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Live Removal • Never Exterminated • Beekeeper-Owned
Humane Honeybee Removal and Relocation
Honeybee removal is where being a beekeeper matters most. A spray company has to hand honeybees off to someone else. Here, the beekeeper is the company. Swarms and established colonies are taken out alive and given a new home in an apiary.
Rescued colonies go to our sister company, The Mindful Beekeeper, where they pass through an inspection station before joining Apiary #1 in Loudon Township. Starting in 2027, colonies will also go to Apiary #2 in Van Buren, OH and Apiary #3 in Bryan, OH.
Signs You Need Honeybee Removal
- A buzzing cluster hanging from a branch, fence or eave (a swarm resting between homes)
- Bees using the same spot on a wall, roofline or chimney day after day
- Dark staining, wax or honey seeping through a ceiling, wall or near a fireplace
- Fuzzy, golden-brown bees rather than shiny yellow-and-black wasps
- A loud hum inside a wall on warm afternoons
- Bees coming and going from a grain bin, shed wall, tree hollow or old equipment
How Our Honeybee Removal Works
The same four steps on every job
1
Send a Photo
Call or text 419-614-6445 with a picture of the bees and where they’re going in and out.
2
Find the Colony
For bees inside a structure, a thermal camera scan shows where the warm comb sits.
3
Remove Them Alive
Swarms are boxed. Colonies in walls are reached with a careful wall cutout and moved comb and all.
4
Clean Up and Rehome
Leftover wax is cleaned off so new swarms aren’t drawn back. The bees go to an inspection station, then the apiary.
Swarms vs. Established Colonies
A swarm is a cluster of bees resting in the open while scouts look for a new home. It often moves on within a day or two, and it is the easiest kind of honeybee removal. Exposed swarm removal is free through The Mindful Beekeeper.
An established colony has already built comb inside a wall, ceiling, chimney or outbuilding. Removing it takes planning. Relocations from structures are being scheduled for Spring 2027, so it pays to get on the list early. Learn more about honeybee swarms in Ohio and honeybees in your walls.
Real Honeybee Removal Jobs in Northwest Ohio
In July 2025, a colony with seven layers of comb had moved into the door of an exterior grain bin in Fostoria. The job took a 20-foot climb, and ropes were used to lower the comb and a bee box safely. More than 20,000 bees were relocated alive. See the grain bin job.
The same month, bees were getting into a home in Wayne through a gap in the siding. Behind it was a 20-inch by 20-inch comb, which was cut out by hand and secured into frames. See the Wayne job.
In September 2025, a thermal camera found a colony inside two wall channels beneath a window of an 1800s church in Rudolph. A careful opening was cut and the bees were moved to the Fostoria-area apiary. Read the church project notes.
Bumblebees Are Protected Too
Bumblebee nests in ground cavities, old rodent burrows or under decks are relocated rather than killed. See humane bumblebee relocation and why beekeepers never exterminate honeybees.
Helpful Reading
- Honeybee swarms in Ohio: why they happen
- Honeybees in your walls: live removal
- Bees in your chimney? What to know
- Humane bumblebee relocation
Where We Work
We serve Northwest Ohio, Southern Michigan and Eastern Indiana from two offices: our Main Office in Loudon Township and our Bryan, OH Office. Find your town in our service area, or see all four of our services.
Honeybee Removal FAQs
About Honeybee Removal
Do you ever kill honeybees?
No. Honeybees are always removed alive and relocated to an apiary. That is the whole point of having a beekeeper do the job.
Is honeybee swarm removal free?
Exposed swarm removal, for bees hanging in the open on a branch, fence or eave, is free through our sister company, The Mindful Beekeeper. Text a photo and your address to 419-614-6445.
Can you remove honeybees from inside a wall or ceiling?
Yes. A thermal camera helps find the comb, then a careful opening is cut so the colony can be taken out alive. Relocations from structures are being scheduled for Spring 2027.
Where do the rescued bees go?
They go to an inspection station and then into Apiary #1 in Loudon Township, run by The Mindful Beekeeper. Starting in 2027, Apiary #2 in Van Buren and Apiary #3 in Bryan will take colonies too.
Swarms, Walls and Buildings
What should I do if a swarm lands in my yard?
Leave it alone and keep people and pets back. Don’t spray it. A resting swarm is usually calm. Send a photo so we can confirm they are honeybees.
Why not just seal the hole the bees use?
Sealing the entrance traps the colony inside. The bees look for another way out, sometimes into the house, and the comb and honey left behind can draw pests and stain walls.
Do you remove honeybees from farm buildings and churches?
Yes. Past jobs include a Fostoria grain bin and an 1800s church wall in Rudolph. Our farm and commercial page covers barns, bins and larger properties.
Need Honeybee Removal?
Free virtual quotes. No poison sprays. Bees and native paper wasps are always moved, never killed.
