|
Frequently-Asked
Questions
- Where
are you located?
- I have honeybees in my house/my property/a tree,
and I don’t live in the East Tennessee area. What can I do?
- How do I know if I have honeybees, rather than other
flying insects? Do you remove wasps/hornets/yellow jackets/bumblebees/carpenter
bees?
- What are the benefits of eating honey/pollen/royal
jelly/propolis?
- Where can I buy Arnold Honeybee Services products locally in
East Tennessee?
- Are
there killer bees in East Tennessee?
- Do you catch honeybee swarms?
- What’s the difference between buying a nucleus colony (nuc)
and buying a 3-pound package of bees?
- Will your nuc frames fit my beehives?
1.
Where are you located?
We are located in Knoxville, which is
in eastern Tennessee at the junction of interstates 75 and 40. However, our
apiaries are scattered all over eastern Tennessee, so if you need to pick
up bees, we may be able to arrange to meet you at a convenient site.
back
to top
2. I
have honeybees in my house, my property, or a tree, and I don’t live in the
East Tennessee area. What can I do?
We receive many questions like this. If you aren’t sure if you live in our
service area, email
us. If you are outside our area, we advise:
- Call your local
county agricultural extension agent. If you live in
Tennessee, click here to find your county extension office.
Otherwise, click here
to find your state’s extension information. Or, check under the
county government section of the phone book.
- Your agent will
have a list of beekeepers that may help you, especially if the
swarm is just hanging there and can easily be captured. However, if
the colony has moved into the building or tree, that is another
matter entirely. Not many beekeepers will remove honeybee hives from
inside structures, and the ones that do will probably charge for it.
It is hot, nasty, tedious and unpleasant work, and most beekeepers
don't need the hassle.
- You can try to
remove them, or trap them, yourself. (Not recommended
for the faint-of-heart.)
- Lastly, you should
know that most exterminators and pest control companies will not
remove honeybees. Some may try to spray or poison them, which is
the worst possible remedy for all concerned. It never works, because
the queen usually survives. What is left after spraying is a big,
smelly and now toxic mass of dead, decaying bees, brood, wax and honey,
which attracts other vermin and can melt and bleed through drywall
and ceilings.
|
Killing honeybees is needless and irresponsible. In the U.S. Apis
mellifera is becoming very scarce in the wild. Beekeepers spend
countless hours and lots of money keeping them alive every year to
pollinate our food crops.
|
|
back
to top
3.
How do I know if I have honeybees, rather than other flying insects? Do you
remove wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bumblebees or carpenter bees?
To help you identify your flying, buzzing pests, click here for an interactive identification guide to bees
and wasps from Virginia Tech.
back
to top
4.
What are the benefits of eating honey, pollen, royal jelly and propolis?
The WholeHealthMD website has a very informative section on bee products. And a great place for honey
facts and recipes is the Honey.com
website from the National Honey Board. IMPORTANT: Infants under one
year old should not be fed honey or any other apiary product. For more
information, click here.
back
to top
5.
Where can I buy Arnold Honeybee Services’ products locally in East
Tennessee?
You can purchase our honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly in the
Knoxville area at Go Nutrition, 10961 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN
37922, (865) 675-8886.
back to top
6.
Are “killer” bees in East Tennessee?
No. Click here
for a map of the distribution of the Africanized honeybee in the U.S. For
more information, read the United States Department of Agriculture’s article on Africanized honeybees.
back
to top
7. Do
you catch honeybee swarms?
Yes. In the Knox County area we will remove swarms for a nominal trip
charge.
back
to top
8.
What’s the difference between buying a nucleus colony (nuc) and buying a
3-pound package of bees?
Packaged bees come with a mated queen and 7-8,000 worker bees. On the other
hand, a nuc comes with a mated, laying queen and 7-8,000 workers; plus
three frames of brood - which can yield an additional 7-12,000 bees.
back
to top
9.
Will your nuc frames fit my beehives?
Yes. Nucleus hive frames are the same size as regular hive frames: 9 and
1/8. If requested, we can provide
Illinois frames (6 and 5/8).
back to top
|
