New Troubles Buzzing for Local Homeowners—Beehives

It’s spring, and it’s time for the birds—and the bees.

Some locals have complained about the proliferation of beehives on their property, and according to some bee professionals, they’ve been making five to 10 stops a week in the area.

“This is the time we are the busiest,” said Ron O’Brien, Bee Specialist. “They find all sorts of places to hide in.”

On a recent local extraction, O’Brien and Brandon Warden were taking a large hive out of the rafters of a house, and there were aggressive wasps down below.

“I think bees are fascinating,” said Warden, who has been a hobbyist for a few months, but has studied bees for years. “We preserve them and save the hives.”

See some of the video of a bee extractor who takes the bee honeycomb and saves the hive so the bees can reuse all the material again.  

Backwards Beekeeping guru Kirk Anderson (aka Kirkobeeo) has a hive in Studio City where he says, “Is a great place for a hive.” See the video above, by Russell Bates, showing Anderson retrieving honey from his hives (and occasionally getting stung).

The bee season tends to last longer in the San Fernando Valley because the weather is warmer. Hives can spring up anywhere. This particular hive hosted about 40,000 bees, and it’s been in the rafters of the home for more than a year.

“Hives start in a place that is easy to get to and dry and they can last for a long time,”

Ron O’Brien has been working with bees for 35 years in the Los Angeles area. He said that the system of preserving bees has existed in the same way for about 150 years. Bees are quieted by smoke, which makes them want to go back to making honey.

A local hobbyist group, Backward Beekeepers, is a group dedicated to being organic, treatment-free beekeepers in Los Angeles. They are meeting and helping each other have bee hives in the city. They say, “We're ‘Backwards’ because we rely on observation and natural practices to keep our bees thriving rather than pesticides, chemicals, or treatments of any kind.”

Ron O’Brien the Bee Specialist is at www.beespecialist.net. For Studio City call: 818-237-5596.

If you want to know more about bees and the hobbyists contact:

http://www.backwardsbeekeepers.com

For governmental agencies and other bee information see:

http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/bees.asp