Richland County Swarm Rescue

09/27/2026

09/27/2026

It's just that easy to get rid of a paper wasp nest when you have the right gear.

07/07/2026

After taking off the metal top and edges, and 3 layers of wood, that beauty of a hive was exposed.

07/07/2026

Loudonville Established Bee Extraction.

Eli gladly handed over his bee suit to the property manager allowing him to experience the rescue rush.

07/07/2026

🐝✨ FROM "SIMPLE SWARM" TO ROOFTOP RESCUE! ✨🐝

When a friend tagged us in a post, we thought we were checking out a quick swarm. 🕵️‍♂️ But when I reached out to the estate manager of this absolutely gorgeous property, we realized these bees had upgraded to luxury real estate! 🏰🏷️

What we thought was a new swarm turned out to be a full-blown, established extraction! 🪵🛠️ The bees had taken up residence in a decorative architectural box way up on the roof. The drop-off was no joke, and we had to do some careful wood tearout to get to them. We took off the metal top and sliced through three layers of wood, doing our absolute best to preserve the beauty of this stunning estate! 🏛️❤️

🍯 THE PLOT THICKENS! 🍯Once inside, we found gorgeous dark brown honeycomb. Judging by the color, this clever colony had been flying under the radar for about two years! 👵🐝 I expected a small 8-inch cavity, but surprise! The box extended way past the roof line, and the comb went down over THREE FEET! 🤯📐

I immediately got to work cutting comb and filling frames. I packed out two full 8-frame boxes and still had more comb left over, so into the plastic tote it went! 🧺🍯 After gently scooping as many bees as possible into their new hives, I stacked the boxes and left them right above their original front door to settle in. 🏠🔄

🌅 SUNSET SUSPENSE... 🕵️‍♂️❓By late afternoon, thousands of bees were still clustering on the bottom corners of the decorative box and ducking behind the cedar shingles. Cue the nervous sweat! 🫨💦 I had three theories:

1️⃣ It’s just too hot today and they are cooling off. 🔥☀️
2️⃣ Her Majesty the Queen didn't make it into the box. 👑🕵️‍♀️
3️⃣ Plot twist: Is there a second colony hidden in there?!🤷‍♂️

Knowing we needed a cool head (literally), we left them overnight. Thanks to a good rain and a nice temperature drop, I returned to find the mystery solved—every single bee was happily marched inside my boxes! No bees left on the shingles. It was just the heat after all! 💃🎉

🧹 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 🧹We scraped away the remaining wax, gave the decorative box a thorough vacuum to prevent future freeloaders, loaded up the hives, and drove away into the sunset! 🚚💨

Now, these hard-working estate bees are officially moved into our apiary, tucked in with plenty of food, and getting ready to smash through the winter! 🍂🌨️

Another happy ending for the bees AND the property! 💛🐝

07/03/2026

🐝 **Bee Rescue Story – Croton, Ohio** 🌳

On **May 20th**, I received a call from a wonderful couple in Croton about honey bees that had made their home inside the trunk of a hollow tree.

Normally, I prefer a full rescue whenever possible. But in this case, the entrance was only a couple of inches wide, the tree was leaning toward the neighbor's garage, and enlarging the opening would have weakened the tree and created a safety concern. Cutting into it simply wasn't the right option.

Instead, we used a **cone trap-out**. 🛠️🐝

A cone made from 1/8" wire mesh was installed over the entrance. Worker bees could leave through the cone, but they couldn't easily find their way back inside. We also placed a hive box nearby with sugar syrup, hoping to encourage them to adopt a new home.

Trap-outs typically take **4–8 weeks** and don't always result in capturing the colony. In this case, we didn't gain a new hive—but we **successfully removed the bees from the tree** without damaging it. 🎉

The homeowners were thrilled with the outcome, and the bees were free to continue their search for a new home in nature. That's a win for everyone. 💛🐝

If you discover a honey bee swarm or colony in Richland County or the surrounding area, please consider rescue before extermination. Every healthy colony helps our local ecosystem! 🌼

07/02/2026

🐝 What a wild bee rescue in Galena! 🏗️

A wonderful family reached out after discovering a colony of bees had built a hive behind a large beam in the roof siding of their home. The job was anything but easy. It was nearly 25 feet up in the air and tucked into a very tight space! 😰

The homeowner was fantastic. He rented a lift and even ordered his own bee suit so he could join the fun. 🧑‍🌾

Since the bees had already found a way into the house, we needed to act quickly.🚨 We hopped in the lift, carefully cut through the beam, scooped the bees into our box, and placed it on the roof right near their old entrance. 📦

While the bees sorted themselves out, my mini-me and I escaped the 90-degree heat for a well-earned Mediterranean lunch. 🥙🥵

We returned around 10 PM expecting to bring the colony home. The original hive location was completely empty, but so was our hive box. The bees had moved on and chosen another home. 🌙

While we didn't get to keep this colony, we have an incredibly happy homeowner! Their home is safe and the bees are free to roam. That is still a win in our book! 🏡💛

07/02/2026

🐝 What a wild bee rescue in Galena! 🏗️

A wonderful family reached out after discovering a colony of bees had built a hive behind a large beam in the roof siding of their home. The job was anything but easy. It was nearly 25 feet up in the air and tucked into a very tight space! 😰

The homeowner was fantastic. He rented a lift and even ordered his own bee suit so he could join the fun. 🧑‍🌾

Since the bees had already found a way into the house, we needed to act quickly.🚨 We hopped in the lift, carefully cut through the beam, scooped the bees into our box, and placed it on the roof right near their old entrance. 📦

While the bees sorted themselves out, my mini-me and I escaped the 90-degree heat for a well-earned Mediterranean lunch. 🥙🥵
We returned around 10 PM expecting to bring the colony home. The original hive location was completely empty, but so was our hive box. The bees had moved on and chosen another home. 🌙

While we didn't get to keep this colony, we have an incredibly happy homeowner! Their home is safe and the bees are free to roam. That is still a win in our book! 🏡💛