Bee Removal

Honeybee swarm  clustered on a branch

Have you got a swarm of bees or bees in a building? Here's a list of beekeepers in the area who are willing to take them off your hands. 

Jeanne Davis  802-823-7955 (home)
Jacob Esh   802-447-0198 (work)  802-442-3418 (home)
John Letourneau  802-753-5773 (home)
Jim O'Clair Pittstown/Hoosick/Brunswick 518-892-5666
Amy Musante (Western MA/Pownal) 413-770-3321 (cell) amybeekeeper@Gmail.com

Things to know about swarms:
First and foremost, be sure they are honey bees and not another kind of bee or wasp. Swarms gather as in the picture above or come and go from a hole in a building with visible yellow, orange or white pollen filling the "buckets" in the rear two of their six legs. 

• a swarm of honeybees will not attack you.
• swarming is how one hive of honeybees becomes two hives.
• a swarm typically will cluster in a tree for a few hours to a day while it searches for a permanent home. As long as a majority of the swarm stay in formation, there is little to be afraid of. 
• the most common months for swarming are May through July.
• please don't kill them, honeybees pollinate a lot of our food.

Honeybees sometimes choose to build a hive in hollow space in a wall or attic. Here are some things to know about removing honeybees from a home or building:

• Don't simply spray the bees, doing so may get rid of the bees, but you will still have honey and beeswax in the space. Honey and beeswax will attract mice and a variety of bugs. It may also entice another swarm of bees to repopulate the same space. 
• Beekeepers will remove a swarm for a small fee, or if they are easy to get to, for free.
• Swarm removal sometimes involves some minor demolition to get to the bees, honey, wax and brood chamber.
• The property owner is generally responsible for making the necessary repairs if demolition is required.
• If a swarm is in a building in the fall or winter, it often is best to wait until spring (April) to remove the bees. Swarms retrieved later than summer have very little chance of survival in other environs.