Thank you all for the recommendations and
advice -- what a tremendous resource this list
is! For those of you
who expressed concerns about exterminating bees, rest easy:
our pests were yellow
jackets and we had 2 active
hives (one in the ground and one in our rock wall). We had Jim, 'the bee
hunter,' come today and he sprayed and removed both hives. According to
him, this is the worst summer he can remember in terms of these wasps and he was
stung twice even while wearing protective gear.
Some neighbors have requested that I post a
follow-up with the information received (see
below).
Bee Safe, Laura & Jim ;)
If aggressive, they are probably not bees at
all; probably wasps or yellow jackets which do get nasty in the fall
(probably because as soon as they fertilize the eggs for the queen, they all
die). Yellow jackets and wasps have a very tiny waist, while bees (which
we need for all sorts of fertilization) have a rounded tummy. Don't kill
the bees. If wasps or yellow jackets, do it in evening when they stay in
nest. I just sprayed a yellow jacket nest in my garden. If you watch
carefully from 15 feet or so, you will be able to find the hole (frequently a
squirrel hole, abandoned) by the in and out activity.
There are issues with captive honey bees dying out, so I don't think you can
"exterminate" them right now. There
are companies that will capture the hive alive and relocate it.
http://www.beecontrolpittsburgh.com/
You may wish to get an estimate from a guy named Ken Knight who deals with
"animal services." His business card says "professional wildlife management" and
I called him some years ago with a bat problem in my attic. His business card
specifies bees and I believe he is experienced in many such
situations. Again, his business card
that I have is about 12 years old but here is the info --
Ken Knight
P.O. Box 101724
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412 - 795 - 9333
412 - 366 - 4225
412 - 221 - 4358
Jim Abraham is amazing with anything that stings!
Pittsburgh Bioneers has information about an active bee
keeping group. Maybe the bee keepers will be interested in relocating the hive
rather than destroying it. There is a shortage of bees for pollinating, so I
imagine they would try to preserve the bees in a safer place.
We've had Samuel Krieger eliminate bees for us
several times. He's great! He is thoughtful about his use of chemicals,
especially around small kids. We really valued that. We'd call him again if we
needed. ECI Pest Control 412-422-6757
My friend had good luck with Kevin Abraham, "The Bee Man". 724.935.7207.
We have used The Bee Hunter. See BeeHunter.com
Stephan_repasky@yahoo.com Is who I would suggest but if they are
honeybees I would suggest you leave them go considering the lack of them in
highland park over the last few years. They generally won't attack unless they
feel the hive is truly threatened. I walk by there with my dog all the time and
never had a problem.
Try Burgh
Bees. Here is an article I just read about them.
http://www.examiner.com/x-13103-Pittsburgh-Gardening-Scene-Examiner~y2009m7d11-Pittsburghs-Burgh-Bees-promote-bees-as-good-neighbors
do not exterminate the bees. contact the Pittsburgh zoo Hort department
(Frank Pizzi) and ask his advice. We are trying to save the bee population for
pollination reasons. without bees, we would not be.
try Sani Products 412-322-5900.
Call OCEAN BREEZE 412-805-5602
check out burgh bees; www.burghbees.com. They removed hives
from a building in Braddock and did not kill them. They are very
knowledgeable.
We use Ehrlich.