In 2022, Swazey Farms distinguished itself as a premier honey bee removal crew. From May through September, our team responded to over 40 calls related to bee removal. During the height of the season, it can be hard to keep up with our blog while managing all the other aspects of our business. So now, as the cold chill of winter lays upon us, let's look back at some notable swarms and cut-outs from 2022.
A SWARM typically lands on a tree branch or other external surface and can typically be collected in about fifteen minutes. Conversely, a cut-out occurs when the bees move INSIDE and must be physically "cut" out. Here's just a sample of some of the over 25 SWARMS we collected in 2022...
Cut-outs are a different beast. Honey bees only require a 3/8" gap to enter and take up residency so the possibilities for where they might colonize are endless. Once inside, the bees will begin to lay the foundation for comb which can built upon year after year after year... Removing bees from these voids is important because the comb and honey they produce can be an invitation to many other types of pests including mice and ants. Plus, should the bees swarm and leave behind the comb / honey, its only a matter of time before the unmanaged comb begins to melt and deteriorate within the walls leaving behind a gooey nightmare.
Colony living in the soffit of Sewell bi-level home
Typically customers call because they see a few bees venturing into a void in their home. Choosing the path of least resistance, they love soffits, broken wood siding and areas where brick meets wood. We have multiple tools at our disposal including a thermal heat gun which allows us to see the heat bees are generating behind the walls, as well as a bore scope camera.
Here's a look at a cut-out under a customers "She Shed" in Winslow.
Cut-outs require equal parts brute demolition and surgical precision. Occasionally, honey bees enter into cinderblock walls which can be a nightmare. Once the penetrate the block, its only a matter of time before they find their way into the building. In Lindenwold, this is exactly what happened...
The caller reported a large quantity of bees hovering around the the building and he had witnessed them entering behind a light fixture. Meanwhile, bees were filtering to the interior of the building and had begun to interfere with the work of his tenants. SF to the rescue!! Using our thermal imager, we quickly determined there was sizable colony within the brick.
Noting the bright yellow heat signature near the green hashmark, this was the target of our demolition work. And so we began the tedious process of deconstructing the wall and rescuing the bees,
It was a painstaking process of nearly 9 hours carefully removing the brick to expose a 6 foot tall column of bees within the cinderblock. Despite the challenges, we were successful in locating and caging the queen and boxing up all the bees, just as the sun set for the day. Now these bees are off to the farm as productive members of the Swazey team.
This is a a look at a sampling of our jobs from 2022. As we begin anew in 2023, it is already promising to be a busy year. At present we have 5 removals pre-scheduled for May and we anticipate many more as the swarm season approaches. Stay tuned for future looks at some crazy removals!