Hundreds of bee removals from trees/houses/roofs/sheds/water meters/etc have been done over the years. Hive access is sometimes difficult and sometimes easy. Every removal situation is different and always an adventure.  If you have bees that need removing give us a chance to relocate them to a good home in an area hobby beekeeper’s apiary.  The NaplesBees apiary owner is licensed by the state of Florida for live bee removal. Not all types of removals, based on access, can be done.  Click here to contact NaplesBees for a quick response to any request.  Below is a chronological listing of a few of the bee removals done over the years. See 2025 year bee removals here See 2024 year bee removals here See 2023 year bee removals here See 2022 year bee removals here See 2021 year bee removals here See 2020 year bee removals here See 2019 year bee removals here See 2018 year bee removals here See 2017 year bee removals here See 2015-2016 year bee removals here

Removal 249:

1/2/2025 – Transferred a good size hive and all its comb from a brood size trap box that was on the back wall to a proper brood box on an apiary stand.

Click on picture for a larger view.

Removal 250:

1/7/2025 – A small hive was removed from a water meter on Cape Sable Drive in Naples.  About two frames worth of comb was rubber band mounted.  The queen was spotted and caged and will be released when the brood box is moved to the apiary.

Click on picture for a larger view.

Removal 251:

1/8/2025 – Another small hive was removed from a water meter on Cape Haze Lane in Naples and then placed in a brood box in the apiary.   A nearby swarm that had landed on the bottom of a trap box and was staying there for several days, was removed and paper combined with this small removal.   Maybe something good will develop. It is so cold right now (in the 40s at night), that the exposed swarm would probably not survive on its own.

 

Removal 252:

2/13/2025 – Removed an owl box packed with bees from a tree on Hawser Lane in Naples. With considerable difficulty, the box was detached from the tree trunk and placed intact in to a stack of langstroth hive boxes and then transported to the apiary. After the bees settle down in a few days, the owl box will be opened and all the comb will be frame mounted and the bees should be happy to have more space for their hive to grow.

Owl box about 15 feet high on a tree trunk. Click on picture for a larger view	Click on picture for a larger view. The owl box is inside a stack of boxes in the apiary. In a few days, the owl box will be dismantled and the comb will be mounted in frames.
Click on picture for a larger view. After only a short time, any bees in the capture boxes have found the entrance to their hive box containing the owl box.

 

Removal 253:

2/18/2025 – Removed another owl box located on a pine tree at a house on Myrtle Road in Naples. The owl box was unscrewed from the tree and gently placed in a double hive box for transport to the apiary.  The next day the bees and comb where placed in an apiary hive box. 

Click on picture for a larger view.	Click on picture for a larger view.
All the comb was removed from the Owl box and rubber banded in to frames in a brood box in the apiary. The Owl box was packed with brood comb and bees!! Click on picture for a larger view.

 

Removal 254:

2/23/2025 – Removed yet another owl box located on a pine tree adjacent to the apiary. Last year a small owl took up residence, but it now had a hive in it.   Upon removal and opening the owl box, lots of comb and bees were able to be removed and relocated to an apiary brood box.  4 brood size frames were filled with rubber banded comb.  At the bottom of the owl box were three hatched egg shells, indicating that the time the owl was in the box must have been successful.  

Almost done getting all the comb and bees in to a brood box. Click on picture for a larger view.	The bees should settle down in a short time. Click on picture for a larger view.

 

Removal 255:

2/25/2025 – A very large hive was removed from a backyard storage building on Sea Grass Lane in Naples.  The hive had multiple comb sheets of brood which were cut to fit in frames of a brood box.  The box was then left close to the location of the original hive and eventually moved to the apiary once the bees settled in to it.  A  super was added once in the apiary as there were too many bees for the single brood size box.

A large hive in an old cardboard box. Click on picture for a larger view.	Close up view after removing some comb. Click on picture for a larger view.
Many frames of brood were cut out and mounted in frames and then the box was placed in the same position of the original hive. Click on picture for a larger view.	This large live removal finally is in the apiary. A little vegetation for a while on the front helps the bees to reorient. Click on picture for a larger view.

Removal 256:

3/11/2025 – A very small hive was removed from a water meter on Old Mahogany Court in Naples.  As the comb was removed and rubber band mounted, the queen was spotted and caged. Later, In a few hours, the hive and its queen were set up in the NaplesBees apiary.

Click on picture for a larger view.	After removal and transport to the apiary. Click on picture for a larger view.