Whenever I get a call like this, the first thing I do is tell the caller to text me a picture of the bee. I tell them I need a close picture of the insect. He did send me four pretty good pictures. Usually the majority of the calls I get are going to be yellow jackets or sometimes bumble bees when they are going into siding. Honeybees prefer a higher entry point like a roof fascia board or the top part of a column. Honeybees need a cavity of at least 15 liters of space or it is unlikely the honeybees will move into it. Yellowjackets and Bumble bees will move into smaller openings like an old mouse nest in the ground or a small void created by a rotting stump or decaying vegetation.
- When you get the call because you are the bee expert. Have some simple rules of what you need to have before you go look at the "honeybee problem".
- Get a picture sent to you of the bees or the swarm.
- If it is bumble bees, I tell them that they are an endangered species and if they are not bothering them to let them be. When the first hard freeze happens the bumblebees are usually dead, then caulk the opening in the siding.
- If it is not honeybees and you are not involved, don't give direct advise on what they should do. Be a little vague. Like, "I have heard some homeowners go out and get a can of wasp and hornet spray, then they follow the directions on the can". This keeps you out of the legal side that you told them a course of action. Always suggest to follow the manufacturers recommendations not the beekeepers.
I don't take bees out of buildings. I think a beekeepers could get sucked up into a building controversy if the homeowner feels you did damage to the structure and will want you to fix the structure at your expense. Short of a swarm in a tree or bush, that is the limit to my desire to get involved.
