
Jerry Turley contacted us about honey bees collecting in their well lit, hot tub room and becoming trapped there.
The room’s walls and ceiling were tongue and groove. Neither one of us were too excited about the possibility of trying to disassemble them. It takes a lot of patience to do this correctly. Even then, there is the possibility that some of the wooden planks will chip or crack.
We started by trying to locate the colony with an infrared thermal camera with no success. So we went up on ladders, and inspected their entrance/exit, to see if we could get a better idea of their location within the structure. After prying a few boards off the soffit, it was discovered that the colony was running down the roof.
This was a first for me. I have never seen, or removed a colony, that had established their home down the roof line. They found a small square void in the insulation and began building there. This was such a small area that I am certain this colony had swarmed before.
Fortunately, for the Turley’s, they were having their roof replaced during this time. The roofers removed the shingles, and Jerry removed the black tar paper and nails. Afterwards, Jerry, his neighbor, and I pulled up the piece of plywood above the hive and began relocating the colony.
I’ll be the first to tell you that I am not a big fan of heights, roofs, ladders, or scaffolding. Add some rain in the mix, and it can become extremely dangerous. Needless to say, as the removal was coming to an end it began to rain. The three of us managed to get the hive body, filled with its new occupants, off the roof and down the ladder, in one piece, without slipping off.
Soon afterwards Mrs. Turley brought us dinner, thank you again, and we reminisced about the days activity. Jerry and his neighbor were naturals. One would not have known that they hadn’t relocated bees before. After loading the hive into my truck, Jerry went back, on the now very slippery roof, solo and replaced the void with new insulation, nailed the plywood back and sealed the crevices around the space. This will ensure that no future colonies will call this home.
To date, The Stella Drive Crew is doing well. The queen cell was not damaged in the transition and she ate her way out of the cell. This colony was moved out to the Black Forest and I look forward to seeing how well this crew does over time.
Lauhra Chacon
September 2, 2014 at 10:24 pmThank you Mr. Fields the honey is sweet and has an after taste of flowers. Yummy!#
ltfields
September 4, 2014 at 4:09 pmYou are welcome. I am glad you enjoyed the honey! It is always amazing to me how each honey extraction has its own unique flavors.
Jerry Turley
June 7, 2015 at 9:06 pmFirst let me start by saying what a pleasure it was working with Lazarus! We were tied if hot tubing with bees. Lazarus saved us. We might not have had our roof replaced if he had not come in such short notice, as the bees were singing the roofers. It was great learning from him. He was even kind enough to lab me a bee suit so I could finish my repair the next day. I had spoken with two other bee keepers over the previous year and they couldn’t make time for us. Fields of Natural Honey is professional and courteous and I would recommend them to anybody who cares about the bees and their own property being taken care of properly. Thanks again Lazarus!