Author Archives: Boyles Irish Pantry

Honey Bee Removal Dunleer

Dunleer Honey Bee Removal

We were contacted by Eddie who lives in Dunleer, Co Louth on the 20^th Nov 2023 in relation to a honey bee removal. He explained that his flat roof extension at the back of his property was being reroofed and it was discovered a colony of honey bees had set up home there. With the banging and hammering the bees were getting agitated and trying to attack the roofing contractor. We wouldn’t ordinarily perform a removal this late in the year but in this situation, there was no choice. The roof needed the repairs immediately.

Locating the colony

On Sat the 25^th we called out. That morning was very cold and there had been a strong frost overnight so we decided to leave the removal until that Monday when temperatures where forecast to be over 8 degrees. We did do a bit of recognisance with our thermal imager to try and judge the scale of the colony. The heat signature showed it was fairly sizable. The roof itself is a single-story flat roof, so access would be gained using a step ladder.

Assessing and the Removal

To attempt a removal like this we needed to take a few extra things into consideration. Temperature was going to be a big issue. Pushing the removal back a few days did help with that but we would still need to be very prepared and work fast. The roof being repaired wasn’t going to be a problem so we were allowed to open as much as we needed in one go. Food would be the next issue. The vac box set up would need plenty of honey stores already in it before we started and luckily, we still had some frames not extracted at the time.

We started from the corner of the roof working back towards the heat source. Once opened up we worked gently and as quickly as we could. Taking each comb away slowly and removing the bees. We allowed the remaining bees to cluster on to the next comb. One by one we worked to the far side of the colony and quickly removed the last of the bees.

With the bees safely in the box we closed it up, opened the air vents and covered it with a jacket in the back of the van to keep warm.

Clean up and finishing

Back on the roof we started disconnecting our equipment and cleaning up. Within a half an hour of putting the bees in the van there was a huge temperature drop. I was thankful the job went as smoothly as it did. Honey bees freeze to death at +7 degrees and while they weren’t happy with us removing them at around 9 degrees they would have been fighting to the death if we took much longer.

Through the inspection lid we could see and hear how active the bees were in their new home. To give them the best chance of survival we kept the box in our house for 2 days before re-locating them to one of our apiaries.

In Closing

Big thanks to Eddie. It still remains to be seen whether they will survive the winter months but this colony has been given the best possible chance by him contacting us.

To see more like this visit our news page News

Honey Bee Removal Blackrock

Contact

In June of this year (2023) we were contacted by Martin O Rourke from the Louth bee keeper’s association about a honey bee removal in Blackrock, Co Louth. After getting in touch with the home owner Geraldine, we got a brief history of the colony. The bees had moved in two years previous and since then had swarmed serval times. She had contacted serval bee keepers during this time but they had still not been successfully removed.

Locating colony and gauging size

I visited the house and removed a few roof tiles to get a scope of the size of the colony. Straight away I could tell it was immense. I outlined what we would need to do and that she would have to get a roofer to repair the felt after the removal was complete and the straggling bees had dissipated. At that time of the year, it wasn’t great weather to open up the roof so we had to wait a few weeks for the weather to pick up before we could plan it in.

Removal

On the 30^th of June we arrived to do the removal. We could gain access to the colony using a ladder and removing the roof tiles. To start, we needed to find the back of the comb they built. As you can see from the pictures, we ended up seven tiles back which was around 6ft into the roof. The bees had started building from the front and because of the steep pitch of the roof the comb at the back was at least 5ft deep. As always, we slowly started removing the brood comb first, trying not to touch the comb with honey stores. For our vac box we used brood comb with eggs and larvae from the colony to make up frames. These frame together with drawn frames and stores made up their new home.

With the vac box built we set about sucking up the bees and removing the comb piece by piece. It was a long slow process but we were able to remove everything and pull the majority of the bees into their new ready-built home. The removal took most of the day. We removed many buckets of comb and honey from the roof space. Established colonies of this size can be particularly aggressive when being removed and this was no exception.

