Honey Bee Removal in Homestead, Where Town Meets Farm

Homestead sits about 26 miles southwest of downtown Miami, a low, flat city where the county's farm belt starts. Just northwest, the Redland grows avocados, mangoes, lychees and nursery stock on red clay over limestone; to the south and west, the city runs straight into Florida City. Put rooftops beside that much open bloom and a colony gets everything on its list: steady forage, warm weather most of the year, and a dry cavity to build in.

The houses add their own chapter. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew made landfall a short way northeast of town and wrecked almost every mobile home in the city. Within about two years, roughly 70 percent of the damaged or destroyed homes had been repaired or rebuilt. So a large share of the roofs, soffits and block walls you see here are post-storm work. Newer does not mean sealed, though. A gap the width of a pencil at a roof return or around a pipe is enough for scouts to claim, and once comb goes in, the colony needs to come out whole. Our live removal approach is built for that.

Where colonies settle on Homestead property

Notes on Homestead's districts

• Historic Downtown

  The Homestead Historic Downtown District was designated in 2007 and includes a 1921 theater redesigned in Streamline Moderne style after a 1940 fire. Older storefront buildings can have flat roofs, parapets and shared walls, so access and tenant notice get planned before any cut.

• Southwest Area

  The city's District 4 covers its southwest, where the Community Redevelopment Agency has backed new affordable homes for qualified buyers. New houses still have weep gaps and utility penetrations that need checking, and older homes nearby often share fence lines with them.

• Waterstone

  District 5 on the city's council map takes in Waterstone, with Waterstone Boulevard running through it. If your street sits inside an association, tell us who manages the gate so the crew is on the visitor list.

• The Villages

  District 3 is labeled the Villages on the city's council map. Where homes share a roof or a party wall, one colony can reach more than one unit, so neighbors and any association should hear about the plan early.

• The western edge

  Past the urban development boundary, county zoning generally requires at least five acres for a house. Homes near that line face open groves, which means more forage, more swarms passing through and longer driveways for the truck.

A rebuilt city still has openings

When most of a town is reconstructed in a short window, the same details repeat on block after block. Roof-to-wall joints, ridge and soffit vents, A/C line sets and exterior light boxes are all places a colony can slip behind the finish. Miami-Dade is inside Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so roofing and windows here are built to strict wind standards, but those rules are about storms, not insects. A tile roof can pass every wind test and still leave a quarter-inch void at a hip where scouts move in.

That is why the inspection matters more than the spray bottle. A thermal camera finds the heat of the brood nest behind stucco or under tile, the crew opens only what it must, and the bees, queen and comb come out together. Patching is not handed off to strangers: the roofers, painters and licensed contractors who rebuild the opening work for us. Their work carries our warranty, so if a colony ever tries that same closed-up opening again, we return. For wall jobs, read bees in block and frame walls, and for roofs see tile and flat roof hives.

Living beside groves and nurseries

Homestead's farm neighbors bloom on a rolling calendar, and honey bees follow the flowers. Avocado, mango and lychee trees, flowering hedges and nursery stock all feed foragers, so a strong colony can split and send off a swarm whenever conditions suit it. A swarm resting on a fence or a mailbox is usually waiting for its scouts to choose a home. If it is left alone and moves into your eaves, it becomes a much bigger job. What those first few dozen inspectors look like is covered in the field guide on scouts.

Growers and nursery operators have a different set of concerns: workers, customers and equipment. A colony in a pump house or a stack of containers is relocated to a beekeeper, not killed, which keeps them working as pollinators. The nurseries, groves and farms page describes how those jobs are staged, and colony relocation covers where the bees go.

Storms, exposed comb and downtown buildings

This part of the county knows what a hurricane does to a roof. After any storm, check soffits, fallen trees and torn screens; a colony that was hidden may now be hanging in the open, and loose comb attracts robbers and pests within days. The after-a-storm guide walks through what to look for and what not to touch.

Downtown shops, churches and offices along Krome Avenue have their own needs. Owners and managers often have to show proof of coverage before a crew can work, so a COI can be made out to the property owner, the HOA or the building's management before the truck arrives. Landlords and insurers tend to want records, so request the before-and-after pictures and the itemized bill. The HOA and commercial page covers that side.

How a Homestead visit runs

1. Photo and quote

   Text a picture of the entry point with your street, and say whether it is a home, a shop or farm acreage. A free quote and a visit window follow.

2. Gate, farm road or HOA

   For association streets, the crew needs a gate pass or a name at the guard house. For groves and nurseries, tell us which entrance trucks use and where staff are working.

3. Find, then open

   Heat from the brood shows on the camera, so the crew knows where to open. The colony, comb and honey are removed together and the bees go to a beekeeper.

4. Close and clean

   Leftover wax and honey get scraped out, since their smell pulls in the next swarm and ants, and the soffit, tile or stucco is rebuilt.

Matching removal work

Questions people ask us

Places next door