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This porch had a gap between the door, and the outer porch space/roof line. It made for a strange balancing act while performing this removal.
Once I figured out my footing – it wasn’t bad at all. The bees were accessed and removed – and the homeowner opted to perform his own repairs afterwards.
Do you think the queen got vacuumed? The workers smelled her scent coming through my catch-box, and gathered on the exhaust side of the vacuum.
High in the air, that is!
From the looks of the comb, these bees have been here for about a year – though there was not a LOT of comb, it was a good tan/brown color – indicating it had been here at least through several seasons.
The comb and bees were pulled out, the space filled with insulation – and buttoned back up = so that the guys replacing the gutters could finish their job.
(note: click pics for larger versions)
My home was built in the mid 1970’s – and had a cheaply made facade of a mantle – made only of crown molding – attached to a 2×4 that had been set into the mortar of the chimney. The old mantle (sorry – no pics that I have been able to find) was removed – and plans progressed to decide how the fireplace’s new look would be envisioned. The brick around the fireplace would be painted white, as well as the body of the mantle. – The trim would be black, as well as the brick within the inside area of the mantle. The surrounding brick was painted white, and the inside of the fireplace was painted black with hi-temp paint… Then life happened, and the project sat for a while – with an electric heater/fireplace in front of the real fireplace.
Challenges and work to perform – would be to:
First order of business was to take plenty of pictures of the mantle before it was disassembled. The structure was simple enough that it could be rebuilt completely if needed. The structure of the legs and cross member was replaced with a fresh board behind each seam – and screwed into place – instead of the nails that had formerly done the job. (The nails allowed too much flex in the overall body of it)
The trim pieces and shelf were removed. And measurements were carefully taken… multiple times…. (measure 3x, cut once!!!)
The legs were then cut with a skil-saw. The horizontal member was then measured and marked – and also cut with the skil-saw. Finish cuts of the ends were made with a Japanese draw-saw for a flush cut.
Sanding…. 80-grit, then 150-grit – all with an electric sander. I suspect the 3-layers of old paint may have had some lead-based paint in them – and possibly oil-based layers more recently – so a mask was worn when sanding. Primer of all the surfaces was then applied. (I used Kilz Original – which is oil-based, however allows latex paints to be painted over it)
New 3/4″ quarter-round was put into the inside edges of the mantle, and filler was applied to all the seams and nail holes. Sanding commenced again. Black and white enamel appliance paint was used for the final coats. 3 coats each of the white and black paints.
And the finished, installed, new-to-this-home fireplace mantle.
While I an very proud of my work on this project – it’s a bit “contemporary” for (a) my personal taste, and (b) my current furniture. Eventually, I’d like to place “fireplace glass” into the fireplace with a new burner for it. Then new projects on the horizons. 😉 An out-of-town military serviceman had been stationed on the east coast – and while renovations are being done to his Texas home – it was decided that it was TIME to take out the honeybees, so that other repairs could proceed. He mentioned to me that he knew the bees had been there a while – (years) – but since they were up high – they really had not bothered anyone – so left them…. to grow… and steal… (the – these little ladies were stealing from their community!! Much of the 5+ year old comb had GREEN honey in it. I do believe they may have found the local snow-cone stand syrup and brought it in to consume! Who doesn’t like a snow-cone on a hot day? 😉 )
Once opened, here is a short snippet of the view I had
Though it was HOT outside (102+ deg. F) – these bees really were docile. The video looks chaotic and unnerving – however the bees were NOT attacking me.
Once finished – the vinyl soffit panels were put back into place. One the way home, I was hoping to stop in for a cool-down beverage at The Forge in Ben Wheeler – however it was still early in the day – so they were closed. So I took a quick snapshot of the town’s little wedding chapel across the street.
