Keep them alive
Live removal is a registered beekeeper job. Killing it is pest control.
The property owner still picks live removal or eradication. hive removal is the consumer hire page. Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida is the beekeeper guide. Bammer, Ellis, Baxter, Butler, Coldwell, Councell, Easton, Horne, Stanford, and Vu. This page is that paper. It does not replace hands-on training.
Clients or untrained personnel should not attempt to remove a honey bee colony themselves because the job may pose a risk to the individual as well as the community.
The 2013 rule is live removal, not a spray can
Rule 5E-14.151, Florida Administrative Code, lets a beekeeper registered under Chapter 586 take a live colony or swarm for honey or pollination without a pest control operator license. Everyone on that crew who handles the bees must be registered. Eradication is pest control. Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida: it is illegal under Chapter 482.165 unless you work for a licensed company in General Household Pest or Lawn and Ornamental. If you have a known sting allergy, the paper says never attempt live removal.
Three jobs sit under live removal: swarm trapping before a nest sets, capturing a hanging cluster, and taking an established colony. Trapping is cheaper than a wall. Incoming pollen means an established colony, not a swarm. Southern Florida has Africanized stock. European vs African bees is the race table. Swarms are often calmer. Approach every cluster as if it can sting. A zip-on veil for a registered keeper on a live-removal job. Get this. #8 hardware cloth.Get this. Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida uses it to close a box after a swarm drop without sealing the airflow.
A swarm drop is not a wall cut
For a cluster: tarp under the bees, a light mist of water so they tighten like rain, then shake, brush, or vacuum into an empty hive box. Smoke is optional and easy to overdo. Close the entrance with screen or foam. Leave airflow. Do not tape the box shut. For an established nest, Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida prefers early morning or late evening, when foragers are home and you can still see. Rope the site. Tell the client that straggler foragers will return. Wait a few days before the carpenter closes the hole.
This page does not walk a wall cut. Power tools, ladders, and roofs pull OSHA training in the paper. Photograph before, during, and after. Municipal codes and historic buildings can add a permit. General liability is treated as required for a removal business. Employees need workers compensation or a Florida exemption certificate. Read Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida, then work under someone who already does this. The hire page is for the owner who should not be in the wall.
Can I spray a wall nest if I keep bees?
No. Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida: killing the colony is pest control. Live removal is the registered-beekeeper door. Eradication is a licensed operator.
Is a hanging cluster the same as a wall nest?
No. A swarm capture is usually a shake into a box. An established colony has comb, brood, and stores. Look for pollen on returning bees.
Sources
- Best Management Practices for Live Bee Removals in Florida. Bammer, Ellis, Baxter, and coauthors. Rule 5E-14.151. Training first.
- FDACS beekeeper registration. Chapter 586. Required for live removal without a pest control license.
- Choosing the Right Pest Control Operator. The consumer page when you own the wall.