For awhile now we have been telling people that if they help with a removal they can have the bees.  Chris was ready to go!  These were under an outside staircase. We had to move everything out of a closet, they get down under the stairs to get them out.  We had to bring our own light and fan because it was dark and hot.  Chris was game though, he got right in there and started scraping the comb off the roof area.  We had to take a lot of breaks because of the tight space, bending or kneeling for a long time is not possible.  Chris only had one hive, but he said he will buy another one and wants to help again!

Hawaii is a small place, and people know people.  Raymond called and said he knew where there were two abandoned hives.  He said the beekeeper got a brain tumor, moved to Florida to be with his sister then died.  He said the guy hadn’t been around for about two years.  He wanted help to move them into a hive that wasn’t falling apart.  The beekeeper he was talking about was Howard McGinnis.  He taught me to be a beekeeper.  As I said, Hawaii is a small place. We went to where the hives were and I saw that only one was alive, just barely.  The boxes were so termite eaten they were falling apart and had big holes in them.  With my guidance Raymond moved the bees to the new hive.  I told him he HAD to move all the other old equipment out because they would attract bugs. He called me the other day and said they looked like they were doing well.  If you look closely in the first picture you will see his son without any veil or bee suit.  The guy is a natural.

Hawaii is a small place.  If you live here long enough you are going to run into someone you know.  That happened to me on this removal.  The woman’s husband called and said the bees had been in the eves for about 3 days.  I told him I would pick them up.  When I got there, he said you drive for a living don’t you? Then he named the company.  His wife works at a place I make deliveries to on a regular basis.  I call her the rose lady because she has a large rose tattoo on her arm.

The woman called and I missed the call, so I called back.  She didn’t answer the phone so I left a message.  She called me back and I missed it again! So she texted me and we connected that way.  She thought the bees had been in the flower pot only a few days, maybe a week.  She had put the flower pot over a stump so it wouldn’t grow. I filled five frames with comb and brood. The bees gathered on the outside of the nuc, so I had to smoke them in.  There were a lot of them!

My wife went for the estimate. The people said it was a shed, that is what she saw.  When we got there and moved the buckets we saw the shower head.  This was once an outside shower.  We started cutting into the wall where the bees were and found that it was cement board.  All we had was out multitool.  While it is good, the blades we have were not made for cement.  We wore out two blades.  Then we opened up the wall, wow!  There were lots of bees and even more comb.  There was also lots of brood.  We used all five frames and still had c

The view from the patio was gorgeous!  It was right on the water, and the people had their own dock. He called and said he had bees in an old portable bar.  He said I could take the whole thing since it was very weathered. We made the appointment to pick them up on Sunday evening. He called and asked if we could make it on Saturday instead. Then he called again and said something came up, could be come by on Friday.  On Wednesday he called and said he had scheduled tree trimmers to come work on Friday, could I come by on Thursday and get them.   When got there, they were covered with plastic. Once we got the plastic off we tried to open the cabinet.  The bees had built so much comb we couldn’t get it open. So we just threw two sheets over them and carted them away.

The guy in the picture is an arborist and contracts with the Federal Court at 300 Ala Moana Blvd.  He gave me a call and said the owner of this car was freaking out because of the bees.  The wind has been blowing hard for the last few days.  The bees thought they had found a great place to hang out, out of the wind.  Once I scooped them into the nuc they were more than happy to stay.

I got a call from Wailua High/Intermediate school about bees on a bench.  I got there and found the bees were very calm.  There were several young women standing watching what I was doing.  I explained what I was doing. They asked how I know all this stuff.  I told them I read it.  They lost interest as soon as I said that!

Sheldon called some time ago and said he wanted a swarm.  We got him one, and he has kept in contact.  Sheldon is in the US Navy, and works as a Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist.  He asked if he could come help with a removal.  We never turn down young help!  His family works in construction and so he knew a lot.  When he was removing the comb he went very slow.  That is his EOD training, they have to go slow so they don’t blow themselves up.  He did a great job and we thank him for his help.