We rescue a Port St. Lucie Family from Africanized Honey Bees

Our expert South Florida team, Alpine Farms, headed by Ronnie Sharpton, comes to the rescue of a family, unemployed and facing imminent danger from an Africanized Honey Bee nest on their house.

The local CBS affiliate covered this removal:

Click to view the Bee Removal Video

"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Thousands of bees made their home on the outside of a Port St. Lucie house. But the residents of that home are struggling financially and could not pay to get the problem solved, until they called CBS 12.
Alpine Farms, an extermination company based in Palm City, saw our report on the bee invasion at the Gonzalez home. They offered to remove the hives free of charge.
EARLIER: Unwanted guests: Bees invade Port St. Lucie home
Alpine Farms owner, Ronnie Sharpton, says the hive is difficult to get to because it's over a screened-in back porch that doesn't have a sturdy roof. He also says there is a 90 percent chance the bees are the aggressive africanized bees.
He estimates it took 40,000 bees six months to build the 60 pound hive.
"They are a lot more aggressive and in this case, they're more prone to nest on the outside," said Sharpton."
Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.cbs12.com/articles/port-4738735-home-lucie.html

Oakland Winter Garden Bee Removal

Honey bees seem to really like to build their nests in the eaves and soffits of homes. Sometimes, the nest is rather high, and can weigh several hundred pounds, requiring us to use a lift for proper removal.

Oakland Bee Removal from Soffit

Here you see us working a colony of honey bees in this stately Oakland, FL home. The owner had been having increasing problems with these bees, and after several failed attempts to kill the colony, she called us at ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com to take care of her problem.

It's likely that these are Africanized Honey bees, otherwise known as Killer Bees. We are seeing more Killer Bees in the Winter Garden and Oakland area.

Please if you require Winter Garden Bee Removal or Oakland Bee Removal, call the Stinging Insect Professionals at 1-800-343-5317.

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist & Registered Beekeeper
The Buzzkillers, LLC a Florida Licensed and Insured Pest Control Company
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Cocoa Beach Bee Removal: Massive Honey Bee Swarm

This is a treat, a real old fashioned primary swarm in Coca Beach Florida. It's a treat because we rarely see large swarms anymore as most of our feral or wild bees in Brevard county are now Africanized Honey Bees, aka Killer Bees.

Cocoa Beach Bee Removal Large bee swarm

Numbering well over 50,000 individuals, we elected to hive this swarm into 2 hive boxes. It's rare for us to perform live bee removals in Cocoa Beach, but this was almost certainly European Honey Bees, just because of the large number of individuals. In addition, the risk factor was minimal as this yard was surrounded by dense vegetation and was several hundred feet away from the nearest neighbor.

Please, don't attempt a removal of bees, as they can be deadly, even swarms have attacked us since Killer Bees are now here. We've had many fatalities occur in Florida because of improper removal techniques. Contact the Stinging Insect Experts at 1-800-343-5317 or submit a bee swarm inquiry here!

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
The Buzzkillers, LLC
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Longwood, Fla., Honey Bees in House Soffit

This picture illustrates one of the most frequent ways that Honey Bees gain access to voids located within homes and buildings:

Honey Bees in Longwood Soffit

As you can see, there is a small gap around the electric conduit leading into this house soffit, and bees have built a sizeable nest within the void. 50 cents worth of caulk would have prevented a ~$300 Longwood Bee Removal bill, and additional repair costs.

Please, spend some time and just a little bit of money,and 'beeproof' your home. Seal openings that are 1/4" in size or larger. We can perform the beeproofing as well, just give us a call at 1-800-343-5317

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
The Buzzkillers, LLC
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Marion County Honey Bee Swarm on Soffit

Here's a photo of a large Ocala Honey Bee Swarm that alighted on a home soffit, just outside the kitchen window!!

Marion County Honey Bee Swarm on soffit

Most swarms can appear dangerous, with thousands of flying bees during the time when a swarm is either landing or taking off for permanent digs. In most cases, swarms are not very defensive, though I wouldn't advise spraying them or doing the teenage boy thing--throwing rocks at them!! If you just leave them alone, they will usually leave within hours.

Sometimes though, honey bee swarms will attempt to build a nest right where you see them, or try to move into voids, such as this soffit.

If you have a swarm that persists for more than a couple days, give us a call at 1-800-343-5317 for expert bee swarm removal.

Richard Martyniak, M.Sc., Entomologist
ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Winter Park Bee Removal

 Winter Park Honey Bee Removal

This is a cool pic of a recent Winter Park Bee Removal we did. A swarm had recently landed in the soffit of the house, and as you can see, they are packed tightly together and building comb quickly. We were able to perform a live honey bee removal in this instance, as the colony was newly established, small, relatively gentle and we had decent setback and shrubbery, affording the neighbors some protection.

In Winter Park, we are starting to see African Honey Bees, aka Killer Bees moving in from the East, so we think it's important to proceed cautiously when faced with a honey bee infestation. These bees were are starting to see in Winter Park, are becoming more defensive, and pose quite a liability risk to property owners and managers. When considering structural bee removal, please consider only hiring a professional, meaning one who maintains a Florida Pest Control Business License, as a minimum, as if the worst happens, and a sting event occurs, you're assets will be much more protected, than if an unlicensed provider was hired.

And, just because someone hangs the word "beekeeper" after his or her name, don't assume he or she knows bees or is licensed and insured. We are seeing some very suspect characters getting into the bee removal business these days, and have been requested on emergency calls, after a "bee keeper" has attempted a removal. Please see my posts here and here, about beekeepers performing bee removals on structures. Remember, Fla. State Statute requires a pest control license to remove bee colonies from and around structures. The University of Florida Bee Entomologist AND the Florida Apiary Chief (head beekeeper) concur.... Protect yourself, your neighbors and your assets. Call us at 321-206-5100, 800-343-5317 or Send us an email, for professional bee removal from the Stinging Insect Experts at ALLFloridaBeeRemoval.com

Richard Martyniak M.Sc., Entomologist

Leesburg, Fla. Bee removal from house soffit

This photo was taken as we were amidst a honey bee removal located in a Leesburg house soffit. Honey bees often build in structural voids, and soffits are very common. You can see where we removed several 'plates' of comb already, and to the right, you can see several more plates stacked up. Notice the dark color.. that is from metabolic wastes..(bee-poo!!), from many generations of baby bees being raised.

I think this shows how you might not want to just spray a honey bee colony and leave it. Each plate of comb weighs about 7 or so pounds. Multiply 7 pounds by the 16 plates removed from this soffit, and you have  112 POUNDS of honey, pollen, wax, immature bees left in the soffit. Don't forget to add about another 10 pounds for the adult bees too! Almost 125 pounds of organic matter, just ripe for beetle and fly maggots to come in and turn this into a smelly, fermenting, oozing mess.


Call us at 8(855) 930.BEES and we can do a professional, proper removal of your stinging insect infestation.

• Mr. Jonathan Simkins B.S.& Richard Martyniak M.S.
• Stinging Insect Entomologist
• 4 Licensed Pest Control Operators on Staff
• 5 Registered Beekeepers on Staff
• (855) 930.BEES (All Counties in Fla.)
• Bee Safe!