Temporary Fix

Because of the amount of time this colony had occupied the house, it would have been impossible to mask or remove every trace of them. The timbers and the concrete blocks had been completely covered and impregnated with wax and propolis. To prevent another swarm, passing the area, from choosing this spot as their new home, we filled the whole space with expanding foam. After the space was filled, we put the tiles back on temporarily. A professional roofer was needed to remove the tiles again and repair the felt to make the roof fully water tight once the straggling bees had dissipated.

Update

Since the removal, Geraldine contacted us again because a large number of bees were flying around the same spot. This is a common result of having a colony removed from a house. The spot they were removed from was filled with expanding foam and there was no way of them making a home there, but the smell is still attracting them to that area. There is nothing stopping them starting a new colony in a different part of the same roof. Through the LBKA we were able to organise a bait box to be set up to try and trap any swarms contemplating this idea. Thankfully this time that wasn’t the case but Geraldine will need a bait box set up for the next few swarming seasons just in case.

Thanks

Big thanks to Geraldine and Martin for getting in touch with us to save this colony of essential pollinators and Liam from LBKA for setting up the bait box afterwards. Special thanks to Kali for taking the brunt of the bees’ aggression by getting stung multiple times in the face.

To learn more about honey bee removals visit our services page Honey Bee Removal

Stung

Colony in roof

Image 1 of 25

Entrance behind guttering

Honey Bee Removal Navan

Contact

Viewing a post on http://swarms.ie on the 3^rd July 2023 a College in Navan had contacted them about a honey bee removal. We were given the contact details and touched base with Jenny at the College.

Stephen from swarms.ie had advised them on the removal, access and what was needed to be provided by them for the removal to take place.

The colony was located high on a south east facing external wall. They had gained access to the cavity through a broken seal on the brick façade and had been noticed in May. The wall was in an enclosed court yard garden area and with exams going on they had to close it off and keep all the windows opening into it closed. It was decided we would wait for a quieter time in the College to do the removal. Jenny organised scaffolding to be erected and we performed the removal on the 21^st of July.

Assessing colony location

When we arrived the first job we needed to do was gauge the size of the colony and the space they occupied. Using a thermal imaging camera, I was able to track the heat signature and mark the wall with chalk. Knowing exactly where they were was vital to causing the lease amount of damage and repair work needed afterwards.

Removal

With the wall marked we got set up. Knocking out the first brick is always the hardest. Trying not to aggravate the bees too much we use a combination of a small masonry bit and old-fashioned brut force with a hammer and chisel. Starting from lowest marked heat source we found the bottom of the comb. Working left and right we exposed the sides. Carefully removing the brick above until we exposed the whole brood section.

You can see by the pictures and video the beautifully built comb that takes advantage of every bit of space and provides good ventilation for them to raise young. Before going further up into the higher comb where they would have honey stores, we started the removal. To avoid cause a huge sticky mess leaving the honey stores till the end is the best thing to do. Section by section we cut away the brood comb, gently removing the bees as we went. After removing all the brood and bees we could we moved on to the higher combs. We removed the bricks right up to the concrete plinth above exposing the rest of the colony.

Removing the honey had to be done quickly and straight into buckets. After that messy work was done, we needed to remove the cavity insulation too. The bees had coved it in propolis and actually carved cells which they had started storing pollen in. With almost all the bees in our box and all traces of them removed the job was complete.

Temporary fix

As a temporary fix we screwed a board over the whole to keep any driving rain out of the cavity. This being a substantial colony there was still quite a few bees flying around which would dissipate in a week or two so the repair work could be done.

Update

The colony is now re-homed in an apiary near Lobinstown, Co Meath. During the removal there was no sign of any disease’s and they showed no hybridisation. The queen was present when we inspected them for the first time and has been clipped and mark red. The colony is building well and we are confident they will be strong enough to survive through the winter.

Big thanks to the efforts of all involved for putting the conservation of this colony of essential pollinators above all else.

If you want to learn more about conservation please visit our page Bee Conservation

Assessing colony location

Image 1 of 10

Size estimated as close as we could get.

