A full hive of bees can create 100 lbs of honey per year. We encounter 100lbs of honey frequently. Unfortunately, it is often inacessible without opening a wall in your house. Many people decide that it will be too expensive to rip open a wall in their homes. In some cases, it may not be worth it. Part of our job is to help you make an informed decision.

If we kill or otherwise remove the bees, then what could happen?

In one case earlier this year, the owners decided that they "could not afford" to rip open the house, extract the honey, and repair the roof. The bees were not reachable without ripping something open and the hive would not leave without their 'unreachable' queen. They had at least 40,000 bees in their roof and needed to do something. We agreed to exterminate the bees and seal their main point of entry provided that they hired a professional carpenter to repair some of the damage once the bees were not in the way. They did not hire a carpenter to fix the roof that the heavy honey had warped and the warping allowed water to seep onto the honey. This resulted in somewhat watered-down honey flowing down their eves and the entire front of their house. And although they already had ants and various molds that had found the honeycomb, they now had every bee, wasp, etc. in the neighborhood covering the front of their house. No carpenter would touch the job. They called us back and said that they now could NOT afford to NOT "rip open" the house

If you think doing manual labor in the Texas heat is hot, then next time try it in a full bee suit. THEN, if that's not enough, try standing on a ladder covered in honey while you (and your gloved hands) are covered in honey and the crowbar you are trying to use is covered in honey. As a former triathlete, I will testify that even biking 100 miles, running 26, and swimming 2 does not take more out of you. Then again, it's a lot easier and a lot more fun to train for a triathlon.

In the end, we ended up needing to remove a section of the front of the house and some of the chimney bricks to get to the honeycomb. We applied plastic tarps to the necessary places and avoided allowing any more honey to seep inside the walls of the house as we removed the honeycomb.

We see this time and time again. I am writing during the first week of October '02 and I have already done two honey extractions this month. No one wants to believe that "those little bees" could cost them thousands of dollars in home damage. We wouldn't believe it ourselves if we didn't see it so often. We will always provide you with quality prefessional advice and service to help you solve your problem, but there are many choices for you as a homeowner to make. Even if we only remove the bees and seal the entrance(s), will the honeycomb spawn new ecosystems for other honey-loving creatures inside your house? If the bees aren't there to fan (and thereby cool) the honey, is the honey in a location where it could overheat and seep into other parts of your home?

Although pictures are generally the last thing on our minds when these situations occur, I'll try to take and add pictures to further illustrate at some point.

Licensed (TPCL # 6861) and regulated by the Texas Structural Pest Control Board
(512) 305-8250 Physical address: 333 Guadalupe, Suite I-530, 78701