News 7 Video - Removing Africanized Bees from Historic House

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Africanized Bee Removal Behind Siding

The bees were entering the wall where siding had separated at the corner of the building. The studs where rotted so the nails were no longer holding the siding closed. In the first pictures you can see the bees going about their business, not being defensive.

Once we began prying the paneling open, thousands of angry bees came to the attack. I used a reciprocating saw on the paneling and the bees went crazy, stinging the saw and through the cuffs of my gloves.













On the attack.
Here is my son A.J. bowing under the onslaught. He took multiple stings and went on the counter attack, using the bee vacuum to tame the swarm. Notice the duct tape around the wrists to keep stings from going through the tough canvas gauntlets of the gloves. We both put on double bee suits but some bees were stinging right through two bee suits and our shirts and trousers. Ouch! A.J. said he couldn't get his breath so we left the scene to get some Benydril, now available in melt-in-your-mouth strips. After two strips and a few minutes rest, he was back at the bees. Once we got all the comb into a tub the bees settled down. We coated the inside of the wall with our proprietary repellent and closed up the wall. When we were done there were only a few bees buzzing around our truck. All the Africanized bees had been captured.

This location had had bees some time past.
Note the old comb we found in the lower section of wall. Had this comb been removed the current infestation could have been avoided. Spraying poison on bees and then leaving the comb in the wall invites more problems. People should call a bee removal specialist to deal with bees!

Removing bees from a lanai wall

A quarter inch hole around a wire going through the wall gave the bees an entrance to this lanai wall.

The home owner had used two cans of spray, but, the bees were not impressed.







After one panel of the wall was removed part of the nest was exposed.



When the rest of the panels of siding were removed the full size of the nest can be seen. The bees were very gentle and after the bees and comb were removed the siding was replaced and the hole by the wire was caulked closed.

Africanized Bee Removal Soffit Feb 2008

This is a home with a rotting plywood soffit. The bees were entering the opening and had built a large nest in the covered space. The owner said the bees were gentle and never bothered anyone. As soon as we opened the plywood the bees showed us their Africanized attitude. They came at us with a vengence and started chasing the home owner and his son who were standing about fifty feet away. My son A.J. is shown removing the comb. These bees were relocated to a safe beeyard and the queen was replaced with a gentle European queen from a queen breeder.

Bees behind siding Jan 2008

Bees were entering an exterior wall through deteriorated siding.






When the siding was removed eight feet of comb was inside the wall. The bees

Bee Removal Mobile Home Jan 2008

The bees were entering the floor space under the mobile home through a hole in the paper covering. The owner said he had sprayed back in October and again in November, but he still had bees.





When the paper covering was removed the bees and comb were revealed. The bees and comb were removed.

A closeup shows several empty queen cells. They are the larger cells, one near the center and the other lower right. This colony had swarmed recently and half the bees had left with a new queen.

Removing bees behind hurricane shutter Jan 2008

This hurricane cover over a sliding glass door was left in place well after hurricane season had passed. The home owners were seeing a few bees inside but thought they were in the attic. The blinds covering the sliding glass door were never opened so they never saw the large nest behind the plywood and up against the glass.

I did an inspection outside and saw the bees entering behind the cover through a space left around the upper track of the door.

After the plywood panels were removed the large nest the bees had built in just a few weeks was exposed. The bees were vacuumed off into the bee-vac and the comb cleaned off the tracks and glass.