Two islands in Biscayne Bay
Bees in Bay Harbor Islands walls and roofs, taken out alive
Bay Harbor Islands fits garden apartments, flat roofs and single-family yards onto two small islands. When honey bees settle into any of them, they leave in a beekeeper's box, still alive.
Around Bay Harbor Islands
- IncorporatedApril 28, 1947
- LandTwo filled islands, West and East, about 0.4 square miles of land
- Mainland linkShepard Broad Causeway, a toll drawbridge run by the town, opened 1951
- HousingSingle-family homes on West Island; apartments and the business district on East Island
- Residents5,922 at the 2020 census
Bay Harbor Islands started in 1947 as two mangrove islands that Shepard Broad filled, paying partly with down payments on lot sales, and the town still splits the same way. The West Island is single-family homes. The East Island holds the business district, the K-8 school and the multi-family buildings, and it once held one of the largest concentrated collections of mid-century Miami Modern design, MiMo for short.
That split decides what a bee problem looks like here. On the west side you are dealing with one owner, one roofline and a yard. On the east side the colony may sit in a decorative block wall shared by a dozen units, above an open-air walkway everyone uses, or inside a parapet on a flat roof that only the building manager can reach. Honey bees do not care which. A scout hunting for a home wants a dry cavity with a small entrance, and mid-century concrete offers a lot of them.
Block cores, parapets and other cavities bees pick here
Breeze-block screens
Decorative screen block shades MiMo stairwells and balconies, and where a screen ties into hollow-core block or a stucco column, bees can slip into the voids behind it. Comb there stays hidden from both faces, so the fix is opening the right blocks, not the whole screen.
Flat-roof parapets
MiMo apartment roofs are typically flat, often edged by low parapet walls and flashing. Where that flashing has lifted, bees gain a sheltered void just above the top-floor ceiling, and the first clue may be bees on the roof deck or a stain indoors.
Walkway ceilings
Open-air walkways linking the units carry a ceiling cavity for lights and conduit. A colony up there puts its flight path right over the doors, so residents meet bees on the way to their own apartments. That calls for a clear plan for the corridor.
West Island rooflines and yards
Single-family houses bring the familiar spots: soffits and eaves, gaps along the roof edge, hollow trees and palm boots if your yard has them. Detached sheds and garage walls count too, since they sit closed and quiet for days.
Docks and boat lifts
If your lot faces the bay or Indian Creek, check dock boxes, lift housings and folded covers. Waterfront gear can sit untouched for weeks, which hands a passing swarm a ready-made cavity a few steps from the water.
Bees in the breeze block or the roof?
A phone picture of the screen block, walkway ceiling or parapet helps us plan the visit. Send it by text and we will call back to talk it through.
Notes for each part of town
West Island
This is the single-family side of town, so a colony is likely to be in a house wall, an eave or a tree, and you can sign off on the work yourself. Mention gates, dogs and whether a neighbor shares the hedge or wall line where the bees are flying.
East Island
Apartments, condominiums, the business district and the K-8 school share this island. Bees in a common wall or roof are the association's decision, so bring the manager in early. A COI goes to the board before we arrive, and we can work around resident schedules.
Kane Concourse and 96th Street
State Road 922 crosses the islands along Kane Concourse and leaves by 96th Street toward State Road A1A. For a storefront job on this stretch, we ask where a truck can stand and when work in front of the door is least disruptive.
Along Indian Creek
Indian Creek separates the East Island from Bal Harbour and Surfside. Waterfront lots on that edge may have docks, decks and pool areas facing the creek, and a colony on one bank is a short flight from gardens on the other.
The causeway end
The Shepard Broad Causeway brings you in from North Miami across the bay. The town operates it, it carries a toll and it has a drawbridge, and a bridge opening can hold traffic for a while, so arrival plans include some slack.
Mid-century concrete and the bees that find it
Builders on the East Island leaned on the MiMo toolkit: flat roofs, decorative breeze block, open-air walkways linking the units and symmetrical staircases. Coral Sea Towers, a 1956 design by Carlos B. Schoeppl, is one listed example in town. Concrete and stucco will not rot, but they hide comb well, and comb packed into hollow block or a parapet void cannot be pulled out through the small hole the bees use.
