Barrier islands on Biscayne Bay
Deco stucco, tile roofs and bay islands: bee removal in Miami Beach
Honey bees in Miami Beach end up in stucco, tile and tower roofs rather than hollow trees. Here is how a live removal works around historic district rules, guard gates, causeways and condo boards.
Around Miami Beach
- CharteredTown in 1915, city in 1917
- SettingNatural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic and Biscayne Bay
- Average elevationAbout 4.4 feet above sea level
- National RegisterArt Deco district listed in 1979
- Local historic districts14, with alterations reviewed under the city's appropriateness criteria
By area, most of Miami Beach is water. The land is spread across natural barrier islands and the islands that were dredged up out of Biscayne Bay in the 1920s, and it is densely built. A honey bee swarm scouting for a home here does not find many hollow trees. It finds buildings: the dry spaces behind parapets on 1930s apartment houses, the channels under clay barrel tile, the soffits of bayfront mansions and the equipment corners on top of oceanfront towers.
That shapes the job more than the bees do. A colony behind a Deco facade sits inside a building covered by the city's preservation rules, so the patch afterward has to fit. A colony on Palm Island sits past a guard gate at the end of a causeway. A colony at a condo comes with a board, a manager and a request for proof of insurance before anyone climbs a ladder. The removal itself is the same humane method used across Miami-Dade: the bees come out alive, go to a beekeeper, and the opening gets sealed. What follows covers the parts that are particular to this city.
Parapets, tile and towers: the usual Miami Beach cavities
Behind Deco parapets
Art Deco apartment buildings in the Flamingo/Lummus neighborhood of South Beach often have flat roofs edged by low parapet walls. A cracked cap or a loose drain scupper opens a shaded, dry cavity, and comb can run along the inside of the wall out of sight. See flat roof hives.
Under clay barrel tile
Mediterranean Revival houses from the 1920s carry curved clay tile with open ends at the eave. A swarm that slips into one of those channels can build on the roof deck underneath and show almost nothing from the sidewalk except a steady line of bees. A storm that lifts tiles can expose it; see colonies exposed after a storm.
Mansion soffits on Hibiscus Island
Many of the big houses on the bay islands have long eaves and deep soffits, and one missing vent screen is enough of a doorway. Comb in a soffit can usually be reached from a ladder or lift without opening the roof, which keeps eave removals simpler.
Tower roofs and mechanical rooms
The oceanfront condo and hotel towers have rooftop equipment enclosures, pipe chases and louvered vents. Bees working out of those spaces can drift down onto balconies and pool decks, so the building usually wants the colony gone quickly and quietly.
Bay island moorings
Bayfront lots on the dredged islands can come with a private dock, a deck locker and a boat under a cover that sits idle for weeks. That is plenty of time for a swarm to move into a hull compartment. Our dock and boat removals cover this.
A colony on the parapet or over the pool deck?
Send a picture from the sidewalk or the balcony and say which island or street you are on; that is all the free quote needs to begin.
Notes by neighborhood and island
South Beach and the Art Deco district
The National Register district runs from Sixth Street up to the Collins Canal and Dade Boulevard, between the ocean and Alton Road. It holds hotels and apartment buildings put up between 1923 and 1943, so stucco, color and trim on a repair should match what is already there.
Star, Palm and Hibiscus Islands
Three man-made islands finished in 1922 and reached from the MacArthur Causeway. Palm Island's entrance has a guard gate, so the crew needs to be on the visitor list before it pulls up. Hibiscus mixes mansions with converted apartments and condos.
The Venetian Islands
Four belong to Miami Beach: San Marino, Di Lido, Rivo Alto and Belle Isle. Biscayne Island and San Marco are part of the City of Miami. All sit along the Venetian Causeway, rebuilt in 1925 as a series of drawbridges, so a bridge opening can hold up the drive.
La Gorce Island and the Sunset Islands
Both are residential islands from the dredging era. La Gorce Island was built in 1924 and is run by a homeowners association, so expect the association to want to know who is coming and when.
Mid-Beach: Bayshore, Nautilus and the oceanfront
Mid-Beach takes in the Bayshore and Nautilus neighborhoods plus an oceanfront strip of big resort hotels and condo towers. On the tower side, plan around loading docks, freight elevators and a security desk.
North Beach
From around 63rd Street up to 87th Terrace, taking in Normandy Isle, Biscayne Point and North Shore. This is where the city keeps a large collection of Miami Modern (MiMo) buildings. Directly north is Surfside.
