In our Bee Blog here at Bee Best Bee Removal, we talk a lot about what to do when bees build hives in your home or office. The wild bees we find in our environment regularly decide to move in, even though no one invited them. These “squatting” bees regularly enter vent holes, chimneys, and eaves, much to our dismay. But today we will be talking about all the other species of animals that also deal with their homes being invaded. Some of the most amusing are the following:
Bird houses: Birds are very often affected by bees taking over their homes. We see and hear about this type of infestation all the time. In fact there is a running joke at Bee Best that its only a matter of time When (not if) bees will take over the box. It very tempting for bees because it is like having a little hive box up high. Often out of reach of humans, bees feel protected taking over bird houses and the birds usually will just move out without a fight.
Owl Boxes: Like bird houses, owl boxes are also a common place for bees to invade and take over. These larger boxes are often tempting for the same reasons bird houses are tempting. The big difference is that owl boxes are usually larger, so a hive can grow a lot bigger. It can be a real challenge removing one from a tree, especially if it packed with hive and honeycomb. When completely filled, these boxes can sometimes weigh more than 70 lbs!
Hummingbirds: Hummingbird feeders are a little different than owl and bird houses. The main distinction is that there usually isn’t a place (or an interior cavity) for the bees to build a hive. So instead of having an actual infestation, the bees usually “take over” in a different way. Usually this happens in the Summer and late Fall when water and food in the environment has dried up and is no longer present. Because of the scarce resources, bees will raid humming bird feeders to get the sugary water for their nutrients. Think of it as the fast food preference for most feral bees.
Chicken Coups: Every once in a while we hear about bees getting underneath the floor of chicken coops. Its a similar problem to when bees invade storage sheds. They most often exploit a small crack or hole leading to the void underneath the floor of the coop. These jobs can be tricky because the chickens need to be re housed in a different location in order to open the floor and remove the beehive.
Dog Houses: Sometimes bees even take over our (man’s) best friends’ home. This can be particularly dangerous as bee sting venom can add up to a very costly Vet bill. Or worse, can cause the dog to die, especially smaller dogs who usually can not tolerate stings as well as larger dogs. What about cat’s (you may ask)? We very rarely see outdoor cats and bees mix. We can’t say why. We can only guess that cats know better than to mess with the bees.
Lions, Bears, and Snakes: So every once in a while, wild feral bees will want a taste of the exotic. Over the past dozen years we have had a few calls from zoos and wildlife refuges that needed help removing bees. One time we got a call to remove a swarm from a bear enclosure where bees took over a man made bear den. Then there was a time when he had to enter a lion exhibit where bees were clustered on the side of a wood platform. Our technician had fun with those! And for those wondering…yes the facilities removed the Lions and bears before our technician entered. One of the scariest animal infestations occurred on a nature reserve. In order to get to the bees, our technician had to remove an old abandoned gas tank. After our tech lifted it to remove it he noticed two puncture holes in his bee gloves. It was a snake bite! But we can save that story for another day, on another blog down the road….
