, fun bonus... they also discovered a very large hornet's nest (about the size of a bowling ball) hanging off a tree on the side of our house. It was right next to our gardens, & I can't believe we didn't notice it. Thank god we didn't disturb it on accident. 

 

It was right at eye level & one of the guys almost walked into it, so they recommended that we let them remove it because they are a super-aggressive species. 

 

I was going to try to spray it myself, but Loretta said I was being cheap & completely insane (she was correct). So, we told the guys to go ahead & take care of it.

 

They suited up in all their protective gear (even though they didn't bother wearing any protection for the bees). As soon as they started cutting branches around it, the hornets swarmed them, trying to attack their faces. It was at this point that I thought, "Yeah it was probably not a good idea for me to try to handle this..."