Listed hire
The property owner owns the nest. Call a listed operator.
A swarm on a branch is one job. A colony in a wall, a soffit, a tree cavity, or a water meter box is another. Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator for Honey Bee Removal is the UF/IFAS consumer guide. O'Malley and Ellis. This page is that paper, plus the FDACS hire list they already point at. A hanging cluster is often a swarm if you keep the bees. This is the lot you own.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to deal with an unwanted swarm or colony of honey bees.
Two legal doors
Florida wants nuisance honey bees found outside a managed hive handled one of two ways. A registered beekeeper can take a live removal. A licensed pest control operator can eradicate. Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator for Honey Bee Removal names tree cavities, walls, and water meter boxes as the usual sites. The paper also points at European honey bees and African honey bees for the nuisance-bee biology. You do not spray the soffit yourself. Stay back. Photograph from a distance if the operator asks for a picture. A flashlight for that photo at dusk, not for opening the wall.Get this.
A registered beekeeper on this paper provides removal, not eradication. If you want a pest control operator instead, Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator for Honey Bee Removal says ask whether that operator was trained in honey bee removal and eradication, and whether they have taken stinging-insect colonies out before. Training covers which pesticides they use and when, the time of day, and the protective gear. Comb and honey associated with that colony come out as soon as possible. A wall, subfloor, or other cavity may have to be opened. That is the cut they warn you about.
What FDACS tells you to ask
Honey Bee Removal or Eradication in Florida is the FDACS page. The list is a reference. No endorsement. Ask for the beekeeper registration number or the pest control license number. Ask about liability insurance. Ask about previous work of this kind. Ask how they will take comb and honey so leftover stores do not pull a new colony. Ask the method, and where live bees are going. Ask who repairs the wall if they cut. Those questions are the FDACS list, not a new shop policy.
Eradication is often the safer choice when the nest is high in a tree, deep in an occupied house, near a school, or already a sting problem. Live removal is the other door when a registered beekeeper can take the cluster without pest-control tools. There is no Florida law that forces an operator to kill a swarm, and no law that forces a beekeeper to save one. The owner of the lot decides, then hires.
After the nest is gone, close the hole. Comb left in a wall is a bait. Outdoor caulk for a gap the operator already opened, after they say the cavity is empty.Get this. European vs African bees is why you do not walk up on a meter-box nest to check. Visual ID is still impossible. Call.
Can I spray the wall?
No. Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator for Honey Bee Removal is a hire guide. A licensed operator handles eradication. A registered beekeeper handles a live pull. The property owner still owns the nest until someone listed takes it.
Will FDACS come out?
Not as the remover. FDACS says inspectors are not authorized to remove or eradicate bees for a private owner. Use their list. Ask for a number, insurance, and a comb plan.
Sources
- Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator for Honey Bee Removal. O'Malley and Ellis. Owner owns the nest. Beekeeper or licensed operator.
- FDACS honey bee removal or eradication. Chapter 482. Hire questions. The list is not an endorsement.
- Swarm Control for Managed Beehives. A hanging cluster on a managed hive. This page is the wall nest.