Honey Bee Removal Balbriggan

Contact

On May 30th 2023 we got a call from Lucia, a home owner in Balbriggan, North Co Dublin about a honey bee removal. Her home has a two-story extension with a flat roof on the back of the house. She explained that a previous colony of bees had been removed from the same spot and another had decided to occupy it this year. From the videos and pics she sent, it did seem to be two separate colonies either end of the flat roof but we would have had to investigate it to be sure.

Locating the colony

Upon inspection I was able to determine it was just one colony. They were entering at the corner of the flat roof and were most likely building between the joists above the upstairs bathroom. I was able to hear and feel them moving just above the plaster board and pinpoint the exact area they were occupying. It was apparent the best way to remove them was from the inside. To do that we would need to close ourselves in the bathroom and remove a section of plaster board to get access. Lucia was very understanding and was happy to get repair work done afterwards. Saving the colony itself was important to her.

Access and Removal

It proved a bit of a challenge setting up and fitting all of our equipment in, bathrooms aren’t generally the most spacious of rooms but we got everything in with enough space to move around.

To start gaining access we removed two small squares of plasterboard held up by screws from the last removal. This colony had set up in the joist space to the left of the previous one, going by the old comb to the right. We had the cut away a bit more plaster board to get to the full reach of what they had build and expose the whole hive.

Accessing the colony from the bottom allowed us to see the intricately built comb and identify how we could remove them with causing the least mess possible. Slowly we removed brood comb while sucking the bees into our bee vac. Usually when we are doing a removal like this we don’t see the queen bee because she gets sucked up with the bees on the brood comb, but in this instance this lady wanted to be seen. I was going to do a glove change and there she was sitting on the box calmly watching us. I gently picked her up and put her in a cage so she didn’t get hurt.

Once the brood and majority of the bees were out we carefully started taking out the honey. Comb and honey, as new as this, is very messy because it falls apart and runs all over the place with just a small touch. At one point it was raining honey on us but we kept the drips to a minimum.

With many glove changes we were also able to cleanly save some of the honey for Lucia which tasted amazing. We got all the bees we could into the bee vac and re-introduced the queen before shutting everything down.

Clean up and finishing

With the removal complete we scrapped any wax/propolis from the area, painted the timbers to mask any smell, we put up temporary boards covering the hole and injected the cavity with expanding foam. The facia and soffits of the flat roof are going to be replaced and sealed so hopefully this is the last removal from that roof.

Update

The last pictures are of how the colony looks now. The queen was out and laying within a few days and the colony is busy rebuilding in their new home. The colony itself is Amm (native Irish honey bee), they are nice docile bees and strong builders so we are confident they will build up enough to survive the winter months (if the rain ever lets up).

In Closing

Big thanks to Lucia for saving this colony of essential pollinators and the cups of coffee to fuel us through it.

To learn more about the native Irish honey bee visit Bee Conservation

Locating colony entrance

Image 1 of 24

Honey bee removal balbriggan

Honey bee colony removal. Duleek, Co Meath

Contact

We were given contact details for a guy called Darren living in Duleek, Co Meath by Stephen from http://swarms.ie on May 29^th. After contacting Darren and getting some details, we learned a swarm of honey bees had made home in his house and were coming and going from the facia board at the front door. The bees where very active and the risk of residents or visitors being stung was a huge concern. It’s always hard to tell from short videos or pictures exactly what kind of removal we are getting into but from the initial contact it seemed gaining access to the bees would be a simple matter of removing some of the facia which could be repaired easily afterward.

Locating the colony

I went over on the 31^st and began removing the facia boards. With enough removed, so I could get a good idea of exactly where they were, it was apparent that access was not going to be possible from outside the house. They were using a small gap in the facia, travelling between the joists, over the top of the wall and were actually building under the floorboards of a bedroom. Without full access to the colony, it would not have been possible to fully remove the bees and any comb they had already built. After discussing this with Darren and pinpointing the spot on the inside, it was decided we would proceed by lifting some of the floorboards and removing the colony from inside the house.

