Ok! Don’t panic. Most honeybees are not aggressive and will simply go about their business of foraging and making sweet sweet honey unless disturbed. Let’s discuss your options for wild bee hives on your property and bee removal in Barbados.

When to call a professional to remove a bees or a beehive?

Keeping a proper bee hive on your property is extremely safe. However, wild bee hives can sometimes cause problems especially for those that are unfamiliar with bees and do not have the correct equipment.

Reasons to have a professional safely remove a beehive from your property:

  • A member of your household has an allergy to bee stings
  • The hive is in an inconvenient location near your door or areas you frequent
  • The hive is in a spot that will cause structural damage to your home, fence or buildings over time

You can contact Graham Belle at 243-6560 to have a bee hive removed safely.

Reasons you may want to keep the beehive

Depending on where the hive is located, it might be perfectly safe to leave it where it is and let the bees go about their business. Some reasons to keep bees safely on your property include:

  • Increasing the production of your garden – from vegetables to flowers, your garden will flourish with more bees around
  • Bringing more birds to your garden – some birds feed on bees and other insects
  • Doing your part for the environment – bee populations all over the world are suffering due to pesticides, fogging and other climate changes. We need bees to grow our food!

Learn more about bees and honey in Barbados in our article on Living Barbados. Liquid Gold – The Business of Honey in Barbados

Can I discourage bees from coming near my house?

Yes! Bees have an incredible sense of smell so you can use a few simple and natural solutions to keep them away from your home or certain areas of your property.

  • Peppermint has a strong smell that bees dislike. You can use peppermint oil, or simply plant some peppermint in areas you want to discourage bees from frequenting.
  • Cinnamon is another scent that repels bees. Sprinkle it daily or weekly in areas you want to repel bees. This is a nice solution if you want to discourage them from your front gallery but not from your entire yard or garden.
  • Citronella candles will also work. This is a good solution if you find bees inside your house. Bees do not like rain or wind, so pick a dry, calm day and light a candle inside your house to encourage them back outside.

Can I extract honey from a wild bee hive?

While it is possible to remove the bees with smoke and proceed to cut the bee hive open to remove the honey, it is dangerous for those without experience and equipment. More importantly, by cutting open the hive you would be eliminating their home.

Instead we suggest you have the hive removed safely by a professional. If you are interested in keeping honey bees on your property, you can contact us for more information on getting your own hive.