Wild Honey Bees

[Joe.Carrick]

We live just about 30 m iles north of San Diego. I have noticed that there is a honey bee hive in the ground or bushes on our hillside property about 80 feet from the house. I see the bees coming and going and during the winter many die due to the cold (they evidently get lost or tired late in the day and don't make it back to the protection of the hive).

They have been there for quite a while - maybe 6-8 months and have never bothered us. However, I am concerned about the possibility of africanized bees and would like to have the bees removed or destroyed. Since the terrain is very steep and covered with thick brush I'm not sure how it could be done. The hive might in fact be underground in a cave.

Would a bee keeper be able to lure them out without having to go into the hive itself? Logically, the queen would need to be removed along with any larva that the workers might be able to create a new queen from. I would also think that the existence of honey in the hive would probably attract other honey bees to move in sometime in the future.

Right now I'm thinking that extermination might be the only way to eliminate them and it probably wouldn't be easy.

[JD_Bugs]

Joe,
This strikes me as a pretty dangerous situation. You're right to be concerned about the possibilty that the colony is africanized. If so, approaching it would be very risky. You might want to contact the county health department and tell them you have a wild colony. They likely have contracted with someone that investigates these colonies and destroys them if they are africanized. Otherwise, I'd leave it alone. You'll probably not be able to locate a regular beekeeper that will be willing to deal with this situation. Good luck.

[twelvepole]

Look in your local Yellow Pages under "Pest Control" and call a licensed Pest Control Operator.