The process
How a Bee Removal Works
Eight stages, from the free inspection to putting the wall back. This is what you are buying when a colony is inside a structure rather than hanging off a branch.
A structural bee removal runs in eight stages. Six of them happen after the bees have gone, and those six are what separate a removal from a spray.
Free inspection
The free inspection happens first. A technician attends, identifies the species and locates the colony, and nothing is quoted before that.
Location drives the price far more than colony size, and location cannot be assessed over the phone. The inspection costs nothing whether or not you book the work.
Thermal imaging
Infrared imaging shows the cluster behind drywall or siding, so the cavity is opened at the right point.
Guessing where to cut produces a larger hole and a larger repair. Imaging keeps the opening as small as the job allows, and it shows you the size of what is inside before any work starts.
Opening the structure
Opening the structure means taking siding, soffit or drywall off in sections at the located point, so it goes back cleanly afterwards.
A honey bee colony inside a wall cannot be reached any other way. We cut at the point imaging identified, and we take the covering off in pieces that can be reinstated.
Removing the colony
Smoke calms the colony and the bees go into a transport box with the queen. Honey bees then go to a beekeeper.
Wasps and yellow jackets are treated and removed instead, because those species cannot be relocated. We tell you which applies to your nest at the inspection.
Cutting out the comb
Every piece of comb and stored honey comes out of the cavity, in sections.
Comb left behind keeps leaking honey through the ceiling, attracts ants, rodents and wax moths, and carries the pheromone signal that draws the next swarm to the same spot.
Cleaning and sealing
The cavity is scraped, cleaned of pheromone residue, packed and the entry point sealed.
Residue is the single most common reason a treated site gets reoccupied. Sealing the entry completes the job, because an open cavity with no scent is still an available cavity.
Rebuilding what we opened
Rebuilding what we opened is the final stage. Siding, soffit, drywall or roofing goes back as it came off, and it is part of the quoted job.
This is the stage most customers comment on. It is included in the quoted price, not billed separately, and you are not left finding a carpenter.
Photographs and guarantee
You receive photographs from each stage, and the completed removal is guaranteed.
Most of the work happens inside a wall where you cannot watch it. Photographs show what was behind the surface and what it looked like when it was closed back up.
In customers' words
What does the process look like from outside?
From outside, the process looks like three things customers mention independently: the imaging, the opening, and the structure going back as it was.
If you're dealing with a bee problem, don't hesitate to give Raul a call. You won't be disappointed.
Joe M.McAllen, TX · Yelp He cleaned, sprayed, and packed the space with insulation so the bees would not come back and guaranteed his work for a year! Raul is very educated about bees and very good taking care of all the deconstruction and reconstruction on my house! He sent me pics all throughout the entire process to show me the size of the nest and what his finished work looked like! I would recommend Raul to anyone that needs help getting rid of bees around their house!
BRADLEY BEERWINKELGoogle review · Google I would definitely recommend Raul. He is professional, courteous, and doesn't waste time.
T. N.Houston, TX · Yelp
Process questions
Frequently asked questions about the process
A swarm or an exterior nest takes under two hours. A colony inside a wall takes four to eight hours, because the cavity has to be opened, cleared, cleaned, sealed and rebuilt in one visit.
Someone needs to be present to give access and approve the opening point. After that you can leave us to it, and the photographs cover what happened while you were away.
Reaching a colony inside a wall means opening it. Thermal imaging keeps that opening as small as the job allows, and reinstating it is part of the same job rather than an extra charge.
Honey bee colonies go to a beekeeper wherever the nest location allows relocation. Wasps, yellow jackets and mud daubers are treated and removed, because those species cannot be relocated.
Removing the comb, cleaning the residue and sealing the entry is what prevents reoccupation. Completed removals are guaranteed, and we return at no charge if a colony reoccupies the treated site.
Free estimate
How do you book a removal?
You book a removal in one step. Send us the species, the location and a photo, and we confirm a price range before we travel. The on-site inspection costs nothing.