Access / Removal

Firstly, we pulled back the carpet and underlay exposing the floorboards. I identified where the joists where by the nails and marked out where I needed to cut so the boards could be refitted afterwards. Using a skill saw I cut to the depth of the boards.

I removed the first board, which would have been the very edge of the colony and got my first look at the size and strength of it. The bees themselves didn’t pay much attention to us because they were still too busy drawing comb and you can see in the pictures how white the fresh wax is. Slowly we extracted the bees and comb sheet by sheet until we got to the far side of the colony.

Eggs and young larvae where present on some of the combs which meant that although the colony wasn’t huge, it was still a prime swarm with the original mated queen present. With the bees and comb removed we painted the timbers with Creotreat to mask any smell and prevent that spot from attracting another swarm.

After the removal

Clean up was simple, compared to some other removals we have done. With the comb out and bagged, boards re-fitted with screws and any drips of honey wiped up, the underlay and carpet just rolled back into position. The only repairs needed were to the fascia boards outside.

Relocation

We relocated and released the bees the following day and left them to settle in. The following week on inspection I found eggs and larvae. Going through the hive I located the queen, clipped a small piece off one of her wings and put a yellow dot on her back so I could find her again easily.

Update

We have inspected and monitored their progress over the last two months. We have seen no sign of diseases and they are building well. Recently we have moved them on to a full hive and they have plenty of time to build up before winter. Up to date pictures below.

The colony is showing hybridisation of the brood which means we will not be creating new colonies from it next year but we will re-queen it with an AMM queen. To learn more about hybridisation go to Native Irish Honey Bee and Hybridisation

Visual on entrance

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Visual on entrance

Native Irish Honey Bee and Hybridisation

Native Irish Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) Hybridisation

The native Irish honey bee, the Irish black bee or Apis Mellifera Mellifera is the only honey bee native to Ireland. It once covered the majority of Europe but its prevalence has diminished since the introduction of commercial honey production. Though this commercialisation of honey production would have been started in Europe with this species hundreds of years ago, beekeepers increasingly opted to use different species and created hybrids with the goal to increasing yields and scale of their operations. This move has given way to the AMM species existing mainly in the wild and becoming hybridised themselves over the years. In some circumstances, such as geographically isolated pockets in Europe, they have kept their genetic lines. Ireland being and Island still to this day has a high genetic percentage AMM but just like in Europe these genetics have been on the decline.

How Hybridisation happens

Hybridisation in Ireland is a direct result of the importation of none native honey bee queens and colonies by beekeepers. There is as yet no protected insects in Ireland and the only restriction even now in the importation of bees is they must have a health certificate attached to them. In reality colonies and queens are imported freely and with no restriction. Apart from the genetic implications diseases have been imported and the rise in cases is devastating to any beekeeping operation in Ireland.

Why importation is happening

Importation of none native species is happening because of the misconception that different species produce more honey than the native species meaning more profit for the beekeeper. While this may be true in continental countries with long hot summers and cold winters, we all know Irish weather is a completely different animal. AMM has lived in Ireland for thousands of years; they would have populated the country as weather conditions allowed at the end of the ice age when the ice caps receded north. Since then, they have adapted perfectly to our weather patterns and in my experience produce the same volume if not more honey that any species could in this environment. In some of our closest neighbouring countries where the preference of imported or hybridised bees is the status quo very little of their native species exists and is referred to as a feral bee no good for commercial use. While this may be true of the remanence of their own native species it is not a blanket truth about that whole species.

Using AMM as a beekeeper

As beekeepers in Co Louth, we are fully behind the ongoing efforts of our association to promote AMM genetics and use it in honey production. Tests on members bees have identified high AMM genetic markers in the county and conservation of this is a priority to us all. Though all our colonies are AMM, year on year it’s a constant struggle to keep them that way. Because our queens are open mated, we have no control over which drones they mate with and can only be Identified by the adult workers from their brood afterwards. Hybridisation of our colonies has accounted for 80% of our reasons for re-queening colonies over the past three years, the remaining being poor mating seasons due to weather.

