In the early weeks of August, a familiar buzzing starts in Tampa Bay. A sound that can only mean one thing- that it is time for Elisha Bixler to get to work. From August to October, residents might notice a basketball sized group of bees on the back of a chair, hanging from a tree, or invading the walls of your shed. This behavior often concerns homeowners but is exactly what beekeeper Elisha Bixler of How’s Your Day Honey, expects during swarm season.
Elisha explains that this “bee”havior is a normal thing for a hive that grows too large. Honeybees that have outgrown their current digs need to split and find a new place to live. “The colony, when they go, the Queen can’t fly very well, so when they’re going to their new home that they’ve picked out, they usually have to take a break somewhere.” They will form a large mass and wait, while they rest, protecting their queen, who is in the middle. They are too distracted and tired to be defensive or aggressive. They are just looking for a break and will most likely leave soon, but that doesn’t stop concerned homeowners who do not want hundreds of bees in their backyard. Elisha explains that then you just “put them into a bee box, and be done within 15-20 min, and then, really, you have a nice little starter colony right there. A swarm of honeybees is a wonderful way for a new beekeeper to begin.”
No two rescues are ever the same. Elisha often finds herself disassembling walls, or sometimes climbing 30 feet into trees to help relocate honeybees. Elisha recalled one hive in a ballpark light post that was 70 ft up, so she had to go up in, “a big lift truck, and I was harnessed in. But I mean just being that high up and the wind’s blowing, and you’re swaying, and you’re trying to drill into this metal pole that was a little sketchy.”
When Elisha gets the call, she packs up her smoker. “I use pine needles just because they’re so abundant here in the Tampa Bay area. I use a little bit of smoke…. because it distracts the bees. As soon as the smoke comes in it covers up their alarm pheromone, and it makes them think that there’s a fire and that they need to pack up. So instead of focusing on me, they’re going to go to their cells and start slurping up honey. They are busy starting to get ready to leave because they think there’s a fire, so they’re just distracted. Then I can come in and start removing the comb quickly. I’m trying to find the Queen as fast as possible, because if I don’t, a lot of times she’ll run into a hiding spot where I can’t get to her.” Without lungs, the smoke doesn’t hurt them, it is just a protective measure to keep the beekeeper safe.
Just a smoker doesn’t work all the time. In some cases, the bees are aggressive. “I’ve been doing it for so long that when I approach a colony I can tell by the sound. I can tell by how many bees come to my face. There are always bees protecting a colony, and if they come right out, they’re kind of zingy in a way, and they’ll come right to my face and I know right away, okay, I have to wear protective gear with this colony.”
Elisha uses a Thermal Imaging Camera to see in the walls and find the bees precise location without having to open up the whole wall. This can save the homeowner a larger repair cost. She tries to use the smallest amount of destruction needed when they are in a wall. Bixler explains though, that if the bees have been in the wall for a longer period of time, it can mean that there is a significant amount of honey in those walls. If the honey isn’t removed, it can lead to bugs or other mammals seeking a sweet treat. If you don’t want this problem, “walking the perimeter of the house and filling any gap you can fit a pencil into is a great preventive measure.” If a colony is already established and you don’t want your wall disturbed at all, making a cone shape from ¼ inch hardware cloth with a small exit hole and attaching it to where the bees are entering the wall will allow them to leave, and not re-enter.
Even if a rescue goes perfectly, Elisha says that about 20% of the rescued bees will still choose to fly away. Thankfully she lives on 5 acres without a lot of development surrounding her, so even those bees that don’t stick around will be safe. There is a way to keep the queens in the hive, so the bees stay, but instead, she lets the choice *bee* theirs.
Honeybees aren’t really in danger of extinction in Tampa because there is food production for them year-round, and we don’t have the cold weather in which they would go dormant, but one problem Elisha points out the proximity to the Port. Most wild hives that are caught are likely Africanized and legally will need to be requeened. Africanized bees, nicknamed Killer Bees, can be more aggressive than the normal European honeybees. Because of things like this, Elisha recommends that the average homeowner not attempt to do their own rescue without some education first. Luckily there are a few bee groups in Tampa Bay to choose from and helpful resources like the Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association.
Elisha often videotapes her rescues and uses her videos as educational tools online. How’s your Day Honey’s videos have millions of views and are changing the way people view bees.
To check out her rescues visit https://m.youtube.com/@howsyourdayhoney
As urban expansion continues, the need for ethical bee removal grows. Through services like “Honeybee Rescue,” How’s Your Day Honey demonstrates how conservation, education, and entrepreneurship can coexist. It sends a sweet message: communities can protect pollinators. For rescue inquiries, quotes, or to learn more, visit www.howsyourdayhoney.com
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One Response to “Tampa Bay beekeeping with Elisha Bixler”
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Great show loved all the information Elisha imparted. Thanks.