Historic district buildings: the patch has to fit
Miami Beach has 14 local historic districts, and every building inside one is held to the city's appropriateness criteria for alterations, no matter how it is classified. That sounds heavy for a bee job. In practice, the planning department's own FAQ lists repairs, exterior paint and facade restoration among the work its staff may approve.
So the removal is rarely the sticking point. Closing the wall is. The stucco texture, paint and trim need to come back looking as they did, so the building still reads as part of its district. Our own licensed contractors and painters do that work, and on request you get photos and an itemized invoice showing what was opened and how it was closed, for you or your manager to hand to planning staff if a sign-off is needed. More on repairs after removal and hives inside block walls.
Condo boards, managers and the paperwork that comes first
If your building has an association, then before anyone works on a roof, a garage or a balcony, the manager will typically ask for a COI naming the association, a time window and a plan for keeping residents clear of the work. We are licensed and insured and can send that COI ahead of the visit, then coordinate through the manager so owners are not fielding calls.
If bees are on a pool deck or a balcony at this moment, lead with that. Anyone being stung is handled before any paperwork. Managers handling a tower can start with our high-rise page, and boards juggling several buildings with the association and property manager page.
Across the water, on a 24-hour clock
On a city of islands, reaching you can mean a causeway or a bridge or two. That does not stretch the 24-hour response guarantee, and the phones are staffed 24/7. What helps the crew is detail: gate or guardhouse instructions, whether the Venetian Causeway drawbridges are your route in, and whether the bees are inside the house or out by the dock.
After-hours and Saturday or Sunday emergency work is priced higher than a Tuesday morning, so calm bees and nobody at risk usually means it pays to wait. The 24-hour emergency page explains when it is worth calling right away.
If the unit or house is closed up for part of the year, a swarm has time to settle before anyone notices. The colony can still come out with you away, as long as someone lets the crew in; see bees at a seasonal home.
How a visit runs in Miami Beach
Access sorted before the drive
Tell us the address, any guard gate or front desk, and where a truck can stand. On the gated islands, ask the guard to add the crew to the day's visitor list.
Find the comb before cutting
Any stucco cut here has to be matched later, so the crew scans first. Heat from the brood shows up on thermal imaging through a wall, parapet or soffit, which lets the crew limit the cut to the stretch where the comb hangs. See what thermal imaging shows.
Bees out alive, comb out completely
The crew vacuums the bees gently into a box, cuts out every piece of comb and honey, and drives the colony to a beekeeper. Leftover honey would draw new bees, so none stays behind.
Close it, finish it, stand behind it
The aim is a facade that looks untouched from the street, which means rebuilding the stucco, tile or trim to match. The workmanship carries a warranty: a colony that moves back into a sealed spot means a return trip from us. Ask, and the before-and-after pictures and a line-by-line bill come to your inbox.
Matching removal work
Questions people ask us
My building is in the Art Deco district. Does repairing the wall after removal need city approval?
Alterations in local historic districts are measured against the city's appropriateness criteria, though the planning department says repairs, exterior paint and facade restoration can usually be cleared by staff. Request the job photos and the line-by-line invoice and every cut and patch is on record, which gives staff something concrete to look at.
Can your crew get onto Palm Island or into a guarded building?
Yes, with your help. Put the crew on the guard gate's visitor list or let the front desk know to expect us, and send any parking or freight elevator rules ahead of time. That way nobody loses an hour at the gate.
A few bees keep poking around a vent on our balcony. Is that already a hive?
Not necessarily. A handful of bees inspecting a gap may be scouts choosing a site for a swarm. A steady line carrying pollen in means comb is being built inside. Our guide to scout bees explains the difference, and why bees come back covers spots that keep drawing them.
Does a crowded hotel or tower change whether the colony is kept alive?
No. Every removal is live, at a hotel, a tower or a crowded block alike. The colony is boxed, the comb is cut out, and the bees go to a beekeeper through our relocation arrangement instead of being destroyed.
What will this run for a house on one of the islands?
If the colony is in a meter box or a palm at ground level, plan on roughly $300 to $400. Inside a tile roof, a soffit or a wall that our contractors have to open and rebuild, the bill can reach the thousands. Quotes cost nothing, and the cost page explains what moves the number.
Places next door
Tell us which island and which building
Gate codes, front desk rules and the building name help the crew most; with those and a photo or the quote form, our 24-hour response guarantee starts with your call.
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
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