A good friend of mine called me the other day from the parking structure of her place of work. She was very excited about this massive swarm of bees that was gathering on the back of a Ford Explorer, and she wanted to know if I could come out and pick them up.

     I was surprised to hear about a swarm occurring this late in the year, since, even though it isn’t unheard of, it is rather late for colonies to be throwing any more swarms. There really isn’t enough time for a new swarm to collect enough nectar to last thru the approaching winter, and there is even a classic beekeeping poem that illustrates this quite well.

A swarm in May
Is worth a horse and some hay
A swarm in June
Is worth a silver spoon
A swarm in July
Isn’t worth a fly

      
I wondered what the next line to the poem should be.  I took a try as I listened to my friend talk about this swarm.

A swarm in August?

I haven’t the foggiest…

     Still, I have nursed late startup colonies thru the winter by providing syrup for them, and I told my friend I was going to gather my equipment while she spoke to the building manager to arrange a proper call out to me. I also informed her that there must be a colony relatively close to this swarm gathering on the vehicle, and to keep a lookout. Ten minutes later, my friend called me back and informed me that there was, indeed, a rather large colony that had set up shop inside a wall on the property.

     I also learned that this hive was sprayed with pesticide on Saturday.

     My heart sank. This wasn’t a proper swarm after all, but a desperate escape attempt from a large colony that had been poisoned and knew that their home was now toxic. I had seen this behavior before, and have hived these swarms only to watch them succumb over the course of two to three days, as the poison slowly knocks them down. I was also furious, because such a thing isn’t necessary and can easily be prevented. While I am solely dedicated to removing bees alive, I am also a realist and understand that sometimes, bees can get themselves in places that simply cannot be broken apart in order to facilitate a live removal. Extermination, sadly, can be the only responsible action, but what had occurred was a travesty similar in nature and scope to a hunter who doesn’t practice his shot before going out for a hunt and ends up wounding the animal in the leg as opposed to hitting in the proper kill area.  Prolonged suffering is immoral and unethical in my view, and the more I learned about the situation, the more frustrated I became.

      Apparently, the company had called out exterminators to knock down colonies in this same location repeatedly. In fact, they had been out three times in the past two weeks. Something is very wrong with this picture. There are compounds that knock down the bees very, very quickly, and placement of this chemical is key to success. She also informed me that the same thing happened in the same place last year. The exterminator obviously didn’t inform the business owner as to how to properly seal the point of entrance to prevent the bees from coming back, nor was there any attempt made to remove the comb which provided a fully furnished apartment for any exploring swarms. It takes roughly seven pounds of honey to produce one pound of comb, so swarms are all too happy to move in to an old home already made and ready.

    It was a classic case of error upon error, and I asked my friend to give the company all my contact info, and I will be awaiting their call. I would appreciate the chance to at least give them a consultation to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. Let me be clear: if you do hire an exterminator to kill bees in your home or business, and they are back in the same location, you have been ripped off. This should never, ever happen. Steps were not taken to properly remove the comb that will attract another swarm, and/or the point of entrance was not sealed. Remember, all it takes is an opening 3/8th of an inch in a wall or a roof for a swarm to set up their new home. Even if it is impossible to remove the comb due to its location in a structure, everything should be done to ensure that nothing is able to gain access to it from the outside.

     It is my opinion that live bee removal should always be considered for any honeybee infestation, but I understand that there are a myriad of situations that may make this option impossible. I won’t deal with pesticides, but a reputable exterminator will utilize them like a skilled marksman and put the bees down quickly and mercifully, while doing what needs to be done to ensure the bees never come back to that same area. If at all possible, the comb should be removed as well. Untended honey comb has been known to create nightmares of its own as it drips or falls off the comb and soaks thru walls or ceilings, attracting rats, mice, ants and all other kinds of undesirables. 

    Hopefully, my friend’s employer will do what needs to be done to ensure that their bee issues are a thing of the past.