ALERT: Include information on active seasons or other important items
We are now done collecting nests for the 2017 season. Thank you for visiting our website. Please be in touch next year!
We remove exposed “paper ball” type nests as well as concealed or in-ground nesting species. The insects collected are sold to labs that extract their venom for use in allergy immunotherapy.
We only remove Polistes wasps from places we are already removing Hornets or Yellowjackets. They build the flat paper nests with an exposed honeycomb-like structure on the surface, have long dangly legs, and are commonly found on eaves.
We also collect honeybee swarms in the Springtime, and can remove established honeybee hives between the months of March and June. All honeybees collected will be organically managed for pollination and honey production. If you ever happen upon a honeybee swarm or an established honeybee hive, DO NOT SPRAY IT! Give us a call!
Insects that are treated with any pesticides or chemicals are not allowed for use in human allergy immunotherapy. Therefore, we will not collect nests that have been sprayed with anything or have been attempted to be exterminated in any way. Oftentimes, spraying a nest with pesticides is not even effective in completely killing the colony. It is very easy to tell if nests have been sprayed, and we charge a service fee of $50 for travel expenses and will not remove the nest or insects if we arrive and find this to be the case.
Please, leave the nest alone and call us for free removal and cleanup.
We do not remove or relocate bumble's and encourage folks to leave them alone and allow them to complete their short annual life cycle.
Unless disturbed, most bumblebees are not aggressive in defending their nests and most species complete their annual lifecycle by the end of July.
We do not remove any species of solitary bees! They are also valuable native pollinators, completely non-aggressive and should be left alone!
Using a protective bee suit, gloves and boots, we place a small vacuum powered trap next to the entrance of the nest. Next, we disturb the nests and vacuum up the insects as they come out to defend their colony. We continue to vacuum at the entrance of the nest for up to an hour to ensure we collect nearly all of the workers as they return from foraging and attempt to return home.
Once we have collected all the live insects, we immediately freeze them using dry ice to preserve their venom. We then remove the nest itself along with the paper combs and clean up any remaining debris.
The exact areas covered depends on species needed, time of year, and particular insect populations which vary year to year. We encourage you to contact us and give us the opportunity to collect your nest before attempting to use pesticides or chemicals to kill the nest.
We will begin collecting yellow hornet nests in June. We collect hornet nests once they reach the size of a cantaloupe. If you find an active nest that looks like a small paper globe we would love to put you on our list of folks to schedule! In the meantime, they are not aggressive just defensive in protecting their nest and if you can give them some space they won't give you any trouble.
You can read all about the other insects you might see flying around this time of year on the insect ID pages of our website!
Please tell your friends and family about our service!
We look forward to working with you this summer!
You can read all about the insects we collect and their annual lifecycle on the insect ID pages of our website. Please tell your friends and family about our service!