Month: April 2010

Over the last couple of decades, the honey bee has been given a bad rep. Due to the rapid growth and spread of the highly aggressive Africanized honey bees, commonly named “killer bees,” people have placed an unwarranted stigma upon all bees. This is especially so when it comes to the common honey bee – a vital creature that not only produces honey, but also pollinates most of our food supply. What worsens the matter is that the predatory insects called “yellow jackets” are sometimes mistaken for the usually harmless and docile honey bee.

The yellow jacket, while looking somewhat similar to a honey bee, is not a bee at all – it is part of the wasp family. The main physical differences between a common honey bee and a yellow jacket are that bees are covered in small hairs while exhibiting a duller yellow color; yellow jackets are smoother and display brighter yellows and glossier black tones, with either a white or a yellow face. They also lack the flat hind legs bees use to carry pollen.

Honey bees and yellow jackets differ not only in looks, but also in function and in the way they fit into our ecosystem. The hardworking honey bee collects nectar and pollen to feed the hive and the queen. As they move from flower to flower, they cross-pollinate plants. By contrast, yellow jackets are predators and scavengers. They feed on plants, other insects and even small animals. They, too, have a role in the environment, as useful predators of pest insects.

In addition, yellow jackets have the ability to sting multiple times. When they sting, they release an “alarm” pheromone that alerts others of their species in the area to defend and attack as well. While honey bees often lose their stinger and will die after stinging once, yellow jackets have the ability to sting multiple victims throughout the course of their lives.
They are usually most aggressive in the late summer and early fall, when they begin to need additional “sugary” food sources.

Yellow jackets also differ from honey bees in terms of their life cycles. Bee hives can sustain themselves for many years, while yellow jacket colonies die off every year, only leaving a queen to rebuild the population. This is why yellow jackets are rarely seen after the early fall.

As explained, both honey bees and yellow jackets have an important role in the ecosystem. However, bee or wasp removal  may be necessary if colonies are located too close to humans or livestock. While bees are not aggressive most of the time, people and animals can be in grave danger if they inadvertently threaten a nearby hive or colony. Due to a percentage of humans being allergic to bee and wasp stings, swarm attacks have the ability to cause fatalities.

Professional, environmentally responsible bee removal services can remove both bee hives and wasp colonies from your premises safely, preserving the lives of the insect population, repairing damaged structures and ensuring the safety of humans or animals in the area. This is especially important when it comes to honey bees, as their population is currently in serious decline. Killing these vital insects with harsh pesticides is both unnecessary and detrimental, as they pollinate about one-third of our food supply.

Bee Happy

An insect invasion of your home or business can be disconcerting. And if it happens to be bees, and you happen to be allergic to their stings, swarming or nesting bees can be especially frightening. That’s why calling an exterminator is often our first thought when an incident like this occurs near our homes. The safe, ecologically responsible, environmentally sound alternative is bee removal rather than extermination.
Here are four good reasons why NOT to call an exterminator:

1. Bees really are not a nuisance to humans. We all know that the honey they produce benefits us and that their pollination makes it possible to plant lovely gardens that fill our lives with countless varieties of colorful blooms. But so many people are unaware that we actually depend on bees for one-third of the earth’s food supply. Without these little insects to pollinate our crops and orchards, scientists estimate that we’d only be able to survive for four or five years.

2. Most bees are not dangerous to people. They actually avoid human contact as they go about the serious business of pollination so they can bring food back to the hive to feed their young. Most common varieties will not attack humans unless provoked or defending their hives. Even colonies of Africanized honey bees, more commonly known as “killer bees,” can be safely removed. Because they are so dangerous to work with, most services will exterminate this variety, though they are sometimes relocated and, through specialized breeding practices, gradually replaced with less dangerous cross species.

3. Bee populations are in serious decline. Widespread pesticide use, which damages the environment and disturbs the earth’s ecological balance, has contributed greatly to this problem. Direct eradication of bee colonies by misguided humans has also played a major role in creating this natural imbalance. If we hope to see sufficient food production to sustain us in an uncertain future, we need to carefully rethink our exterminate strategies and turn to more ecologically responsible methods for peacefully co-existing with a vital yet seriously endangered insect species.

4. A humane alternative is available. Professional bee removal, an effective method that’s safe for humans and the environment, can help reverse this ecologically unhealthy trend. Bee removal from your home or business can be quickly and efficiently handled by experienced professionals who understand their nature, their habits and habitats, and who are trained in their safe and effective removal. Most such businesses are fully prepared to remove both the insects and their honeycomb nests, if present; and make any necessary repairs to restore the premises to pre-removal condition. After removal, colonies are adopted by local beekeepers, who rent them out to farmers for crop and orchard pollination. Of course beekeepers also profit from the great honey that the bees produce. Bee removal businesses are becoming increasingly common as the world’s ecological awareness grows and as more people learn how important these “frightening pests” are to our own survival.

You will rarely, if ever, encounter a situation in which an invasion cannot be adequately handled by a professional bee removal company. If your home, garden, or business structure has been invaded by a swarm of uninvited bee-guests, you’ll help yourself, the environment, and future generations by calling a removal service to do the job the safe, healthy, natural way.