To Learn more about AMM and conservation visit our page

Bee Conservation

To become member of the Native Irish Honey Bee Society

https://nihbs.org/

Stage 2 Native Irish Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) Hybridisation

Hybridisation visible on workers, drones and the queen herself.

Hybridisatiopn visible on all three castes

Stage 1 Native Irish Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) Hybridisation

Hybridisation visible on workers but not on drones.

Native Irish Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) Hybridisation

No Signe of hybridisation on workers, drones or queen

Another example of a Native Irish Honey Bees showing no sign of hybridisation.

Honey production of Native Irish Honey Bees

Native Irish Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera)

Honey production of Native Irish Honey Bees

Colony size and honey production of Native Irish Honey Bees

Honey production of Native Irish Honey Bees

Honey Bee Removal Baltray, Co Louth

On May 12^th 2023 we got a call from a nice lady in Baltray, Co Louth. She explained that a swarm of bees had decided to set up home in a chimney in the neighbouring cottage the evening before. Bees were coming into the house through this chimney and collecting on windows within the house. They had contacted serval organisations to have them relocated and were told their only option was to have them destroyed. These lovely people, concerned with conservation and protection of wild life, refused to go down that road and kept contacting people until our number was passed on. Baltray, Co Louth is only a few mins drive from us so I was able to have a look that evening.

Honey bee colony and location

The swarm which by this stage had become a colony was in an unused, capped off chimney flue. Visually I could determine that the removal wasn’t going to be too much trouble and repairs would be minimal so I organised it for early the next morning. The cottage itself is overlooking the picturesque Baltray estuary and is simply beautiful. I could see why the bees picked that spot.

The Removal

The following morning, I arrived and started to set up, with help from the owners who were very enthusiastic about saving the lives of these vital pollinators. Removing the bee colony went without any hiccups. I was able to slowly remove the capping while gently spritzing with water to make the bees believe it was raining. I then used my bee vac to trap the bees into a pre-built box with 6 frames of foundation ready for them to start building. Once I had all the bees I could possibly collect, I sealed the entrance and opened the vents for them to get air. At this point I could show the home owners the colony and the activity already happening in their new home. The only repair needed was to replace the capping but I left it off the chimney to let the returning foragers know the colony was gone in order for them to return to their original hive.

After the removal, over a cup of coffee and biscuit’s we talked about what was going to happen with the bees and where they would be going so I have included the pictures from the removal in this blog, updating you and the owners on the progress of these bees. The colony was placed in an Apiary in Slane, Co Meath.

Update on the colony

It has been monitored and inspected on a weekly basis. We determined after the first inspection that although it wasn’t a huge number of bees it was still a prime swarm with a fully mated queen. The most recent pics show they had become a very strong 6 frame colony and we have moved them to a full, standard 12 frame hive. The colony has needed no intervention for us regarding feeding or treatment and we wish for the best for them going forward.

We want to give a huge thanks to the responsible home owners that went out of their way, and against initial advice, to protect these bees. Destroying this colony with the nerve agent, which pest control companies are only supposed to use on wasp nests, would have devastated the population of most pollinators in a 1.5mile radius. Mapping this radius would have given way to the possibility of one of our own apiaries also being destroyed.

To learn more about removal work we do please visit out services page below

Honey Bee Removal

Pictures provided by the owners

The removal, Honey Bee Removal Baltray, Co Louth

Starting to lift the cap

With a spritz of water they are staying together

Gently breaking the seal

Cap is nearly free

easing the cluster up to find the bottom

With letting any bees fall back down the chimney start removing them

Two holes pictured here were the access point

The Removal, honey-bee-removal-baltray-co-louth-chimney

Cleared and bee free

Small specks of wax where the colony had started building comb

Update, honey-bee-removal-baltray-co-louth-chimney

Very strong 6 frame colony now

Update 2, honey-bee-removal-baltray-co-louth-chimney

Strong enough to start building in feeder

Quick look at frames as I transfer them

Plenty of brood

Bumblebee Removal

Firstly, removing bumblebees is not something we would typically do but in this instance the nest would have been destroyed and it goes against what we stand for at Boyles Irish Pantry. Bumblebee removal is not something I would advise anyone to try doing without some degree of knowledge or experience. Our advice would be, if possible, to leave them alone allowing them to live out their seasonal cycle. Away from the immediate surrounds of their nest, bumblebees are very docile and non-aggressive but they will guard their nest ferociously.

