Bee removal in Roundhill

[pezetter]

Hello!

My name is Everett. I've reached out to a few members here directly regarding this issue, but figured I'd make it public to see if I can garner more help.

I've got a situation with honeybees that I'm trying to resolve and could use some advice and/or references. 

 

My wife, newborn, and myself just moved into a house built in 1851 in Roundhill VA. It's a beautiful property with an abundance of flowers. We learned from the previous owners that they were attempting a chimney re-pointing job before the sale of the house. Scaffolding was set up and upon starting the job, the masons were "attacked" by honey bees. They were referred to a "bee guy". He came out and removed a very large hive from the roof soffit before we closed on the house. It's a two story house.

I don't have all of the information, but it looks like he cut open probably a 5 foot section of the soffit, removed the hive, used chemicals, filled the cavity with spray foam, and then capped the soffit. Not a very sitely repair, and sad that he may have killed them off. 

 

Since then, I've noticed more bees flying around up there, but further up the soffit, closer to the peak of the roof. Looking at the roofline from the ground, the bees appear to be entering the soffit from underneath our slate roof tiles. To me, that seems like a tricky issue to get remedied. I'm not sure who to consult with w/ respect to sealing any holes underneath the slate.

I discovered they were there when I went into my baby's nursery, where we would occasionally see a dead bee or two. During the rain last night, I saw a couple live ones. I believe they are getting into the room by way of the AC duct (or holes around it) that feeds the room from the above attic space. The attic is a finished, conditioned space with unfinished insulated space flanking two sides. 

 

With that being said, I'm not sure how large the hive would be at this point. The last hive was removed just about a month ago before we moved in.

 

Any advice would be appreciated! I'll attach some picture to this thread a little later. I don't have any good evidence of bees being there to show, but I can at least give you all an idea of the environment. 

 

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this,

 

[Ed Kicha]

Hi Everett,

Sounds like the bees enjoy 19 century housing!

Try giving Carrie Fox at https://riverfoxfarm.com/pages/honey-bees a call at 443-629-7841 to see if they can assist.

I know of a recent honeybee hive removal they did from a historic building in Leesburg, and the owners were quite satisified.

Good luck! 

Ed

 

[pezetter]

Thanks Ed, I'll give them a call. Hoping this doesn't destroy the bank account. Got a sight unseen quote, almost zero questions asked, of $1500.

I know it's specialized work, but that seems steep to me.