So the thermal camera comes out before anyone cuts. A live brood nest runs warmer than the wall around it, and the image narrows the opening to the blocks or panel that actually hold comb. After the live removal, our own licensed contractors and painters patch and match the surface, and comb and honey cleanup takes out the leftover wax that would otherwise draw the next swarm. The field guide on what a thermal scan shows explains the camera in more detail.
Condo boards and the milestone calendar
Florida law requires milestone structural inspections for condominium and co-op buildings of three or more habitable stories, due by the end of the year a building turns 30, and local officials may move that to 25 years where salt water is close. In a town incorporated in 1947, a building from its early decades is well past both marks.
Inspection and concrete repair work opens soffits, balcony edges and walls, and an opened cavity is exactly where a hidden colony comes to light. If bees turn up mid-project, pause the crew at that spot and call. The colony comes out alive, the association gets photos and an itemized invoice on request, and we coordinate with your contractor so the area is ready for their repair. Managers running several buildings can read the notes for HOAs and property managers and for condo buildings.
Swarms on an island ringed by water
The town says Bay Harbor Islands lies entirely in a floodplain, wedged between the open bay and Indian Creek. Heavy weather can strip a soffit or crack a parapet and leave comb exposed, so after a blow it pays to look around; the guide on colonies exposed after a storm lists what to inspect.
In spring a crowded colony splits, and the swarm hangs on a railing, hedge or palm while its scouts search for a new cavity. A cluster like that is usually calm and may leave on its own, but it can also pick your parapet or meter box. Read about scout bees checking out the house and ask for a swarm pickup before the bees start building comb.
What happens once you call about East or West Island bees
Call or send a photo
Tell us which island you are on, where the bees are flying and whether a board or manager must sign off first. Someone picks up day and night.
Paperwork for associations
For an East Island building we send a COI ahead of time and ask your manager where permits for common-area work get posted, a location the town's association registration form already asks for.
Crossing and setting up
The truck comes in over the causeway or along 96th Street, and we ask where it can stand without blocking a drive or shared entrance. Then the stair, walkway or yard gets taped off and the thermal scan starts.
Removal, repair, follow-up
Comb and bees are lifted out by hand for a beekeeper to rehome, then our licensed roofers, painters or contractors close the gap. The work is warrantied, so a sealed spot that draws bees again earns a return visit.
Matching removal work
Questions people ask us
Who pays when bees are in a shared wall of an East Island condo?
Walls, roofs and walkways are normally common elements, so the association usually authorizes and pays, but your declaration has the final word. A colony entirely inside your own unit can be a different story. Either way the quote is free, the board can have a COI, and renters can read who handles bees in a rental.
Can you get bees out of breeze block without tearing down the screen wall?
Usually only part of it has to open. The thermal scan shows which cores hold comb, and only those blocks or the face behind them get opened. Our own crew then replaces or patches the units and paints to match. Original decorative block can be hard to find, so we talk through options with you or the board before cutting.
Will you kill the bees if the building wants them gone fast?
No. Killing them is off the table; the bees leave alive and end up with a local keeper. Poisoning bees inside a wall also leaves dead bees and softening comb behind, which can draw pests and new swarms. Live removal followed by cleanup is what keeps the spot clear.
Do night or weekend calls cost more here?
Yes. An after-hours or weekend emergency is billed above a weekday appointment. As for the base price, a swarm on a West Island hedge or a colony low in a garden wall sits at the lower end, roughly $300 to $400. A parapet on an East Island roof that our roofers must open and rebuild costs far more, into the thousands. The cost page lists the roof, height and repair factors that shape a Bay Harbor Islands estimate.
Places next door
Two islands, one call
Tell us where the bees are, which island you are on and who signs off, and we will take it from there.
Tell us where the bees are
Three fields are enough to start: your name, a number we can reach, and the city or neighborhood. Anything else you add saves a question on the callback.
- (786) 442-2496
- Prefer texting? Send a picture
- Someone picks up day and night