Live Honey Bee Removal & Relocation
Operating under our specialized DBAs, Go On, Git! Rescue Honey and Go On, Git! Rescue Apiary, we specialize in live removal and relocation of honey bee colonies established inside structural walls, ceilings, and soffits. We never exterminate; we relocate bees to preserve the ecosystem.
Why Chemical Extermination of Hives Fails
Using chemical sprays or dusts on honey bees inside a building’s structure is a recipe for serious property damage. Here is why extermination is a failure:
- Melted Honey Comb: A healthy hive is actively cooled by the bees’ wings. When the colony is killed, the wood cavity gets hot, causing the beeswax combs to melt. Dozens of pounds of honey will leak through plaster and drywall, ruining ceilings and walls.
- Rotting Brood: The dead colony and unhatched brood will rot, generating strong sour odors that penetrate active living spaces.
- Secondary Infestations: The unprotected honey and wax will attract robber bees, wasps, mice, carpet beetles, and wax moths, leading to secondary structural pest infestations.
Our Live Cutout & Extraction Process
Our professional live cutout service systematically removes the colony and preserves the structure without chemical residue:
- Thermal Imaging Mapping: Our technicians deploy forward-looking infrared (FLIR) thermal cameras to pinpoint the exact dimensions of the active brood nest behind plaster, drywall, or exterior siding without unnecessary demolition.
- Clean Cutout: We open the target cavity precisely to access the entire hive structure.
- Low-Pressure Bee Vacuum: We safely vacuum the live adult bees into a specialized, low-pressure capture box that protects them from harm.
- Comb Extraction: We carefully cut out and remove the wax combs, dividing them into brood frames and salvageable honey frames.
- Cavity Scraping & Decontamination: We scrape the internal wood cavity clean of all residual wax and sanitize the area to eliminate the hive scent, which would otherwise attract future swarms.
- Structural Rebuild & Sealing: We repair the structural void and seal the exterior gaps to prevent re-entry.
RESCUE APIARY
PRESERVING LOCAL POLLINATORS
Feral honey bees are highly valuable agricultural partners in WNC. Rather than destroying the hive, the vacuumed bees and brood combs from your property are safely housed in standard Langstroth hives at the Go On, Git! Rescue Apiary.
Here, our apiary specialists feed and monitor the colony’s recovery. Once established, they continue to forage safely in WNC’s forests and mountain landscapes. Feral honey bee removals are complex structural operations that require specialized carpentry and agricultural expertise, which is why we approach them with the highest level of professionalism and care.
Will you spray the hive with chemicals?
No, never. Spraying a hive inside a wall just kills the bees and leaves pounds of melting honeycomb to rot inside your structure. We do a live cutout instead: vacuum the bees, remove the comb, and sanitize the cavity.
What happens to the bees after removal?
They’re transported live to our Rescue Apiary, where our apiary specialists monitor the colony’s recovery in standard hives. They go on to forage safely in WNC instead of being exterminated.
Begin with a Wildlife Safety Assessment
Every project starts with a detailed $149 Wildlife Safety Assessment and Consultation. Our licensed Wildlife Control Agents perform a safety walk-through of your property, deploy thermal imaging to check nesting spaces, and deliver a custom structural sealing proposal. The $149 fee is credited 100% back toward your exclusion service.