Honey bee removal on Palmetto Bay's larger lots

Palmetto Bay is mostly houses on their own lots. The village zoning map gives the bulk of the land to single-family homes, and the village's E-M district sets a minimum lot of 15,000 net square feet, double the 7,500 the R-1 single-family district asks for. More ground means more places a swarm can settle before anyone notices: the back corner of a shed, a hollow in an old shade tree, the irrigation valve box out by the hedge.

The village also sits beside a lot of wild habitat. The Deering Estate runs along the bay east of Old Cutler Road and holds what is thought to be the largest virgin coastal tropical hardwood hammock in the continental United States. Coral Reef Park keeps pineland preserve areas off SW 152nd Street. Honey bees forage across that whole mix of hammock, pineland and garden, and when a colony splits in spring, the half that leaves is looking for a dry, dark cavity. A soffit, a hollow column or a gap under roof tile on a quiet street suits it fine.

From the back fence to the roofline: common nest sites

Notes by part of the village

• Old Cutler Road corridor

  State lawmakers gave this road historic-highway status in 1974, and it follows a natural limestone ridge along the bay. Where big trees overhang a house, trees and roof edges get checked together, with the truck parked off the travel lane.

• The bay side

  East of Old Cutler, the village runs to Biscayne Bay and Deering Bay Drive. Thalatta Estate Park keeps mangroves on its bayfront, and with the Deering hammock nearby, a colony in a bayside house may have come from very close by.

• Old Cutler town site

  The pioneer town of Cutler grew up around what is now SW 168th Street, beside today's Deering Estate, and Cutler was later a census-designated place until the village took it in. Tell us about gates, dogs and driveway length when you call, so the crew arrives ready.

• East Perrine

  This former census-designated place, named for Henry Perrine, became part of Palmetto Bay at incorporation. Where houses sit closer together, a swarm on one roof can matter to the neighbors too.

• Coral Reef Park and SW 152nd Street

  The park covers more than 50 acres, with a canal and pineland areas. A passing cluster on a gate post or mailbox near open green space like this often moves off on its own within a day or so.

• Downtown and the U.S. 1 split

  Between SW 168th and SW 183rd Streets the highway lanes separate, with businesses in between, and the village's downtown code steers its downtown district toward compact mixed-use buildings. Ground-floor shops mean bees near a doorway become a public problem fast.

Why a big lot changes the search

On a small lot, the bees are usually easy to trace: you see a line of them flying to one spot. On a Palmetto Bay estate parcel, the flight path can cross a pool deck, a hedge line and half an acre of lawn before it reaches the house, and the colony may not be in the house at all.

So the first part of a visit here is a walk of the whole property. We watch where foragers land, check outbuildings and trees, and then put a thermal camera on the wall or ceiling where the trail points. A living colony runs warm, so its heat outline gives away the comb's position through drywall or block before any cutting starts. That keeps the opening small and the repair smaller. Our guide to what a thermal scan shows explains it in more detail, and the wall removal page covers what happens once the cavity is found.

Houses rebuilt after Andrew

Hurricane Andrew struck in August 1992, and Palmetto Bay was among the worst-affected parts of South Dade. Many homes and businesses were destroyed and the area was slowly rebuilt over the following years. Houses that were repaired or rebuilt, or that have since gained additions, enclosed patios and newer rooflines, often join newer work to older structure.

Every one of those joins is a seam. Where a new roof meets an old wall, or a patio enclosure butts up to the original fascia, a small gap can open as materials shift. Scouts find those gaps. If a colony has moved into one, the comb has to come out completely, because honey left in a wall ferments, draws ants and roaches, and the smell calls in the next swarm. After that, the join between old and new work is rebuilt and repainted by our own licensed crews, leaving scouts nothing to find. See roof hives and the reasons an old nest site draws bees again.

Living next to a hammock

Much of the village's bay side is preserve. The Deering Estate's hammock and the pinelands at Coral Reef Park offer honey bees hollow trees and forage, and colonies that grow strong out there will swarm.

A swarm on a branch or fence is a cluster of bees waiting while scouts pick a new home. It is usually calm, and it may leave within a day or so. Leave it be: no hose, no spray, nobody poking at it with a rake. A photo by text helps us gauge whether it is moving on or moving in. A cluster still hanging the next morning, or bees filing into a crack in the siding, means it is time to book a pickup. Read more about swarm pickup and scouts checking out the house.

Shops, offices and managed property

Along South Dixie Highway the buildings are retail, services, grocers, restaurants and auto dealers, and the downtown code encourages compact mixed-use buildings with shops at street level. A colony in a sign box over an entrance is a liability question as much as a pest question.

Before anyone climbs a ladder at a storefront, the manager or association can have our COI on file; the business is licensed and insured. For the property file, request a set of job photos with a line-by-line invoice. The commercial and HOA page has more.

How a Palmetto Bay visit runs

1. Tell us the layout

   When you call, say where the bees are, how big the lot is, and whether there is a gate code, a long drive or dogs in the yard. If you can, snap the spot where bees enter so the crew knows whether to load a tall ladder.

2. Walk the property

   We trace the flight line across the lot, check trees and outbuildings, and scan the likely wall or roof section with a thermal camera before opening anything.

3. Lift out comb, queen and all

   Every sheet of comb is cut free from the opened cavity with the queen and her workers kept together, so the beekeeper receiving them gets an intact colony. The cavity is cleaned down to bare framing before anyone patches it.

4. Rebuild what was opened

   With the comb out, our roofers, painters and contractors close the entry and patch what was opened. Should bees ever move back into that patched spot, the workmanship warranty covers a return trip.

Matching removal work

Questions people ask us

Places next door