Expert advocates safe removal of bees above extermination

Chairperson of the Mpumalanga branch of the Northern Beekeepers Association, Inge Lotter said, “We all need to try and conserve this valuable natural resource. The need for honeybee pollination will grow at least tenfold in the next five years in the Lowveld, considering the enormous expansion of the macadamia industry.”

She said it had come to her attention that there are several people posing as bee removal experts, advising clients that swarms cannot be removed from certain places and needs to be killed. “This is almost never true. There are many techniques that can be used to remove bees, even from the most inaccessible areas.”

Lotter added that it is vital to engage the services of an experienced and registered bee removal expert who has all the latest tools and liability insurance.

“Furthermore, we are in the process of doing one of those ‘can’t-be-done’ removals at the Riverside Mall where the walls cannot be broken open to access the bees. The out-trapping method is used here. The hives are left for a period of weeks until all the bees and queen vacate the cavity and move into the hive. It can be seen from the roof parking at the mall.”

She said the job would be completed by the end of this month. “Two of the three swarms have left altogether and the third is now working well from within the hive placed to draw them out of the wall. We are hopeful that they might stay once we move the hive away. It took several attempts to close the access to the wall cavity, as the column is large. This has taken longer than most trap-outs.”

Honeybees live in colonies ranging in size from a few hundred to many thousands of bees. The colony has three castes: one (mother) queen bee, thousands of female worker bees and a few hundred male drones. Every year, particularly around the spring season with the advent of the warmer weather, the colony begins to grow in size.

As a natural part of their life cycle, a colony swarms off to start a new home some distance away from the original hive. Thus swarming is a natural part of the bees’ existence. Unfortunately any cavity which is secure from the elements can become a home for the new swarm. Bees will colonise house roofs, meter boxes, pool motor covers, drums, waste bins, bird logs, empty tree trunks and any other place they feel will make a warm, secure home.

We cannot afford to eradicate our honeybee populations, whether they be managed colonies in beehives or feral colonies in the wild. Bees provide one of the most important pollination services, needed for food security, as well as being able to produce large amounts of excess natural honey when properly managed. Unfortunately bees are also very protective and a bee sting is one of the most potent venoms in the animal kingdom.

So when bees move into suburban, industrial or agrarian areas and become a nuisance to other people and animals, they may need to be removed. Ideally a competent beekeeper is the right person to carry out this function, because they understand bee behaviour. Our African and Cape bees can become very aggressive when their homes are disturbed. A person not trained in carrying out bee removals should never attempt to relocate a colony. Bees, when aggressive and uncontrollable can kill humans and animals.

Visit https://www.sabio.org.za/bee-removal-services/ for more information on bee removal.