Contact from Louth County Council

We were contacted by Pat Casey, Housing Supervisor in the Louth County Council. Pat outlined a problem with bees in a house in Dundalk. After a few pictures and messages sent back and forth we identified them as bumblebees. They were located in a shed under some junk left by previous tenants. The shed itself was going to be demolished and the nest had to be removed to accomplish this. With preservation and conservation in mind removing the whole colony and relocating it was agreed.

The Bumblebee colony

Bombas jonellus nests resemble a pile of yellow/brown marbles piled together with open cups around the outside to store pollen and nectar. Bumblebees don’t build masses of storage comb like honey bees and basically use what they forage day by day. This is why often if you find a struggling bumble bee, sugar water can get them back moving and able to fly off. Bumble bees are said to be only 15mins from starving at any given moment when they are outside of the nest.

The Removal

To start the removal, I had a premade box with a closable hatch on the front. I had filled a small bottle with sugar syrup and put a wick through a hole in the cap to give them food while transporting them. I also had a water sprayer filled and ready beside me before starting. Carefully I removed debris until I got to the nest located inside packaging from a flat screen TV. I opened the packaging to get a good look at the size and where it finished. Slowly I cut away the rest of the packaging from the nest. Luckily enough, they had built more or less on the shed floor and the bottom of the nest was flat. Once free I slid a flat board under the nest stopping every time they got agitated. When I was sure the nest would lift without breaking, I carefully lifted it into the box with the pre-made food source. The open cups of nectar and pollen where not broken or damaged by the move. I loosely covered it with some of the packaging and opened the door. Positioning the box entrance close to where the original nest entrance would have been it wasn’t long before they were flying in with pollen. To keep as many as I could from going back out to forage, I sprayed water into the air around the box to mimic rain and when the majority of the bees were in the box I closed it up and took it away.

Species Identified

We have identified the species of these bumblebees as Bombas jonellus. They have a white tail, two distinct yellow bands on the thorax and the short face, rather than the longer face of the Bombus hortorum. This species is widely distributed and common across Ireland. Active from as early as February through to October. They can be found in a wide array of habitats including parks and gardens.

The nests which at most can contain 50 to 120 workers, can be situated either above or below ground. A small hollow in the ground left by an animal or dead plant is an ideal spot to find them nesting underground. Under sheds, in tall grass and piles of debris are common places for them to nest in above ground.

Relocation

Within an hour I had relocated the nest to Meade Farm Group head office where we have a main honey bee apiary and left them to settle in to their new home. We will keep regular updates and pictures on their development here.

Special thanks to Pat Casey and the Louth County Council for their continued effects in preservation and conservation and to Meade Farm Group for adopting this colony.

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Dunleer Honey Bee Removal

Locating the colony

Assessing and the Removal

Clean up and finishing

In Closing

Contact

Locating colony and gauging size

Removal

Temporary Fix

Update

Thanks

Colony in roof

Contact

Assessing colony location

Removal

Temporary fix

Update

Assessing colony location

Contact

Locating the colony

Access and Removal

Clean up and finishing

Update

In Closing

Locating colony entrance

Contact

Locating the colony

Access / Removal

After the removal

Relocation

Update

Visual on entrance

Native Irish Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) Hybridisation

How Hybridisation happens

Why importation is happening

Using AMM as a beekeeper

Honey bee colony and location

The Removal

Update on the colony

Contact from Louth County Council

The Bumblebee colony

The Removal

Species Identified

Relocation