Another beekeeper received an EMERGENCY call about honeybees that needed to be removed from a telephone utility box. He was unable to make it – so contacted me to see if I was available. I was able to respond for the company – and take care of the bees. The box as I approached it:
The insides… Uh – were a mess of wires. This took TIME and precision work to not disrupt anyone’s home telephone service (does anyone actually HAVE a land-line any more?)
My main tools for this removal were the smoker – to run the bees out of the box and collect them – and a LONG carving knife that reached way down to carefully trim out the comb.
Once finished, the wires were tucked back up into the cover, and I was on my way. This rental home in Dallas had an occupant who was had failed to pay the landlord rent to live in the space. So, the eviction process was started!
Once the soffit was opened, It was apparent the bees had been here from a late fall swarm from the year prior. The bees were removed from the home, and told not to come back onto the property. Hopefully the homeowner will follow through with a restraining order. Lol…
Seriously, though.. These bees were pretty docile. The space was filled with insulation after the comb and bees were removed, and the homeowner will be performing his own repairs to the soffit.
I received a call from Texas singer-songwriter Kim Townsend about honeybees that were in her family home just outside of the DFW Metroplex. She had originally called a hobby beekeeper, who got in DEEP over his head – and he had not even started a removal yet. Unprepared, he tried to pry up flashing with a pry-bar, without using the proper tools (i.e. smoker at a minimum). The bees let him know that he was in their territory! 😉
When the bees came out to meet him – he immediately declared them to be “Africanized” and told her that she needed to call a professional. I’m glad she did. When I performed the removal, the bees were docile, and amicable to moving to a new home.
The soffit was opened up, and the comb exposed… I knew they would probably be hiding in the upper-level soffit as well, and suspected some comb would be up there – and I was correct, There was another 10-12 pieces of brood and honey comb up in the higher portion of the soffit.
Once the bees were fully removed, the soffit space was filled with insulation, then new soffit boards were put into place, and the seams caulked.
Kim had been interested in beekeeping – and has had an empty hive – just waiting for the right opportunity. Though the bees I put in her hive were not from her own home – she could now have a hive of her own to manage and learn from.
Bees were entering the balcony wall of this condo – and needed to be removed. The walls are appx. 1″ thick cement/stucco – so I had to use a special blade to open the wall to access the comb.
Once their void-space was opened – these bees were VERY docile.
After the removal was complete, I filled the void with insulation, and the stucco was put back in place – and the homeowner can have it cosmetically repaired at his leisure, now that the bees have been re-homed. During the removal – I saw the queen – however lost sight of her when I removed the piece of comb she was on. I was collecting the last of the bees after the removal was complete – and FOUND HER – up on top of the wall. With a small entourage keeping her company.
Royalty? No… These bees were highly aggressive when it was time to remove them from their home. At the peak of a 2nd floor soffit – protected from the sun by a high tree canopy.
The comb went about 2 feet over the living space of the house – as well as over the soffit portion overhanging the edge of the house. I wound up wearing 2 veils for this removal (I had a small tear in my main veil – and the bees were aggressively entering the tear – so I doubled-up)
After the bees were removed, the void was filled with fiberglass insulation, and the soffit was reassembled. This colony looks to have been here for several months – from the comb – I’d say they probably were an EARLY spring swarm that moved in.
The bees had entry to a joist space over this porch area. They have grown substantially in numbers since the homeowner noticed them.
Once the lower trim and first board were removed (whole boards across for this removal – no cutting of the boards – by request of the homeowner) the joist where the bees were was located. The boards are tongue and groove cedar planks – and great care and attention was required to not break the fitting to each other – so that it would look right when re-installed.
They wound up having comb that reached up to 4-board heights. (sorry – no pics of the whole comb). These bees were of VERY good demeanor, and should be a great bee-yard addition. After the bee removal – the void space was filled on ALL the joist spaces to about 3′ tall – across the whole porch.
And finally – the boards were put back into place, and the trim board replaced – but nailed down tightly to prevent future intrusion by bees.
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