Honey Bee Removal

Honey Bee Extraction in a House in Heysham 

We were contacted by a recent owner of a three storey property in Heysham, Lancashire. Their investigation of a small water leak below a top floor bathroom let them to discovering the large colony of honey bees in the ceiling below the bathroom. There had been no other indications except for seeing some bees entering and exiting via a waste pipe area outside. Their pilot hole revealed an entirely unexpected colony close to the external wall.

We accurately identified the limits of the nest, which was the ceiling joists either side of the colony area. We determined the area of the hive by taking surface temperature reading of the area. Elevated temperatures were in a gradient, and the warmest section was clear at over 26 degrees centigrade. The elevated surface temperatures indicated the extent of the colony growth and comb area, this is because honeybees produce the heat they need to survive and rear brood. The area was marked on the plaster so that the ceiling area could be removed only to the extend necessary, and so minimise damage and the area that the homeowner would need to repair.

We carefully cut around the markings and began removing the aged and crumbly plaster, followed by the wooden slats. The access allowed several bees to enter the lower room, and so it was time to suit up. Progressively we removed the wooden slats using a hive tool until access to the nest above was clear.

Using a gentle vacuum, we vacuumed the bees into specialist equipment so they could be transported to a hive later. Once almost all of the accessible bees were removed, the comb was exposed. We removed the comb by cutting it away from the underside of the floorboards of the bathroom above, and around the pipework.

Late spring is not the ideal time to remove a nest. The comb, being fairly shallow, covered a large area, and it contained a mixture of unripened (wet) honey, honey, brood and pollen. A better season would have been early spring because bee numbers would have been fewer, the stores would have been honey mostly, and there would be less brood. Things progressed with removing bees and comb until the nest had been dismantled and the bees all captured.

It was unclear from the bees behaviour whether they were queen-right. We re-hived the bees and returned a number of times to collect bees, clear the area, seel the access holes in the wall that had allowed access, and search for the queen. Eventually the queen was found, in one of the last pockets of bees to be collected. Se was returned to the colony and readily accepted. The colony was a viable one again.

The room was cleared and cleaned and the homeowner was very pleased to have the bees removed, they were also fascinated by the colony and extraction process.

Photos were provided to the homeowner as evidence of infestation and disruption so they could to take the evidence to the selling estate agent.